A mysterious man appears voluntarily in a lunatic asylum and one of the doctors becomes fascinated by him and his supposed delirium which may or may not be fact.
The man claims to be from outer space on a research project to study humans who's scariest attributes are stupidity and irrationality. For him, it is perfectly logical to be kind and giving to people in need, to listen, to enjoy life, etc. He soon becomes a Christ-like figure for the insane and the needy and he has many fascinating dialogues with the doctor where they spar:
The doctor struggles with his own skepticism, his disillusion with his profession, his sadness, humanity's flaws and the gnawing knowledge that the man surely must be crazy, and the patient weaves a complex and consistent background on his alien culture and thoughts, while criticizing humans for their blindness. It doesn't help us to decide either when the man displays telekinetic powers.
Soon, the man makes too much noise and the asylum's director decides to act. Then the man comes face to face with the dangers of humanity's folly and pride and the doctor finds himself between a rock and a hard place, like Pontius Pilate.
That's the plot. My personal opinion of this movie is that it's fascinating, everyone should see it once, but it's seriously flawed. I had a slight issue with the obvious fact that he claimed he had no feelings but reacts impassioned to music and once or twice flies into a rage when he rants about humanity. But this only proves that he is merely an insane human. Or does it?
But more importantly, I have a problem with this naive idea that rationality automatically means kindness. It depends on the goal. How does one conclude that being kind to everyone is the most logical behaviour? This is too simplistic. What about moral conflicts? What about self-neglect? What about people that abuse your kindness? What if your goals are simply to achieve pleasure? What if your only goal is to make Germany a prosperous and powerful country again after WWI?
I liked the themes. I liked the intelligent dialogue. I loved the use of music. But I can't help but feel this wasn't thought through enough and that the movie is taking an easy and lazy stance on good vs bad and preaching overly-simplistic morality.
The man claims to be from outer space on a research project to study humans who's scariest attributes are stupidity and irrationality. For him, it is perfectly logical to be kind and giving to people in need, to listen, to enjoy life, etc. He soon becomes a Christ-like figure for the insane and the needy and he has many fascinating dialogues with the doctor where they spar:
The doctor struggles with his own skepticism, his disillusion with his profession, his sadness, humanity's flaws and the gnawing knowledge that the man surely must be crazy, and the patient weaves a complex and consistent background on his alien culture and thoughts, while criticizing humans for their blindness. It doesn't help us to decide either when the man displays telekinetic powers.
Soon, the man makes too much noise and the asylum's director decides to act. Then the man comes face to face with the dangers of humanity's folly and pride and the doctor finds himself between a rock and a hard place, like Pontius Pilate.
That's the plot. My personal opinion of this movie is that it's fascinating, everyone should see it once, but it's seriously flawed. I had a slight issue with the obvious fact that he claimed he had no feelings but reacts impassioned to music and once or twice flies into a rage when he rants about humanity. But this only proves that he is merely an insane human. Or does it?
But more importantly, I have a problem with this naive idea that rationality automatically means kindness. It depends on the goal. How does one conclude that being kind to everyone is the most logical behaviour? This is too simplistic. What about moral conflicts? What about self-neglect? What about people that abuse your kindness? What if your goals are simply to achieve pleasure? What if your only goal is to make Germany a prosperous and powerful country again after WWI?
I liked the themes. I liked the intelligent dialogue. I loved the use of music. But I can't help but feel this wasn't thought through enough and that the movie is taking an easy and lazy stance on good vs bad and preaching overly-simplistic morality.