The 2007 film Epitaph recounts several mind-twisting tales that bring the viewer in and out of sanity, ultimately leading the viewer to question who and what is to trust, who and what is real or just a construction of the mind.
What stuck out to me was a sense of confusion in terms of who to love--does one fall for, or detest, the intruder? The most dramatic example was of the young girl who was in love with her step father. Ultimately, this impossible and unrequited love caused the death of one of the parties. In a fit of anger, the little girl shoves her father who is driving the car (the one who is in control of the machine is an idea that is heavily loaded and may definitely be explored), bringing the loved ones to their death. This seemed vaguely reminiscent of Stockholm Syndrome--falling in love with the captor, falling in love and this love ultimately causing their own death.
Seeking psychiatric help, the little girl seems to no longer know if she can fully trust the one who is trying to save her--while she is somewhat resistant, she eventually gives into the efforts of the psychiatrist, only to return to a sleep of living nightmares. It also brought to mind another point: the girl loses her family, her roots--without her solid roots, what is left of her? Is she able to maintain her sanity and sense of identity without flesh-and-blood family to remind her of who she is, or will she plunge into psychotic despair? The latter seems to be the answer in this case...This certainly brings to mind themes of colonialism and post-colonialism. Who is one when their biggest self-identifying factors are taken against their will?
In the film, 'good' and 'bad,' 'real' and 'imaginary' lose their tight boundary lines. I am interested in seeing how this reflects the themes of colonialism. Who is bad; who may be trusted? The movie ends in a confusion of what is real and what is not: what has come about "organically," and what is a product of colonial and post-colonial construction?
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