Unraveling the mysterious world of ``The Enemy.'' Pleasure entangled in sweet chaos.

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2018.02.09Ikuya Takamori

Interpretation 4: (Really) Enemy

Finally, there is an interpretation that may seem like science fiction at first glance, but is actually more faithful to the original novel: cloning technology has been used to create an exact copy of the original.

Although omitted in the film, in the novel, when the two first meet, they reveal their respective birth times. As a result, the actor learns that he was born 30 minutes earlier than the teacher, and claims, "I am the original and you are the duplicate." The word "clone human" also appears in their conversation.

So who is behind this and for what purpose? This brings to mind Adam's lecture on "dictators and control" in the beginning of the film, and the bird's-eye shots of the characters' activities as if they were being watched through a window. These things evoke the idea of a Big Brother-like entity (a government that tries to excessively monitor and control its citizens), and the giant spider that towers higher than the skyscrapers of Toronto may be a metaphor for an organization that controls people.

Furthermore, there is a scene where Adam wakes up in the middle of the night and stares at a small blinking light from a machine placed on his balcony, with only Adam's eyes reflecting the light in the pitch black room. What on earth is that machine? Could it be emitting a special signal that affects the human subconscious?

If we follow Adam's lecture, the dictator's goal is to control the people by providing entertainment and controlling information, and he may have secretly introduced cloning technology as an efficient way to increase his obedient productive population.

If you only watch the movie, you might think that such a national-scale conspiracy is too far-fetched, but the original suggests that it's possible that more than just teachers and actors were copied. I won't write any more about it, but if you're interested, I urge you to check out Saramago's novel.

Between chaos and order

After this discussion, I would like to give a new appreciation to The Enemy for its depth, in that all four of these seemingly different interpretations are valid, regardless of their degree of realism. Of course, there is no absolute correct way to interpret a film, and it can be interpreted in many other ways. Rather than presenting chaos as it is, the film provides multiple paths to deciphering and arriving at order, allowing the audience to enjoy the process over and over again.

Text: Ikuya Takamori

Freelance writer, English-Japanese translator. Mainly contributes movie reviews and columns to web media, and translates news articles. The translated book is ``Science of Star Wars--Thorough verification! From the true nature of the Force to intergalactic travel” (written by Mark Blake and John Chase, published by Kagaku Doujin) and others.

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"The Enemy"

Blu-ray 5,184 yen DVD 4,104 yen

Publisher: Vap

Provided by: Clockworks, New Select

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