Mr. Nobody (2009)

Divide by Zero

Divide by Zero

The Living Force

A well made movie that examines time and choices, how the past sets the future and the future can set the past. It kind of reminded me a bit of the movie "Butterfly Effect". If you like those kind of films, you will like Mr. Nobody. It's one of those films that are impractical, but makes you wonder about what is behind the curtain.

A few quotes of dialogue from the movie struck me, sort of thinking that it would be a conundrum in 4d- where time is not linear:
"Before, he was unable to make a choice because he didn't know what would happen.
Now that he knows what will happen, he is unable to make a choice."

"In chess, it's called Zugzwang... when the only viable move...is not to move."

A scene in the start of the movie where he explains how children are born and the angels of Oblivion forgot to give him the mark on the upper lip make me think that he's expressing non-linear logic which makes a lot of confusion in his life.

Makes me think of some Zen quotes that aren't fresh in memory, but I kind of wonder in this world where things are, have been, and will be throughout history- is the only real "way out" of these time loops to just be where we are and objective to what is happening- not forcing our free will to pick something just because we have to?


A pretty good article on some of the ideas from the movie with some spoilers and goes into those quotes some more:
https://cervifrank.wordpress.com/2013/10/29/mr-nobody-the-paradox-of-choice-chaos-theory-and-hidden-knowledge/
 
Reading the Wiki entry just now, and first impression of the concept is the lack of the law of probability... vs possibility... if that's a law... can't remember, just like Mr. N. ;)

The director described the scale of the film, "My producers don't like me saying it, but it's really a big-budget experimental film about the many different lives one person can live, depending on the choices he makes. It's about the infinite possibilities facing any person. There are no good or bad choices in life. It's simply that each choice will create another life for you. What's interesting is to be alive."[12]
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See what I mean? infinite possibilities? Yes, in a way, but remember anything might be possible (in some context), but not nearly as much is probable (in any given context).
At the end when it assumes that the universe is on the precipice of ultimate chaos, making use of the Big Crunch theory, time halts, and it begins to reverse.[28] Thus signalling the absolute freedom Nemo had been seeking – being able to live a life without choice, for while you never choose all things remain possible.[29] The tale of Nemo Nobody reflects a life of choices, whether or not we made the correct choice and what would happen if we could go back and change them. In the reveal Mr. Nobody age 118 states that it doesn't matter what we choose, because each choice, once made has just as much significance as any alternate choice.[30] The film portrays a life where we are all subject to chance, to the dimensions by which we construct our reality (height, length, width and time), and to the imagination of our former selves.
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Well, this is from Wikipedia, so the zionist influence can be seen, though, without tracking the statement to the many footnotes listed, it's hard to determine who is really making this statement, is it the director et al on the production team or some wiki editor, either way, it seems this film is about not making choices, something the PTB would likely encourage if we aren't making one in their direction. :evil: Perhaps, as usual, these projects turn into an expression of the befuddlement of their creators? Again the knowledge problem, as the meaning of our lives is up to us to determine by means of the expression of choice... that process of the m/b/s complex as Ra made mention of in relationship to the archetypes portrayed in the major arcana of the Tarot. The development of bias leading to choice which solidifies into the transformation of our individual and collective environment. This film seems like one who has stopped along the path, entranced by some folly of interest, one playing with the issue of choice. As a member of the audience, of the film and its creator, we are allowed to witness his journey of the mind, using the form best known to him, film.

As usual, I haven't seen this film :cool2: but I wonder if anyone really thinks the parents left this 'choice' to young Nemo (Mr. Nobody)? Can you explain how that scene was setup? This type of scene seems suspect, as happens so often in these storylines, as the writer needs some kind of unusual event to get the story going. How absurd is this scene at the train station in which young Nemo is told to choose suddenly between the two parents, one staying and the other leaving on that train? The trailer shows no luggage, which again seems like some last second setup, which seems again rather absurd, which says something about the film don't you think? Any setup is one with immense limitations, and the available choices seem to most of us, rather the same. I don't know this storyteller/director/creator, but isn't this whole concept more dreamlike than real? So, it seems destined for the dissociative file, don't you think? No wonder the project got the green light. ;) Maybe I'm wrong? You've seen the film, what do you think?
 
I'm not sure why you factor in Zionism with wikipedia instead of just seeing the ideas for what they are.
If it were an article on, let's say politics, yes- they will meddle. But would they spend time on some random philosophy to spread an idea of "not to choose"?

This is just a movie with some philosophical and scientific ideas. Not even theories, just ideas.
Do all dreams make practical sense? No, sometimes they are thoughts that cannot be panned out in material reality. But as the C's said, we recharge in sleep/dreams OSIT. Imagination, positive disassociation by choice is good for us. Otherwise, the monotony of everyday life would drain us. Better to have the positive dissasociation with a movie like this, than one of those dime a dozen violent movies.

So, no, not every movie is about brainwashing. Not every movie is illuminati. Even if they are, the C's explain that Thor's Pantheum is BOTH STS and STO. It's up to US to discern what matters from the movie or any other thing we interact with. How much could have Laura learned about the STS without knowing the Bible, that a lot of it was influenced by STS?

I can say that sometimes no choice is a good choice- because sometimes it is based on responsibility. That's why he couldn't choose before and after knowing what happens, still couldn't choose. Why take the responsibility of either situation which results in a sort of a lose-lose, as we learn through the movie?
Am I crazy to think that makes total sense in our world a lot of times? Of course, I can't NOT choose, but the work leads to us taking responsibility to make a proper choice, whether it be for a habit or what not.

A good current example of no choice being better- the current election in the USA and the previous one. A false choice would be to choose either, because as we have learned, there is a guilt in return- saying "well you voted for so and so!". Even sott explained that not voting shows something- a protest against the political system.

About the kid running for the train: It could have been over dramatized, who knows. The point is what matters, that sometimes there is no right choice and either choice is damaging.

I kind of think that the forced choices of this reality- are part of our simple karmic understandings. That's why movies like this make me think. If we think we have control over everything, that could be blind too. Maybe it's my reading of Seneca's stoic writings that helped me understand that thing religion calls the grace of god, or in superstition- luck, as deep down, probabilities that can be chaotic.
 
haven't seen the movie yet but the idea seems interesting and I hope the movie lives up to the expectation (which is rare, remember the horribly stupid "the philosophers"?). I saw a few short scenes so far and except a few disturbing ones, there is a scene where the protagonist, from one of the possible parallel universes if I understand well, receives a DVD conversation from himself in the future. It would be nice if the storyline explored somehow some quantum aspect of consciousness.
 
gdpetti, I'd recommend you actually see the film first before you wiseacre about it! ;)

Not sure what you're talking about with 'possibility vs probability'. In the film (which I really enjoyed, except for the presence of a few scientism dogmas, which at least fit within the narrative and motivations of the characters), all the possible futures shown are inherently plausible. It's not as if in one life he becomes a pink elephant (improbable). And while the idea of "not choosing in order for all possibilities to remain possibilities" is a driving theme, it is all in service toward the moral that choice really is important and essential in order to live and experience. And despite the bits you quoted, some lives are objectively better or worse than others; in the end, it's all just lessons, but with knowledge, the character (and we, in our lives) can make an informed choice. I.e., take ourselves outside the law of accident, and actualize a better future. That's what I took away from the film, at least!
 
mkrnhr said:
haven't seen the movie yet but the idea seems interesting and I hope the movie lives up to the expectation (which is rare, remember the horribly stupid "the philosophers"?). I saw a few short scenes so far and except a few disturbing ones, there is a scene where the protagonist, from one of the possible parallel universes if I understand well, receives a DVD conversation from himself in the future. It would be nice if the storyline explored somehow some quantum aspect of consciousness.
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Good point. In a way yes! It does seem like a form of reincarnation, without different lives but in a single life.


Approaching Infinity, yes it had a positive impression on me, a dynamic view and not static.
On the other hand, The Butterfly Effect movie was good but it wasn't the same as this, it was more "Hollywood" ending, you know?
 
The different chooses (timelines) really hit me. Life could be a completely different and far better for me if I have made the right chooses. Of course all experiences are rich in lessons but still.

I try to build a future, but all I really do is trying to rebuild the past that is long gone. Leaving me stuck and miserable. I think this was a good movie, makes you think about your own life. To me at least.
 
bjorn said:
The different chooses (timelines) really hit me. Life could be a completely different and far better for me if I have made the right chooses. Of course all experiences are rich in lessons but still.

I try to build a future, but all I really do is trying to rebuild the past that is long gone. Leaving me stuck and miserable. I think this was a good movie, makes you think about your own life. To me at least.
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On a similar thought, it's possible that another me in a parallel universe made less stupid choices than the ones I did. I would say to him good for you dude (or dudette, who knows). The choices we made are not totally irreversible in the sense of being. We can still make choices today that use those "mistakes of the past" a lesson to grow in a meaningful way, even in a different direction from where we were heading towards back then. I think the notion of choice is more relevent to the now then it is to what has past and gone, unless the past helps to illuminate the present.
 
I love non-standard type of movies and this one surely brought my attention.
Seems like girl choices represent his decision for emotions/wealth/melancholy and from that direction his life develops differently.
Still, this movie made me think of myself since I usually tend to prolong my decisions.
Does anyone have some similar movie recommendations?
 
I watched it and enjoyed it. Thanks for the recommendation, Divide By Zero. It made me think of perpendicular realities mentioned by the C's and how we might imagine such a thing actually manifesting in one's consciousness. It did seem a bit forced and unrealistic that the parents would force the kid to choose between them at the train station like that, but I guess it was a plot device necessary to move the story along in a clear way. The same thing could have been accomplished in a subtler way in longer and more numerous scenes, but it looks like a lot of editing and cutting already had to be done for a long story such as this.

It was also great and a bit jarring to hear the original version of the "Daydream" song in this context. A remake or re-editing of it was featured on last night's season premiere of Mr. Robot!
 
[quote author= mkrnhr]On a similar thought, it's possible that another me in a parallel universe made less stupid choices than the ones I did. I would say to him good for you dude (or dudette, who knows).
[/quote]

If that ever occurs I tell them to switch. Not going to congratulate them. But I suppose you meant that chances are only in the present, not the past.
 
bjorn said:
If that ever occurs I tell them to switch. Not going to congratulate them. But I suppose you meant that chances are only in the present, not the past.
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Why not, there is no telling if the bad decisions of the past are an advantage for a more profound learning, at least from a cosmic point of view. What really matters is the choices made now, and whether we learn from the past or not. OSIT
 
meta-agnostic said:
I watched it and enjoyed it. Thanks for the recommendation, Divide By Zero. It made me think of perpendicular realities mentioned by the C's and how we might imagine such a thing actually manifesting in one's consciousness. It did seem a bit forced and unrealistic that the parents would force the kid to choose between them at the train station like that, but I guess it was a plot device necessary to move the story along in a clear way. The same thing could have been accomplished in a subtler way in longer and more numerous scenes, but it looks like a lot of editing and cutting already had to be done for a long story such as this.

It was also great and a bit jarring to hear the original version of the "Daydream" song in this context. A remake or re-editing of it was featured on last night's season premiere of Mr. Robot!
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Yeah perpendicular sounds like the best way to put it. Perhaps this is why time is non-linear to 4d but an actual "moveable" dimension. I love to wonder about it on the science/philosophy end rather than go on mythology.

Oh yeah! Mr. Robot is also highly recommended. I didn't expect to like that show, thinking it would be a boring hacker show, but wow the psychology and politics!
I still don't know why in the end of last season, when he flipped out in times square, the signs changed from evil corp/ other fictional companies into the real ones (Bank of America/etc)? Was that by design or an editing accident? Who knows...
 
Hello Divide By Zero,

Thanks for recommendation.
This movie gave me heartache all the way to the end, and wet my eyes.
It reminds me of lots small or big moments that I had encountered in my life....me/everyone had to choose and go through over and over again, who knows how many times all of us went through this sad cycle in this earthly life.
It make me determination to free from this sad situation.
And Thanks for C's and Laura for an opportunity to learn knowledge that I/we can escape from it.
 
Thanks for sharing the movie DBZ, I really enjoyed watching it!

I agree with what AI said above that while the movie drives around the idea of not having to make a choice in order for all possible futures to remain open, the act of choosing is in our reality an essential part of experiencing life and interacting with the world around us. This really resonated with me and made me reflect about the many chances I had to make important changes in my life that I haven't done so far, and has actually given me the motivation of Doing something about it.

Anyway, great movie, highly recommended.
 
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