Kinds of Kindness

If the title feels like a mind-bending tongue twister, be warned: the film is an intricate puzzle. However, it can be understood when viewed from the right perspective.

The selection of red, yellow, and blue for the title is deliberate. As primary colours, they symbolize the essentials of human needs. These colours serve as a foundation, capable of blending to create diverse shades that we often overlook. Remaining in our self-made comfort zones is reassuring while venturing beyond them to grasp the world's complexities can be unsettling.

This idea is echoed by the film's black-and-white imagery, representing the unconscious and dreams.

"The Violence of Kindness" would be the ideal subtitle. This psychological play, arguably one the best work by Lanthimos, will nevertheless be polarizing.

The reason is simple: it is neither a straightforward nor a linear film. The plot is intricate, featuring three seemingly unrelated stories. It's up to the viewers to observe closely, catching every detail to piece them together and make sense of the narrative. The 'Easter Eggs,' if we can call them that, are embedded in every image, forming the common thread that ties the stories together.

Most importantly, if you haven't seen the movie yet, don't leave the theatre when the screen goes black. Stay seated...

The boundary between discomfort and comedy is razor-thin, yet the film's message leaves little room for humour. Lanthimos exposes, with biting cynicism, the individualism and selfishness we often disguise as altruism. Our actions toward those we profess to love merely reflect our quest for personal gratification. This breeds a frantic urge to do good, despite our awareness that these actions echo our underlying malevolence.

The fine line between good and evil is often blurred by lies that cater to our desire for benevolence. Knowingly or unknowingly, actions we believe to be good can cause irreparable harm to others and ourselves.

From an early age, we are taught to "do good," but the boundary between good and evil is rarely clearly defined.

In this film, Yorgos starkly contrasts the vivid, joyful colours on screen with a bleak and contrasting storyline, highlighting the irony of the scenario.

Nihilism, hedonism, and manipulation starkly reveal how we adhere to social rules of manners primarily out of complacency. We treat these rules as absolute duties of our civilization, often ignoring their arbitrariness and the consequences of our actions, whether consciously or unconsciously.