At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul

[ChronoGrl]

Originally Posted by fortunato

I'm with Jen's boyfriend on this; guilt. Remember this is a horror film and, genre-wise, little else. Jose Mojica Marins is thoroughly a horror filmmaker, and I've always felt that the end of At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul has more to do with guilt and a kind of simple existentialism, but seen through the lens of a strictly-horror filmmaker. Coffin Joe's worldviews are seemingly absolute. It appears they cannot be shaken, until his own doubts and guilt come back to literally haunt him; the doubts and guilt abstracted and placed in a horror context. Sure it's depicted as something supernatural, but that doesn't mean it has to be spiritual. I feel Marins meant it more as a warning against how hatred, anger, selfishness, materialism (i.e. "Coffin Joe" behavior) can ultimately destroy a person- a very human and worldly warning, not a Christian one.

How did you like the movie, Chrono?

See, I get that it might be a more general "cautionary tale," but I really have a difficult time overlooking the blatant blasphemy. I mean, there are many ways that you can be amoral (obviously murder, as we see here), but the director specifically chose defying God, both with his acts in front of the townsmen (gambling and eating meat on Good Friday) as well as standing in the cemetery and screaming to the skies. He essentially calls out the fact that he is Godless, and that makes him "free" (something which I found absolutely fascinating - LOVED it).

I guess I might be too cynical to completely buy into the whole guilt thing - Why wouldn't he just be horrified about possibly being wrong? Being scared at his own consequences... Then again, The Tell Tale Heart is really nagging at me here... Being literally faced with your victim in the end (and didn't the old man in the Poe tale also have an evil eye? Eyes are a clear theme here, and of course his are bulging out in the end... An interesting tie-in I think).

How did I like it? Really wish that I had come in on time; felt really out of place and out of context at first (I had absolutely no context with Coffin Joe and hadn't had a chance to look him up, so I didn't even realize that it wouldn't be in English). However, once I got into it, I was absolutely fascinated by the bold anti-religious aspects of the film, and the creation of this over-the-top Rasputin-like tyrant (think about how much we focus on his eyes - Almost as though he is using them to control the fear of the townspeople) as this paradigm for Evil (yes, with a capital E)... I was a bit confused by the ending because I was under the impression that the Director was anti-religious and that this movie was banned. So when it turned out to be a cautionary tale, I feel as though punches were pulled... Then again, honestly, considering this is the 60s in Brazil, WOW it was impressive.

Also, I thought that the gore was fantastic, given the budget and time period, though the "ghosts" didn't really hold up well.

You a fan of the films?

Originally Posted by neverending

I was actually about to bring in an existential viewpoint- but with a different conclusion. Coffin Joe is a great example of existential man- he believes in nothing more than himself. He tells people he does not believe in spirits. He clearly considers himself a moral man-when he comes across the man & boy he tells the man to stop abusing his son. He also tells the boy to stop crying and act like a man.

To an existential man there is nothing beyond person existance, and there is nothing greater than living according to his own code. When his victims come back - at God's bidding? - he doesn't capitulate. They kill him... but is that a victory? Coffin Joe never renounces his beliefs. Even in death he has remained true to himself- he has won.

See, this I get, especially the latter part of this... He doesn't renounce his beliefs... So it would go along with my theory that he's not actually crazed and guilt-ridden, just horrified and trying to preserve himself. He doesn't renounce them at all. And you're right; he DOES get resurrected. He does win. I like that thought a lot.

The comparison about morals is really interesting - I had forgotten about the part where he chides the man for beating the child; clearly he has his own moral structure; he is God and Ruler of his domain (and since the townspeople allow him to do his bidding, his behavior is reinforced).

Absolutely fascinating movie - I'm really excited to see the next one.

[neverending]

And this is the most normal Marins movie!

[fortunato]

Originally Posted by ChronoGrl

I guess I might be too cynical to completely buy into the whole guilt thing - Why wouldn't he just be horrified about possibly being wrong? Being scared at his own consequences... Then again, The Tell Tale Heart is really nagging at me here... Being literally faced with your victim in the end (and didn't the old man in the Poe tale also have an evil eye? Eyes are a clear theme here, and of course his are bulging out in the end... An interesting tie-in I think).

How did I like it? Really wish that I had come in on time; felt really out of place and out of context at first (I had absolutely no context with Coffin Joe and hadn't had a chance to look him up, so I didn't even realize that it wouldn't be in English). However, once I got into it, I was absolutely fascinated by the bold anti-religious aspects of the film, and the creation of this over-the-top Rasputin-like tyrant (think about how much we focus on his eyes - Almost as though he is using them to control the fear of the townspeople) as this paradigm for Evil (yes, with a capital E)... I was a bit confused by the ending because I was under the impression that the Director was anti-religious and that this movie was banned. So when it turned out to be a cautionary tale, I feel as though punches were pulled... Then again, honestly, considering this is the 60s in Brazil, WOW it was impressive.

Also, I thought that the gore was fantastic, given the budget and time period, though the "ghosts" didn't really hold up well.

You a fan of the films?



See, this I get, especially the latter part of this... He doesn't renounce his beliefs... So it would go along with my theory that he's not actually crazed and guilt-ridden, just horrified and trying to preserve himself. He doesn't renounce them at all. And you're right; he DOES get resurrected. He does win. I like that thought a lot.

The comparison about morals is really interesting - I had forgotten about the part where he chides the man for beating the child; clearly he has his own moral structure; he is God and Ruler of his domain (and since the townspeople allow him to do his bidding, his behavior is reinforced).

Absolutely fascinating movie - I'm really excited to see the next one.

Yeah, mainly my point and what I see Marins doing with this film is illustrating that feelings like guilt and doubt can be and should be removed from a religious context, which is played out in Coffin Joe's "freedom" from God. It is all human, all natural, via the pure solipsism of Coffin Joe.

Interesting connection with The Tell Tale Heart; yeah, the old man had a "vulture eye" which terrorized the protagonist.

I am a big fan of Marins and these films. At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul is a huge achievement for its time. Haha, yeah the ghosts: Marins actually applied glitter directly to the film to give them that "spooky" aura.

Another film that is incredibly similar to At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul in themes is Timothy Carey's The World's Greatest Sinner. The two would make quite an interesting double feature.

Originally Posted by neverending

And this is the most normal Marins movie!

As surprising as it might be, this is definitely true. Interested to see your reactions to the rest of them.