cheezburgerz
"...and they descended upon the earth to strengthen their ranks." -opening quote, BorgmanCamiel Borgman is a greater demon of hell. His supposed name is actually his title; his real name is given at the beginning of the movie "Anton Breskens" which is believed to be a lie in an attempt to gain admittance to the house. His real name will be important later. The etymology of 'Camiel' is 'acolyte' and 'Borgman' is 'a man who takes toll/a landlord'. So his title is 'Acolyte Landlord' which means he's collecting tolls, or souls, for another (i.e. Satan). Mark 5:9: "My name is Legion, for we are many", the reference drawn from the play towards the end of the movie, the signs reading "I am" and "We are". Camiel's sole purpose is to build his legion of minions, represented by his friends who will do anything to seek his "favor", his hounds of hell ushering in his reign (but not too early!), and the children and young babysitter of the family who serves as Camiel's coveted converts-to-be (children only, no adults). Once they "drink the Kool-Aid", a sign of ultimate obedience towards Camiel's demonic sovereignty, their backs are branded by the mark of Satan, which he also bears. Camiel is a playful demon, like that of an alp or incubus (see wikipedia). If Camiel can't play, he gets bored and goes somewhere else. When he is playing, it is in some form of the 7 deadly sins of Christianity: wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy, and gluttony. In a general sense, the movie is a depiction of these sins at work. They are evident at the beginning where a priest employs wrath to hunt down Camiel and then shortly thereafter when the husband beats Camiel to a pulp (through a combination of pride and wrath). Later in the movie, Isobel employs wrath on the gardener. Throughout Borgman, the wife gradually takes to Camiel via envy, exhibits gluttony towards alcohol, and eventually lust towards Camiel and wrath towards her husband. The children are afflicted with sloth after drinking the orange liquid. The husband is a constant victim of greed in trying to steal his boss's company. The middle-aged man lusts after the babysitter. (Etc.) At the center of all these sins is Camiel, either directly or indirectly influencing the actions, and thus advancing his demonic kingdom.Camiel, like that of an alp, likes to manipulate dreams. You see him sitting stark naked over the asleep wife throughout the movie (which is Camiel's truest form), manipulating her dreams that serve to further placate her to him. Camiel also shares characteristics with that of an incubus which is revealed when the wife has to die due to prolonged interactions with Camiel. The story of the White Child that Camiel narrates to the children is an allegorical parable in which Camiel is actually in it, and the moral of the story is the same as the moral of the movie. It is of an angel (white child) falling from heaven (above the clouds) and into the depths of hell (the bottom of a deep lake with a terrible beast in it). Camiel is the cripple during the last part of the story who volunteers to save the mother's child after all others would not. The villagers wrongly placed their trust in Jesus for the salvation of the child, which Camiel chastises them in the narrative, "Jesus is only concerned about Himself". Camiel is known to be the cripple because he gives his name as 'Antonius' to the mother in the narrative, and at the beginning of the movie, Camiel gives his name as 'Anton' to the wife, which is a derivative name. Furthermore, the etymology of 'Anton' means 'priceless', so placing faith in Anton is synonymous with placing value in something that is priceless, an obvious parable to idolatry and greed. The moral of the White Child story and the moral of the movie are the same: one should put their faith in Camiel, not Jesus. After all, Camiel is quite literally the Priceless Acolyte Landlord. This is my interpretation at least. Fantastic movie with lots to uncover for yourself.
Lucas B Foster
This movie is the BIGGEST letdown of all time! It's like I ate some abstract art and couldn't digest it. So I puked it out and was forced to look at it and interpret it for two hours. Any symbolism is lost when the viewer is subjected to the randomness and illogic of the players. Why have such convoluted scheming to accomplish a simplistic goal. If the Borgman and his minions are demonic, as one reviewer notes, then why poison the gardener and his wife? Just kill the gardener straight out. There weren't any witnesses anyway. Also why kill the wandering applicant? The minions were paying off fake applicants anyway. Couldn't they just pay the wanderer off? Of course if they did that, the evil little girl (how did that happen anyway?) wouldn't have the opportunity to bash in the stranger's head. Really? That was out of nowhere. And while I'm at it, what is with the back surgeries on the children? I'm assuming that's what turned them into evil, unfeeling wack jobs. And yes, I noticed that the minions and Borgman had the same scars on their backs. So what? Are the kids and the nanny the next generation of minions whose duty is to commit senseless violence, achieve no goal, and disappear? Or if this is a psychotic break experienced by the wife, why no resolution when she died? Bottom line is that this movie was awful! There are so many good stories that aren't told because production money is wasted on this type of drivel. If the viewer must try so very hard to construct a story from random and convoluted imagery, then there really is no story at all. Just some crap stuck together after smoking a lot of weed. This movie is dung. Avoid it at all costs! You'll thank me later.
Laight
Few writers and directors try to stretch the limits of what a movie can do. Here you have a really interesting concept, which is to satirize upper middle class life in the West by juxtaposing it with a surreal group of characters and a ridiculous plot. The problem is that the movie takes itself and its message so seriously that the end effect is simply boredom. There is not a shred of humor or self-awareness or even fun in the movie--it's like a Bunuel movie made by a serious group of teenagers. Such a shame, because it starts off so promising. It's almost impossible to watch till the end, despite the occasional, wonderful visuals, such as the bodies in the water.
