Shakespeare once wrote: "There are a thousand Hamlets in a thousand people's eyes", and this can also be related to The Truman Show. Everyone has their own interpretation and opinion when it comes to this movie.
Today, I would like to focus on some specific detailes of the film. I believe there are millions like me who don't like to read summaries and comments before watching the film. This led me to overlook a lot of details during the first time I watched it.
If you are a huge fan, then you are already aware that the secret of this particular movie lies on the details. At the beginning of the movie, we get a sense of mystery, but gradually, we'll realize that the director has made a lot of hidden arrangements. To be honest, the first time I watched The Truman Show, I had some guesses about the plot and ending, but it was only after Truman talked to his girlfriend that I realized that he had been living in a TV studio.
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Here are the details of how the director crazily hints the audiences before Truman’s first girlfriend thoroughly reveals the truth:
1. A studio headlight tagged "Sirius 9 Ganis" falls from the sky, which must be confusing for the audiences watching for the first time, but for huge fans that's an explicit clue.
2. At first glance, I think the dialogue between Truman and the radio presenter is just a coincidence. After all, this form of unintentional conversation has appeared in many films, but after watching it for the second time, I find that it is just a "necessity" in Truman's life.
3. The rain that falls exclusively on Truman. If you hadn't noticed anything suspicious yet, you'd probably think it is a rendering technique.
4. The shop assistant points out that Truman's first girlfriend is an actress.
Such details appear even more after Truman has doubts about his life, such as the commercial advertisements, which are not obvious during the first time watching, but when you watch it again, you will be amazed at the director's elaborate design. Since there are so many details with clear clues, you must have doubts about why Truman has not figured it out yet.
The second part is how the director hints at him crazily in order to prevent Truman from leaving:
1. When the studio light falls, the director in the film immediately makes the radio broadcast the news about the plane crash, which not only dispels Truman's doubts about the UFO falling from the sky, but also takes the opportunity to force him to think that flying is dangerous.
2. Truman accidentally meets his father, who has already passed away. He goes home to talk to his mother, but she says it is all his hallucination, his father has died on the sea because of Truman's playfulness. And his mother deliberately emphasizes the cause of his father's death in order to arouse Truman's guilt and his fear of water.
3. In the memories of Truman's college life, when his first girlfriend has disappeared, Truman is supposed to have the best reason to leave. But the film has also mentioned that Truman's mother is seriously ill at that time, which should also be deliberately arranged by the director. Why can’t she be really sick? The reason is that there is no real doctor amongst the movie crew. If his mother was really ill at that time, it would either need to transfer a doctor in or transfer his mother out. The first method requires a doctor who is not an actor and has never appeared in the town. The second method is more risky because Truman can't leave with his mother.
As if this wasn't enough, in addition to the mother's serious illness, the director in the film also made Truman rush into marrying his current wife. Truman makes it clear in the film that he does not like his current wife, although I do not know exactly how this was arranged, but the development of the "plot" is certainly not Truman's intention.
4. When Truman first talks to his wife about wanting to travel around the world, she says, "Then it will be like five years ago, nothing". At the beginning of the movie, before playing the memories, the waiter in the cafe watches a TV with a time prompt, one time is "10909" and another time is "10910". We can divide the "10910" by 365 days, and we get 29. 89041095... From this, we gather that Truman's about 29 years old.
So, five years ago, he should have been graduating from college. That's when he meets his first girlfriend. So I believe his wife is comparing both situations saying that he will never travel abroad, much like five years ago. Back then, he was ready to leave when the director made some moves to make him stay. In order to make it impossible for him to go to Fiji to find his first girlfriend, he got Truman's mother "sick" and made him too poor to leave.
5. One day, on Truman's way to work, the broadcast made a mistake, causing the studio's command to appear on the radio. To make up for it, the radio immediately explains that it is connected to the police officers' channel. Our main character started to get suspicious at this point, he also discovered a darkroom in the elevator and noticed that traffic always seems to avoid him. He talks to his best friend about it, but he dismissed Truman by saying it's just a hallucination and took the opportunity to instill in him the idea that the town is "God's work".
When Truman returns home, his mother and wife took out their past photo albums to remind him of the good things in the town. When they leave, they say that they would prepare a birthday surprise for him.
6. Under strict orders from the director, sea, land and air transportations are completely blocked, so that Truman can not leave.
7. On his way to work, Truman meets a pair of twin brothers, as expected, who say they want to buy insurance from Truman in the near future. Truman has already reacted and said, "Let me look forward to it.".
Truman lives in the "best town in the world". He has an enviable job, faithful friends, a beautiful wife, he's paying off his house and car loan, and in the director's script, he and his wife are preparing to have a child. Everything seems to be on the right tracks, safe and sound.
Although his wife leaves him after Truman makes a crazy move to escape, the director in the film lures him back with beautiful people and things such as a reborn father, friends who would never betray him, and a new colleague who looks like his first girlfriend. After all, he has lived there since he was a child. What he knows is what others want him to know. What we think is abnormal is happening every day in his eyes. Besides, these abnormal things are incredibly beautiful. Denying these beautiful things would be equivalent to denying his 29 years of life. I believe it would be hard for anyone to take the first step bravely!
"The Truman Show" uses the most literary way to make a "science fiction film", plain but full of ups and downs, meaningful but not boring. The film uses excellent actors, complete timelines, powerful details handling and almost perfect logic to tell us, " You and I, we may all be Truman".
Well, how about you? Do you think you're a Truman? Let me know in the comments and we'll discuss it all together!
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