Kurt Vonnegut joined the army in 1943 and was eventually deployed to Europe. He was captured by the Germans during the Battle of the Bulge and was interned in Dresden, where he survived the Allied bombing of the city in a meat locker of a slaughterhouse.
Vonnegut dealt with depression his entire life. Much of his literary work reflects his efforts to interpret the arc of life through the lens of that depression. Imagine, for example, a man's entire life experience laid out in one moment of time. Imagine a man who could see his entire life, including his own death without the limitations of time passing from future to past. Would this life make any sense? What happens to the present when it becomes the past, and where does it go? Could an entirety of a life experienced as a whole, through its end, redeem the dread of the void and confront the existential impulse of "why?".
Kurt Vonnegut's novel "Slaughterhouse-Five" is a darkly comic exploration of war, trauma, the broad arc of life and the human condition. Through the lens of Billy Pilgrim, a seemingly ordinary man who becomes “unstuck in time,” the film includes experiences of childhood, the pivotal horror of the firebombing of Dresden, family life, and finally aging and death.
The film adaptation of "Slaughterhouse-Five" mirrors the novel's unconventional structure, jumping between different time periods and perspectives. The film captures the essence of Vonnegut's novel, including its surreal humor, unflinching portrayal of destruction, and absurdity of seeking value in the mundane elements of ordinary existence.
In spite of Michael Sacks's compelling performance as Billy Pilgrim, and the effective recreation of the devastation of Dresden "Slaughterhouse-Five" doesn't answer questions for either Vonnegut or the viewer. Maybe it's only a thought experiment that turns out to be fruitless. Or perhaps the absurd humor is the only important thing. Regardless, so it goes...
"I could carve a better man out of a banana."
More reviews here on letterboxd:
No comments:
Post a Comment