From ``The Deer Hunter'' to ``On Body and Soul.'' Tracing the symbolism of the deer depicted in movies

"The Deer Hunter" synopsis

A slaughterhouse on the outskirts of Budapest, Hungary. Maria, who works as a substitute employee, has difficulty adjusting to the workplace because she is not good at communicating. Her boss, Endre, who has a disabled hand, cares about her, but they don't get along well. One day, an incident occurs where a mating drug for cows is stolen. In order to find out who the culprit is, all employees undergo counseling from a psychoanalyst. It then becomes clear that Maria and Endre share the same dream. The two met in a dream as "deer" and were interacting with each other. Surprised by this strange coincidence, Maria and Endre suddenly become closer after talking about their dreams. Although Maria is confused, she is strongly attracted to Endre, but she is unable to respond to his advances and the two end up passing each other. In dreams, you can be yourself, but love in the real world is not as easy as it seems. A slightly mysterious and exciting love story between a lonely man and woman who are far from love.

Index

• “The Sacred Deer” and European movies
• The Deer Hunter and Russian Roulette
• Japanese movies and phantom deer

“The Sacred Deer” and European movies

The two main characters of the Hungarian-produced film ``On Body and Soul'' (2018), Maria, a substitute worker at a slaughterhouse, and her boss, Endre, grow closer after they dream of the same deer. . In an interview, director Yildiko Enyedi commented on the appearance of deer in dreams, saying, ``The deer is a sacred animal in Hungary, and it was the deer that led the Magyar people from Asia.'' There is.

Deer can also be interpreted as a symbol of the heart, which wishes to meet and be close to a partner in a dream freed from loneliness and physical limitations. However, considering the director's comments, the deer in the dream is not only themselves, but also the one guiding them. According to legend, Nimrod, a descendant of Noah who survived the Flood, founded his kingdom on the plains of Asia, but the king's two sons found a mysterious white stag while out hunting. While chasing the stag, the princes arrived at the land where the Magyars would later found Hungary.

In the end, the buck jumped into the lake and was never seen again. I wonder if the deer in Maria and Endre's dream in the film ``On Body and Soul'' has also finished its role and disappeared.

The Killing of a Sacred Deer (an Irish-British co-production ) directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, which was released in Japan in March of this year, also involves the sacred deer, as the title suggests. However, the deer itself is not depicted in the film. Wealthy surgeon Stephen and his family are at the mercy of terrifying events, but deer appear in the Greek tragedy ``Iphigenia of Aulis,'' which Stephen's daughter Kim chose as the theme for her essay.

“Killing of a Sacred Deer” preview

During the Trojan War, famous for ``The Trojan Horse,'' Agamemnon, the commander-in-chief of the Greek army, went hunting and killed the ``sacred deer'' beloved by the goddess Artemis. Furious, Artemis demands that Agamemnon sacrifice his daughter Iphigenia. A story of cause and effect similar to this Greek tragedy unfolds in The Killing of a Sacred Deer. The deer, a gentle herbivore, is a symbol of ``good life,'' and taking its life is a deadly sin that must be punished.

The Deer Hunter and Russian Roulette