Even though this is a Thai horror film, it’s got ties to Korea so I’m counting it for this blog. So there.
Alone is a creepy Siamese twin movie (is there any other kind?) that unfolds slowly but also packs a lot of jump scares and awesome sound effects and a plot twist you can see coming a mile away, but it’s still good entertainment. I’d like to look at how this film can be analyzed using the Fourfold Interpretation Method.
The Fourfold Interpretation Method is a twelfth century way of interpreting the Bible. The four fold are as follows:
- A LITERAL interpretation of the events as fact.
- An ALLEGORICAL interpretation revealing spiritual truths.
- A Lesson that makes a moral point.
- An ANAGOGICAL interpretation predicting events about the ‘last days’ or revealing truths about the afterlife.
The literal meaning of Alone is the story as revealed in both present and past. Facts: 1 in 200,000 births is a conjoined birth. Between 40%-60% are delivered stillborn. About 70% of all conjoined twins are female. In the beginning of the film, Pim is told her mother is in the hospital and she and husband Wee leave Korea for Thailand to be with her. From the moment Pim arrives she is having visions of her sister Ploy who died during their separation operation. Through the course of the film we come to find out that Pim and Ploy have a much more complicated past history then we are led to believe. The film then seeks to balance revelation with sanity as doctors are consulted but unable to aid Pim’s deteriorating mental state. Dogs are killed. House keepers are killed. A house is burned down. The truth finally comes out.
The allegorical meaning of this film is apt due to the double meaning of allegory both literal and metaphoric and the doubling of the twin girls. One comes to represent living and loving while the other represents the dangers of jealousy and dependence.
The Moral point of this story seems clear enough. Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not covet. Pretty straight forward and the punishments, while a bit delayed, eventually come.
Truths revealed about the afterlife in this film are frightening. Ghosts will seek revenge and ultimately will get that revenge. The afterlife has no hold over these ghosts. So don’t piss off a ghost!
Though this film has no real religious symbolism or overtones, this kind of interpretation is fun.
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