Bell of an Architect

The name of the game in this film is Obsession. Obsession is portrayed as the corrupting element in these characters lives. Everyone seems to obsess over something. There is a photographer (voyeur) who obsess' about image, an italian chauvanist who obsess' over his genius, a wife who obsess' over pregnancy, and an architect who obsess' over the life of his under-appreciated idol. But these characters also fall into two different categories. The classical/conservative category and the neoclassical/progressive category. In this case the Italian characters figure into the classical/conservative category because of their association with the history of Italy and their snobbish disrespect for kracklites ideas. Kracklite and his wife, on the other hand, fit into the progressive realm of wanting to go forward rather than remaining stagnant, forward into, respectively, a family life and a new form of architecture.
Obsession has a way of interfering in the plans of our protagonist however and everything gets sabotaged. The Italian fascists win. I think the pregnancy was supposed to be the element of redemption for kracklite. His wife revealed to him of the pregnancy before the affair intensified giving him the opportunity to save his relationship and possibly his self. Instead of being saved, he allows his obsession to take priority and blind him to his impending doom. His obsession over Boullee created this paranoia and distrust of everyone around him, alienating him further.
The Directors artistic influence in the film is in his shot composition and the films symbolism. Most of the shots were framed through something like a window or a door frame giving an even more intense voyeuristic feeling, possibly alluding back to the medium of film. We sit and watch a story in the frame of a screen and the camera watches the characters through architectural frames. I also noticed a significant amount of symmetry in the composition. Often times you could draw a line right down the center and and compare the two sides to find they were reverse images. There was also a shot that reminded he a lot of the last supper where the characters are sitting around a square table facing each other (interesting when compared to the round table of King arthur). It was almost a foreboding scene where Kracklite sat across from his wife, both characters surrounded on either side by foreigners. This was one of the those subtle, ambiguous symbolic references that is totally open to interpretation. Because it is not a direct graphic match to the last supper painting, it may or may not actually be an homage, but considering the other religious elements (the least of which being set in Rome, Italy) its symbolism seems likely.
The interesting thing about the setting is that it has nothing to do with Boullee's life. He never left France, so there is a question as to why is it Italy that this party is happening in and not France. I believe there are two reasons. First, Italy was the source of Boullee's foundation. In schools he studied classical and neo-classical architecture which was rooted in Rome, Italy. It was founded during the Baroque/Romantic perod which was primarily influenced by religion. The other reason the film was set in Italy is because of the intentional religious symbolism. At the end of class, one of the major topics we talked about was the religious themes of the film. By creating these subtle, ambiguous religious allusions the director has allowed for an open ended interpretation on classical themes. His suicide creates a great deal of controversy and ambiguity confusing his roles as it relates to symbolism. Is he Christ dying for the sins of others? If he is, then who is in his wife's womb? If she is the "virgin" Mary then he would be God. If he were God, then do we interpret his suicide as God's death or is he killing himself to be reborn in his son confirming the ideology that Christ was God incarnate? The depth of symbolism allows for the opportunity to read very deeply into the film. There is a much deeper interpretation that can be made relating Boullee's work and preferred shape to religion, and even the trinity between Kracklite, Boullee, and a religious figure. Is Kracklite Boullee reincarnate who is an architectural god about the be reincarnated in Kracklite's son? All of these interpretations require a thorough understanding of the work of Boullee as well as the doctrine of the church, both of which I am not prepared to handle.
I think that the topic of artistic creation is linked to obsession. Considering all of the films we've watched so far, Every artist has become deeply obsessed with their own work in one way or another. This obsession blinds them to the world around them and allows them to only see their work and their ideas taking shape. Kracklite falls victim to this artistic perrogative and forfeits his life because of it. He becomes so obsessed with bringing the artist to life again that he practically beckons Boullee's spirit to take over his body. I think the scene of Kracklite photocopying the belly with the green light flashing is not about envy. It is hard to interpret this scene though because there is no juxtaposition of the color green. There is plenty of red, black, and white symbolism (in fact you can't throw a rock and miss it), but there is almost no green except in scenes that include grass. There is most definitely something haunting about the flashing green though. I truly believe it is in that moment that Kracklite succumbs to Boullee's spirit.
As for creation and gender I can't easily identify it. Kracklite nurtures a cancerous tumor in his belly the same way his wife nurtures a fetus in hers. One is corrupting, the other is redeeming. If gender is to be identified with creation, it must also be identified with destruction as its complement. The only destruction that occurs in the film is through obsession, breaking down the relationships of the characters. The only moment of creation is in the train at the beginning. After there it doesn't seem as though there is any real creation. The formation of the exhibition is constantly derailed and can not get itself together until one of the two men is removed from the project. The conundrum of the gender identity occurs through the context of the characters. There are two women and two men. Kracklite and his wife dismiss their relationship in favor a relationship with the italian characters. His wife has an affair with a self-absorbed Italian chauvanist who isn't particularly trustworthy and behaves like a juvenile. Kracklite dismiss' his relationship with his wife in favor of the Italian photographer who is a total stoic but smarter than all of the other characters. She even protects Kracklite by not including film in her camera when they make love. This makes the moral dilemma very convoluted and obscures the interpretation of the ending because no one is particularly innocent and it is unclear as to who is the real victim. Certainly Kracklite takes the limelight as the victim by losing his life's work and his wife, but to what extent did he do it to himself?