In July 2021, a new film by the creator of Hostile Mathieu Turi Meander was released. True, in the fantastic horror Méandre, the director left the audience to think out the meaning of what was shown on their own.
A detailed analysis of the picture will help to solve the puzzle of Turi. Méandre: meaning, summary, ending of the film
Plot Summary of Meander
The horror film by Mathieu Turi is a cross between the cult horror “Saw” and “Cube”. The picture begins with the fact that a woman is lying on the roadway, clearly intending to commit suicide. Only closer to the middle of the film Meander does the meaning of the heroine’s act become clear.
Interesting! The film premiered at the Sitges International Film Festival, which specializes in screening science fiction films.
As it turned out, the main character, whose name is Lisa, died not so long ago, her only daughter. Having lost the meaning of life and fell into depression, a woman decides to commit suicide.
But the first car that appears on the road stops before reaching the woman. The driver who got out of the car introduces himself as Adam and speaks to Lisa. He manages to convince the woman to get into the car and drive with him to the city.
On the way, the heroine hears on the radio information about the search for a maniac, one of the signs of which is a tattoo in the form of a cross. The same tattoo flaunts on the arm of a stranger sitting behind the wheel.
Adam, realizing that Lisa exposed him, decides to get rid of the witness. A fight ensues, the car drives into a ditch. The last thing Lisa hears before losing consciousness is the squeal of brakes.
labyrinth
After some time, Lisa comes to her senses in a room that is closed on all sides. The heroine is wearing a robe resembling a scuba diver’s suit, and on her arm is a strange luminous bracelet with a dial.
Suddenly, a previously invisible door opens, and Lisa sees ahead of her a narrow corridor, which is a labyrinth.
You can only move on it by crawling. But this is not the only trouble. As it turned out, the labyrinth is full of traps, and the dial on the hand is a timer counting down the time during which it is necessary to overcome the deadly section of the path.
Interesting! The role of the main character Lisa was invited by the French actress and model Gaia Woiss.
Every 8 minutes, new scary surprises await Lisa:
- drop ceilings;
- moving walls;
- lockable doors and bars;
- acid pools;
- barbed wire with sharp blades;
- burning everything in its path.
But the heroine stubbornly tries to find a way out, moving from one room to another. From the corpses found in the corridors, Lisa guesses that she is not the only one who tried to get out of the deadly labyrinth.
In one of the rooms, the heroine runs into a man. Lisa’s first impulse was to help the stranger, but the instinct of self-preservation made the girl push him out of the shelter. The stranger turned out to be Adam, also trapped in the labyrinth.
On the way to freedom, Lisa meets a father and daughter, calling their mother to follow them. But, despite the fact that the woman dreamed of being next to her daughter, she refuses to follow her, choosing her own path.
Finally, the heroine finds herself in the last corridor, but the exit from it is closed with glass. Suddenly, an invisible force transports Lisa to a picturesque, open area. And they tell her that now she can be calm and live on.
Movie Explanation
The action of the picture takes place in a closed space. The tension is growing every minute. The first few shots give the impression that in the film Meander, the point of the plot is reduced to showing the process of survival.
The audience, along with the heroine, experience various emotions – from oppressive loneliness, claustrophobia to increasing horror with every minute. These sensations are enhanced by camera shooting and sound effects.
Interesting! The original name of the film “Meandre” in French sounds like “bend”, “winding”.
By the middle of Meander, the meaning of what is happening in the film becomes clear. Some details from Lisa’s past are revealed, the death of her daughter and the feeling of guilt that does not let go of the heroine are told.
From this we can conclude that the labyrinth is a testing ground for those who decide to commit suicide. Those who successfully pass it get rid of suicidal thoughts and a chance to love life again.
What is the essence of the ending
Throughout the picture, the viewer with tension follows the movement of the heroine. Closer to the finale, there is hope that the girl will be able to get out alive.
But the ending of Meander turned out to be so unexpected that its meaning can be interpreted in different ways.
Liza gets to a certain place and next to her is her daughter. It may be another planet suitable for life, which means that the heroine remained alive.
But we can assume that Lisa died and the labyrinth is something like Purgatory, where the soul goes after death. And it depends on how the dead person goes this way, where his soul will go.
Lisa coped with dignity and ended up in paradise. This completely changes the meaning of the finale of Meander (2020), turning the picture into a parable of forgiveness and reconciliation with the past.
Mathieu Toury’s film is different from standard genre films. The key here is to overcome oneself, to reveal hidden physical reserves that make it possible to move on. Meander (2021) is a film with an allegorical meaning that makes you think about life, its beginning and end.
