Ray is an assassin, a very rude assassin (like Walt in his equal opportunity stereotyping?), but he can feel bad about what he does, as when he jokes about Belgium offensively with Chloe on their first date and when he kills a child inadvertently, and he can be generous, giving the co-owner of the inn his money before he leaves. Ken is much less rude and crude, but but he is a cold blooded killer also. Do you like these guys? Are you pulling for either Ray or Ken to prevail? Does a good end exist for this cast of characters? Is it a moral film in spite of the many immoral elements (behavior and language)?
We'll get to the larger concerns about belief after we finish the film tomorrow.
I think these two characters are great because their styles match perfectly with one another. Ray is a comedic and crass man who is not fond of expanding his horizons. Although they are both vulgar, Ken is fond of sightseeing and checking out new things. Throughout the movie, it seems that Ken is Ray’s guardian and he has to force Ray to do the right things. This is evident when Ken drags Ray to see the church with him so Ray can go on his date later. Aside from Ray being comedic, he can also be a very benevolent gentlemen. Throughout the movie, we see recurring events of Ray recollecting to the time when he shot the kid. This shows that deep in his heart, he cares about the people around him, even if his words aren’t agreeing.
ReplyDeleteIn Bruges (Part 1)
ReplyDeleteJoanie Dorfman
It is very interesting how films can make us completely root for characters that we would normally despise. Racists, abusive husbands, escaped convicts, and now hit men. I think a lot of that comes from perspective. We dislike these people when we see the with our own eyes because all we see are the surface levels of their actions and base our opinions on our own set of morals. Films allow us to step away from our normal point of view and see things through somebody else's eyes. We are now operating on the character's view points and morals, and in their eyes, they probably aren't bad people. Of course, no matter who's perspective you're looking through, you can't completely wipe away your own morals. There are characters you just can't like, no matter how hard the writer and director tries. It's important for our protagonist to have a set of morals that we can relate to, even if they are a very skewered version of our own. Ray and Ken have morals. Ken is loyal and kind, refusing to kill his close friends and showing respect to others. Ray might be a killer and a racist, but he has his boundaries. He is respectful when he feels he has stepped over a very personal line (like with his child abuse joke at the dinner) and he doesn't harm those he deems innocent (like children), feeling extremely guilty when he breaks that rule.
I am rooting for the two characters. I think they are two decent guys stuck in a world they want to escape. I know how disrespectful they both are, especially Ray, but I still like them. Ray can't live with the guilt of killing that child, nearly committing suicide. A horrible person obviously wouldn't feel bad for killing a child, showing the decency in Ray. And Ray also offers money to the pregnant woman. Again, a terrible person wouldn't do that. I think Ray is a good person deep down, but he can't really get out of his situation of being an assassin. I think Ken is the same way. He helps Ray escape and doesn't kill him, despite his orders. He stands up to Harry for Ray. He also says he has only killed a good person once, and that was in self-defense. It doesn't make what he did right, but I think he had no reason to justify not killing the bad people and was just following his orders. So, I think deep down these two characters are really decent people in sticky situations. I think the movie is showing that everyone has morals, despite their personalities and actions. Even though the characters have done some bad things, they've recognized what they've done and do other good, moral things. I know the characters are murderers, but I am still rooting for them and like them.
ReplyDeleteThese two guys are certainly not good guys. But that doesn't mean they're bad. They both are just doing their job, which happens to be kill people. This also seems to be a very new partnership. Ray has only had one mission. Of which he "failed." Are you rooting for these guys? Yes, but also in a way no. They both come into conflict at the point when Ken is sent to kill Ray. At that point in the movie I was rooting for both of these guys even though they had conflicting roles, though I had no idea what was going to happen. So in a way if I wanted both of them to succeed it would create a paradox because at the time you assume one wanted to live and the other wanted to kill him. But this is later fleshed out in you seeing that their roles were reversed yet still applied to the same person. Ray wanted to kill himself while Ken wanted Ray to live. So in the moment I paradoxically wanted both to succeed not knowing their full intentions. It was only later reviewed that their motives could coexist in a better way. Getting back to whether or not they are good people; Ray is someone who you would not want to hang around, he is vulgar and rude. But for the movies purpose he acts as a comedic element at times, while bringing the tradegy element as well. So you do like to follow his character. Ken is suffering a more personal conflict of killing another man who he knows does not need to be killed. Ken and Ray are also complete opposites of each other. Ken is a cold blooded killer yet shows this soft and joyeous exterior. Ray shows himself as this hardened not caring person while he really does care and is not a cold blooded killer. Over all this is a very interesting movie, the characters are not ideal for the real world, but they complement each other in the movie that brings comedy and tradegy in the same scenes.
ReplyDeleteI think they still are the good guys of the. It does seem like both Ray and Ken are trying at least to improve as people. Ray strongly regrets killing the innocent child to the point where he wants to take his own life. He tries to be friendly with the he people around him but faces negativity. And even though he is clearly a bad person he is trying to improve. With Ken, he is clearly trying to improve his life. He references how he was once a drug addict and has since then stopped which shows one way he has improved. He also is a professional killer but he does struggle killing Ray and still enjoys the simpler things in his life. He almost wants to get away from the business and just set up a home and have fun for once.
ReplyDeleteMovies love to take a character who's actions seem immoral and unforgivable and give the viewer a chance to walk in their shoes. In this film, Ray and Ken are both objectively bad people if looked at through the eyes of Justice. However, I found myself feeling empathetic towards these characters, and I was even rooting for them. We get to see the humanity in them and even feel sorry for Ray. Somehow I almost forgive Ray for killing the boy because I can see how much pain it had caused him. I think the film wants us to examine what morality actually means. For example, I felt more angry with the cashier at the ticket office who was rude to Ken than the assassin buying tickets from him.
ReplyDeleteI like both of the characters, especially Ray because he is funny. I hope that both of them can retire from the hitman industry and live happy lives. I think that this film is to make people think about everyday people in good and bad ways. The cliche everyone has good and evil in them applies to these characters.And with Ray you could make the argument that no sane person tries to act evil, and that evil/good have different values with different people. For example Ray wouldn't kill a kid, but some people wouldn't kill anybody.
ReplyDeleteI don’t know what I think of these characters, but I am rooting for them. It’s interesting to see these people who seem so wholeheartedly immoral thinking about their souls. Ken talks about the killing very frankly and understands that he’s not “good,” but still talks about doing the right thing in holding the door for an old woman carrying her groceries. Ray feels like he’s trying to atone for killing the little kid. He gives 200 Euros to their host and tells her to give it to her then unborn child. Since he cut short the life of one kid he’s trying to help another out. He also seems unwilling to kill when he’s not hired to do it. When the guy (Erik I think?) tries to mug him, he threatens him with the gun. Once he’s told it only has blanks, he checks to make sure and then fires one in the guy’s eyes. He seems to think it’s only okay to kill on a job. There is some level of morality for these men. They might not live by society’s rules, but they do live by some rules.
ReplyDeleteI like both of them and even though they are killers, they seem to have some good in them. The way the character Ray is portrayed, with his mannerisms and insightful conversations, leads me to believe that he is good on the inside. He is very distraught about what he did to the little boy and shows his guilt. In order to see ones self truly, there must be some self reflection or guilt. Rays shows that. Ken on the other hand seems calmer and wiser, but also struggles with some of the same problems that Ray has. He is conflicted about his job and wheather it's worth it or not. He makes a bold move in letting Ray go and does the morally correct thing. All of this shows that no matter who, anybody is capable of doing the right thing.
ReplyDeleteHello, is anyone there?
ReplyDelete