MovieChat Forums > The Squid and the Whale (2005) Discussion > Really dont understand it

Really dont understand it

posted 13 years ago by pieterrd
6 replies | jump to latest

After having watched it I was a little confused. I just did not understand the entire story. I do not understand why it is written or filmed.

I see a dysfunctional family of pseudo intellectuals. A selfish, cheap and jealous father that thinks very highly of him self and seems to brainwash his son Walt. A mother that cheats and is becoming more successful as a writer.

Frank drinks booze and smears with sperm the books in the library and a locker in the dress room of his school. And Walt uses Roger Water's song "Hey You" in a festival as if it was of his own, and breaks with his girlfriend Sophie. These aspects to me are irrelevant to me.

As is the affair with Frank's tennis teacher Ivan that the mother has and Bernard's fling with his student Lili.

And a squid and a whale that represent fear or a battle between Walt's parents also is not understood by me.

I think it comes down to ... what do people enjoy, learn or get from seeing this film. And I assume that people do get something as it is well received.

I just dont understand the point of writing it and then filming it for enterainment

_________
-Pieter-

[–] 13 years ago

[deleted]

[–] bucfan_2484 13 years ago

Maybe you're just a Philistine?

[–] pieterrd 13 years ago

maybe
_________
-Pieter-

[–] jimjamjames 13 years ago

I don't think it was written and filmed for entertainment. I've seen many a film were nothing particularly happens e.g. Jim Jarmusch's Stranger than Paradise.
I found parts of the film interesting and enjoyable but also very upsetting and confusing... but i was never really bored, which is why i liked it.

[–] teixeifm90 13 years ago

I saw that this is supposed to be (roughly) based on the childhood of Noah Baumbach. I don't know a lot about him, but did the younger brother ever get help??????? Did he or one of his siblings ever masturbate publicly or was that something added to give more weight to the scene?

I really didn't like this film either, maybe the point of it was to be as lost and jumbled as they were emotionally? As a child of divorce I can say I had problems like Walt did, but not the way Frank did. I think I only liked the ending because I was happy to see someone was making progress emotionally.

Talking monkey, yeah, yeah. Came here from the future, ugly sucker, only says "ficus".

[–] AlexTheGreyWolf 13 years ago

To me the movie was okay because it shows what can happen when a divorce occurs. It also shows us a bit of what a psychotic child is like which to me is interesting because I've always liked psychology.

The ending however is awful, I would have much preferred if it told us what happens to the characters. Does Bernard ever find a faithful wife? Does Joan ever stop cheating? Does Walt ever write his own stuff instead of stealing? Does Frank ever become a tennis pro?