Spoilers be below!
I don't know how she hasn't seen her father's chest before, but the point of that last scene was to show that the cannibalism was passed down from her mother. Basically, the mother was a cannibal as well, and by not eating meat she was trying to keep that part under control. So she did the same thing with her daughters, she made them vegetarians, so they don't become cannibals.
The sister went the other way. She refused to keep that part of her under control, and fully committed to it (and look where it got her).
The cannibalism can also be seen as a metaphor for other desires. Until she goes to vet school, Justine had a pretty sheltered life. Eating that meat didn't cause her cannibalism, because it was always there. After it was unlocked her desire for meat escalates, and so does her sexual desire, and at a point the two cross. She also starts partying a bit, she gets drunk, etc. The whole thing goes out of hand. She's like one of those people that have strict parents, and when they go to university they go to extremes to compensate for all those years that they've been sheltered.
It can be seen as, all women (and people in general) have these desires, this side of themselves. Its expression is a part of maturing. But if you're confronted with it suddenly, you can go too far, and it can affect you and those around you negatively. So it's abstinence (vegetarianism) vs indulgence (cannibalism).
That's how I understand it anyway.
reply
share
woodenbird (167)
7 years ago
I agree with this. This is genetic not a result of being vegetarian and eat meat the first time
reply
share
AtomicReturns (1252)
7 years ago
Excellent explanation MinaVladimir. The director has a lot of Q&A discussions up on Youtube. I haven't watched them, but I wouldn't be surprised if she was going for what you described. Many have described this as a coming of age story gone to extremes.
reply
share
MinaVladimir (4081)
7 years ago
Many have described this as a coming of age story gone to extremes.
Yes, it does feel this way. If you take out the cannibalism, I think it would still work as a "girl gone of the rails at Uni" story.
I've seen a couple of those Q&As with the director. It was a while ago, so I don't remember her reasoning behind the cannibalism. They were interesting though, I always enjoy hearing filmmakers speak about their work.
reply
share
therefdotcom (964)
7 years ago
spoiler. you are overprojecting. the mother was a cannibal and it was genetical. the passed the gene on to her daughters and once they "tasted human blood", just like the dog there was no turning back. easy as that.
reply
share
MinaVladimir (4081)
7 years ago
Could it be that you are underprojecting? That's basically what I said, but with going into the subtext and all that boooring stuff some movies have. You know, with metaphors and such.
reply
share
therefdotcom (964)
7 years ago
hahahaha.
"That's basically what I said"
so far so good.
"but with going into the subtext and all that boooring stuff some movies have. You know, with metaphors and such."
which i answered with "you are overprojecting."
not the smartest tool in the shed, eh?
but hey, some people can't just can't enjoy a mainstream film without the need to find a deeper meaning. even with no indication whatsoever.
newsflash: not everything can be a roy andersson movie.
on the positive side, you should check out giorgos lanthimos' portfolio. you will love it: (almost) no substance, but a lot of room for projection.
reply
share
acidraindrop (3055)
2 years ago
Don't know if you still post, but keep on with the overprojected, and fuck that other guy. Dude got triggered just because you were analyzing a film for subtext.
At any rate, during my first pass, I also honed in more on the abstinence/indulgence angle myself. While my friend looked at it more from the inheritance aspect. Nice writeup, I was sort of thinking of the film along these lines
reply
share