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Mel Gibson's movie The Man Without a Face, Selected and introduced for ELLOPOS by Nat Gerrs
Page 10
Fifth act: They play (3'19'')
They discover thinking as playing. They discover the union of Justice with Mercy. They discover Joy.
(Notice how the "Charles E." address, which started as an irony, has become a playful caress. The film is full of such superb details.)
This is the heart of the story. Charles has made of McLeod a teacher and McLoed shows him his face. Time becomes a metaphor of eternity - and the opposite.
Sixth act: An intimate relationship (3'53'')
Mutual confessions. A face lives in the presence of another soul, in truth and beyond the crowd. McLoed paints Charles' portrait not to keep it, not to give it - art is now just a new sense of his, he paints like he sees, tastes, hears...
Seventh act: The man with a face (1'16'')
After Charles' success at the practice exam, McLeod offers him a flight with a Carrot plane. Norstadt realises that he doesn't see the absence any more. McLeod's mask is becoming part of his memory.
Eighth act: He is my best friend (3'19'')
Norstadt learns how his father died and runs at McLeod's.
Ninth act: The final question (3'12'')
Concoctions and rumors about McLeod having abused Patrick made Norstadt suspicious of his friend. He steals a car and runs at his place to ask for the truth - and truth is already becoming a reminder.
Cf. Someone Like Hodder | Rilke, Letter to a young poet | Jaspers, Truth is in communication | J. O. y Gassett, The Revolt of the Masses | Tom Schulman, Dead Poets Society | Wordsworth's and Magee's poems | K. Mansfield, There was a child once
More by Nat Gerrs : Why Europe? | J. M. Lefévre, The White Thinking
