Kinds of Kindness2024

What the fuck was that? No, seriously, how do you come up with shit like this and convince both the studios and actors to do it? Kinds of Kindness is an anthology of three messed-up stories. The movie seems to be an exploration of certain traits of humanity or human behavior. The first story appears to be about control and power, while the latter two are a bit harder to pin down. The second seems to focus on trust, perception, and oddly enough food. The third one? Maybe purity? Honestly, I don’t know. Also, what the hell is RMF? This movie hurts my brain to think about. It’s clear the filmmakers had a lot to say, and not only that, but it encourages you to dig, not to solve the stories, but perhaps to understand one' self more. I’m getting tired just thinking about it, but this movie begs to be understood. So, let’s start with the first story: The Death of RMF. This one is the easiest out of the three to grasp as it is a pretty straightforward story about power, control, and validation. In this story, we follow a man who is 100% under the control of another man willingly. He controls every aspect of his life, but when he refuses to do as told, his life is flipped upside down. The reason behind this denial is that it would put another man's life in danger, maybe even ending it. And so our submissive guy gets banished from work, social life, and pretty much everything. Also, he's kind of in a relationship with this man?.. Anyway, when the weight of rejection and the sight of his replacement crumbles down on him, we see him put his beliefs aside, his humanity and kindness, and kill RMF in an atrocious way. That's when he gains his spot back. His quest for validation has been fulfilled. Despite the freedom that was given to him when banished, he spent the majority of his life under this man's control that he didn't know how to live for himself. He couldn't enjoy all the freedom given to him, daunted by its size, He was so lost with the security and safety provided to him that he succumbed to it, embracing it, rejecting this freedom, and seeking that sense of belonging once again at the price of his individuality. Also, sex. Sex was the primordial drive behind his desire to get back to his previous life. Although this story is not graphic at all, there's obviously some kind of adultery going on. Unlike the first, the second story was much more graphic out of the three, and probably my personal favorite. This is a story about trust, loyalty, perception, and delusion. After some traumatizing event, and being reported missing for a while, a woman came back to her husband only for him to reject her. As in his mind, this woman is not his lover. His doubts begin when he first meets her at the hospital wearing her necklace, a necklace that he supposedly has, so now there are two of them. Second issue, her taste has changed. She hated chocolate her whole life, only to come back craving it now, she also mistakes her husband's favorite song. She's much hornier than usual. It all leads up to the husband thinking and believing that this isn't his wife, but a copy of her. Paranoia blinds the man, and he no longer trusts his companion, getting defensive and dismissive of her. Even when she announces her pregnancy, he's very much on edge. The story is told through the husband's perspective. There is definitely a certain bias in the storytelling, leaving the audience perplexed as to what is real and what is delusional. Despite being led to believe that her pregnancy is fake, she already shows signs of it, her swollen feet making her shoes no longer fitting, her increased sex drive, and her weird cravings are signs of pregnancy. Also, the woman just survived a traumatizing event that must have slightly altered her psyche. The movie is perhaps showcasing how trauma changes us. And yet, the husband, oblivious to all of this, builds a fantasy that this woman isn't his, falling deeper and deeper into his made-up, twisted perception.This reminds me so much of Vertigo.. The husband denied that his wife was capable of changing. In his mind, there is this frozen idea a,d image of what his wife should be. And when his view does not match reality, he goes haywire, fabricating a new story to fit his perception. Once again rejecting change and craving the security and safety he was used to. But at what price? In this story, the wife made the ultimate sacrifice as a token of her loyalty. Despite her husband's aggressive and repulsive behavior, she still looked after him in the form of food. She, who had been starving on the stranded island, understood the pain and cravings that come with food deprivation. So when the husband craved her finger, she gave it to him on a silver plate as an act of affection and extreme loyalty. But the husband didn't really crave it, he just wanted to test her, to mess with her. And yet, Her, executing this diabolical craving of his, actually solidifies his belief that this isn't his wife.