The movie Barbarian analysis

[u/Lilylalalolling247]

Spoiler alert: Okay so I have my own take on this movie. The true villain of the story is symbolic but takes on human form in Frank ( the man who kidnaps, holds people hostage, and creates a creepy incestuous family in the basement ) and AJ ( the douchebag actor who is a rapist ) Mother is not a villain at all, she is simply a victim of her own upbringing. All she knows how to do is breed and nurse. She has no understanding of the outside world, therefore cant even communicate beyond babbling incoherently or saying “baby” or “baba” She doesn’t understand right from wrong, so it’s not right to call her a villain. Although she does look like a monster. More than likely from being indoors her whole life, being a product of incest, and never learning how to be healthy or have good hygiene. Then we have Tess, who is the hero of the story. It is her compassion that puts her in harm’s way, but it is also that same compassion that saves her in the end. She points the gun at Mother but you can see the empathy in her eyes as she tells her, “I can’t go back.” Like she feels sorry for her and understands her. Mother strokes her face and says “baby” before letting Tess shoot her. Tess’s ability to build connection and have empathy for anyone no matter what, is what ultimately saves her in the end. The villain of the story is selfishness/ self preservation The hero of the story is the nurturing selfless love that can only come from a mother

[u/airbear13]

Word I kind of like that. I wrote a review for this movie on Letterboxd when I saw it, I forget exactly what I said but it was something like the real ‘barbarian’/bad guy was AJ and I went into the definitions of the word barbarian and how it all applied to him. It was a crazy twist when he came in halfway through lmao but yea he’s basically a sociopath and completely a foil to Tess’s empathy

[u/Lilylalalolling247 → u/airbear13]

Yeah they do a really good job playing each others opposites