Poolside Action

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Wolfchild
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Poolside Action

Post by Wolfchild » Thu Dec 31, 2009 11:00 pm

I have written a little article about how I think things might have went during Conny's little family outing to the Blackeberg Bad.

I have posted it on my web page.
...the story derives a lot of its appeal from its sense of despair and a darkness in which the love of Eli and Oskar seems to shine with a strange and disturbing light.
-Lacenaire

Visit My LTROI fan page.

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sauvin
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Re: Poolside Action

Post by sauvin » Thu Dec 31, 2009 11:36 pm

Wolfchild wrote:I have written a little article about how I think things might have went during Conny's little family outing to the Blackeberg Bad.

I have posted it on my web page.

Wolfchild, is there anything you can do about the aperture size? Reading anything, particularly if it involves graphics, is a tough proposition when it's only three lines at a time for people like myself who sometimes scan at more than a thousand words a minute.
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AussieDogs
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Re: Poolside Action

Post by AussieDogs » Thu Dec 31, 2009 11:50 pm

Nice crime scene analysis! The only thing I wonder about your scenario is whether she didn't really take Jimmy's head with her when Martin got his "ride" (as per my fan fiction piece). Since breaking his neck or killing him in some fashion was probably job #1 when she arrived, why not just decapitate the f#@*%r at that point anyway? Then it might naturally get dropped at the end of the pool where Martin ends up.

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Lacenaire
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Re: Poolside Action

Post by Lacenaire » Fri Jan 01, 2010 12:04 am

All this is very plausible. My impression is that most film viewers are very confused by this scene - they don't even recognise Martin's feet in the water and certainly can't understand what is happening to him. Probably the main reason for that is that many people unfamiliar with the book don't imagine Eli as being able to fly (I did not and actually thought that was a good thing she didn't do it in the film - but now, I think, it might have worked better if they made it clearer that's what she actually did).
The most unnatural thing about this scene from my point of view is Andreas's reaction. He just sits there in exactly the same pose that he was in before Eli entered, crying. He did not make a sound, did not try to run away, and did not even change his pose. Perhaps he was already in a state of shock when he realised what Jimmy was going to do to Oskar. Still, I see this as somewhat detracting from the realism of this scene.
I have often remarked that some many things in LTROI are so ambiguous that is like a mirror: When people try to fill in the blanks, they end up filling them in with themselves. 
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NaKriege
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Re: Poolside Action

Post by NaKriege » Fri Jan 01, 2010 1:58 am

I think paralyzed in sheer terror is a believable reaction to what he was witnessing.

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pristidae
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Re: Poolside Action

Post by pristidae » Fri Jan 01, 2010 3:56 am

Very nice analysis with beautiful graphics. A few thoughts:

1) I interpreted the scene as indicating that Eli didn't go for Jimmy first -- if she had dispatched him first, his hand would have presumably relaxed, or at least moved, right? Maybe it was first-come, first served . . . Conny first, then Eli grabs Martin as he runs past; or did Eli fly in and latch directly onto Martin after crashing in?

2) I assumed Martin stopped kicking during dragging because Eli had either killed or disabled him mid-flight.

3) I thought it unrealistic that Eli wouldn't have rescued Oskar first, but from a suspense standpoint, waiting to kill Jimmy last made the scene ridiculously stressful the first time I watched LTROI. Though, it was admittedly unrealistic that Jimmy, seeing Martin and presumably Conny get mauled, would've kept holding Oskar underwater until his head was later launched across the pool.
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a_contemplative_life
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Re: Poolside Action

Post by a_contemplative_life » Fri Jan 01, 2010 4:42 am

The insight about Martin making a run for it rings true and is very interesting.

The only part that doesn't make sense to me is that if Jimmy was taken out first, he would no longer be able to maintain volitional control over his muscles and presumably, his grip on Oskar's head would have relaxed. I'm no doctor, but I can't see how that would not be true. The other problem is that Martin's leg should not be passing between Jimmy's arm and the camera view.

Of course, the ending is so awesome that I've never really cared to much about these details. :)
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Wolfchild
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Re: Poolside Action

Post by Wolfchild » Fri Jan 01, 2010 7:48 am

pristidae wrote:Very nice analysis with beautiful graphics. A few thoughts:

1) I interpreted the scene as indicating that Eli didn't go for Jimmy first -- if she had dispatched him first, his hand would have presumably relaxed, or at least moved, right? Maybe it was first-come, first served . . . Conny first, then Eli grabs Martin as he runs past; or did Eli fly in and latch directly onto Martin after crashing in?

2) I assumed Martin stopped kicking during dragging because Eli had either killed or disabled him mid-flight.
This is what I meant by "convinced". ;)
3) I thought it unrealistic that Eli wouldn't have rescued Oskar first, but from a suspense standpoint, waiting to kill Jimmy last made the scene ridiculously stressful the first time I watched LTROI. Though, it was admittedly unrealistic that Jimmy, seeing Martin and presumably Conny get mauled, would've kept holding Oskar underwater until his head was later launched across the pool.
This for me was one of the keys to the scene: Jimmy didn't really have to hold Oskar down. Oskar was passively resigned to his fate. Even after Jimmy's arm came off Oskar did not move to the surface. This is also why it made sense to me that Jimmy's arm or hand did not move in death: Oskar was not fighting it. He was not putting any pressure on Jimmy's grip. Thus Jimmy's muscles could have relaxed in death but still not move.

But all of it could only work if Jimmy was killed first and before he could realize that anything was going on. His hand never moved.

Also, I think that most - if not all - of the screaming that is heard from underwater is Andreas. The screams are unbroken and uninterrupted. They can't have been Conny or Jimmy, because they were killed where they were when the whole thing started. This implies that they both got killed quickly before they had a chance to move. The screams continue while Martin was being dragged down the side of the pool. The only one who went unmolested to scream like that is Andreas. I can see him just sitting there frozen in terror screaming like a little girl.
...the story derives a lot of its appeal from its sense of despair and a darkness in which the love of Eli and Oskar seems to shine with a strange and disturbing light.
-Lacenaire

Visit My LTROI fan page.

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Aurora
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Re: Poolside Action

Post by Aurora » Fri Jan 01, 2010 8:27 am

Wolfchild wrote:...The only one who went unmolested to scream like that is Andreas. I can see him just sitting there frozen in terror screaming like a little girl.
If I had the choice between getting torn apart by Eli and screaming like a little girl, I'd choose the latter every time ;)

Good analysis btw, it fits the somewhat confusing visuals from the film.
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pristidae
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Re: Poolside Action

Post by pristidae » Fri Jan 01, 2010 1:39 pm

Here are some visuals of the Jimmy vs. Eli portion (courtesy of Hendrong on Flickr):

Image


Image
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