Find yourself to kill: analysis of the film Superposition (2023): the meaning of the film and the ending, explanation of the plot, detailed plot analysis, similar movies
Country: Denmark
Genre: thriller, drama
Year of production: 2023
Directed by: Caroline Lyngby
Actors: Maria Bach Hansen, Mikkel Boe Völsgaard, Milo Olsen
tagline: “Be careful what you wish for”
The picture of Carolina Lyngby cannot be attributed to “pure” horror. To a greater extent, this is a psychological thriller, rooted in deep psychoanalysis and subtly playing on our hidden fears and desires.
The meaning of the film Superposition lies in its title and lies in the fact that it is impossible to hide from yourself.
What is the movie about
Brief description of the content of the film Superposition. In the center of the plot is a married couple – Stine and Tate. One day they are inspired by the idea to conduct an experiment. Its meaning was to check whether they could live outside of society, and at the same time (in their own words) find themselves.
Mikkel Fölsgaard played the role of Tate and Marie Bach Hansen played the role of Stine. Frame from the film.
Deciding to live in the wilderness for some time, they take their son with them and settle in a large house on the lake. The harsh but picturesque nature daily inspires young people to record a podcast in which they share their impressions and thoughts with subscribers.
At first, life in the Swedish forest seems like a real idyll to both, but one day the son of Stine and Tate runs away into the forest. A young woman goes in search and suddenly notices some strange movement on the other side of the lake. Stine is sure that there are people there and for some reason she is very worried about this.
She finds her son, but he behaves strangely, in particular, he assures that Stine is not his mother. After that, some more frightening events occur. In the end, the spouses seriously quarrel. The solution to all this is simple and terrible: the twins of Stine and Tate live nearby and sooner or later they will have to meet with them.
This happens when the couple decides to leave the frightening place and return to the city – the twins come out to meet them and demand to give the child. They behave threateningly, and Tate complies with the demand. After this Stine lashes out at him with bitter reproaches. Despite her strong fear, she tries to return her son, and in the end she succeeds.
But her relationship with her husband only deteriorates: she cannot forgive him for the old betrayal, and he is convinced that his wife does not love him. Tired of constant debriefing, the guys again decide to meet with their doubles and try to understand what is happening. Tate has two versions: he has a psychosis and imagines everything that happens to him, or he and his wife died in an accident and are in hell. Stine-2 puts forward a version of overlapping parallel universes. But there is one catch: there is only one child and both couples consider him their own. And how to deal with it?
Frame from the film.
Slowly, the four find a common language and get closer. One evening, Stine meets with her doppelganger, and she gives her interpretation of their conflict with her husband: in her opinion, their relationship has long exhausted itself and she should leave him. At least she did. Stine-1, after thinking, replies that she is still waiting for him to change and stop lying to her. To this, Stine-2 says that she often had thoughts about killing her unfaithful spouse …
Explanation of the ending Superposition: who is left alive
Explanation of the ending of the picture. Closer to the finale, Tate-1 calls his wife for a conversation and reports that he seems to have managed to understand what is happening, and he knows what to do to make everything stop. The meaning of his chaotic “message” is that they can return to normal life only if they destroy their copies. They don’t like the thought of killing, but what if this is their only chance? In the end, they still kill their counterparts.
Probably, the meaning of the ending of the film “Superposition” is that everything good and bad existed in spouses and without the intervention of the otherworldly. Having figured this out, they eliminate their dark alter egos and start life from scratch.
The meaning of the film Superposition
Caroline Lyngby likes to say that she was strongly influenced by the work of Lars von Trier and David Lynch and she has long wanted to try to shoot something in their style. It turned out to be a cozy and claustrophobic, lamp and sinister film with a hidden meaning at the same time.
Stories about doppelgangers (twins) are always very disturbing, but also attractive, because the idea that there is a copy of you somewhere is scary and attracts at the same time. Such stories are traditionally divided into two subtypes. In one of them, the hero is Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde at the same time, in the other, he literally meets himself. And go figure out what scares you the most.
Superposition is definitely the second option. At the very beginning, the guys ask each other what they actually want from their venture. Tate’s words about the desire to find oneself become prophetic and, in the course of the plot, acquire an ominous meaning.
Karolina Lyngby’s tape is almost a “Kingdom of Crooked Mirrors” for adults. And for some reason it seems that if the grown-up Olya met Yalo, the result would be about the same.
As in a mirror, the faces of the main characters are reflected in the quiet lake surface. On the other side of the lake surface – the other shore, another world. It is there that Stine-2 and Tate-2 live. Doubles. Mirror reflections. Dark versions of themselves…
What is the essence of the film? To partly understand this, you need to understand the name of the picture. Superposition is about nothing at all. The English original looks much more accurate: “Superposition”. Superposition is a concept from quantum physics. It involves the imposition of processes and the emergence of constructive and destructive interference. This is exactly what we are seeing here. But still, Carolina Lyngby did not shoot science fiction, but a psychological thriller. Therefore, the meaning of the title of the tape should still be considered from a psychological point of view.
The nature of man is such that he constantly changes throughout his existence and in each particular period forms a unique version of himself. However, if you try to superimpose such images on top of each other, you get something similar to parallel universes in quantum physics. That is, superposition is nothing more than the imposition and mutual influence of various states and positions of people. In The Escape Illusion, Steene and Tate encounter other versions of themselves living in a different time.
By the way, it is very interesting that the heroes initially flee from civilization into the forest. In legends and fairy tales, this place is inhabited by mysterious, mostly menacing creatures. According to Jung, forest fears found in fairy tales symbolize the dangerous aspects of the unconscious. Being the opposite of the city, the forest is a dark and scary place.
In ancient times, an initiation ceremony was held in the forest, as a result of which the boys became men. One can only guess what happened to them there, but the survivors returned as completely different people. The old people said they were born again…
Roughly the same thing happens with Tate and Stine. No wonder he suggests that he and his wife went to hell – after all, they really are in the other world, surrounded by a dark forest, which is inhabited by their own demons.
Frame from the film.
To resolve the overdue conflict, each of them must “go through initiation” – kill the “bad self” and get rid of the alter ego, mired in phobias and fears. Only in this way can one be renewed and born again.
As the story progresses, Stine and Tate’s relationship heats up and eventually reaches its peak. For real, each of them is revealed only after meeting with the doppelganger. It is only at first glance Stine-2 is an exact copy of the original. In fact, Stine sees a more confident and strong woman. However, is she really happy after the divorce?..
Duality is inherent in both spouses – and honest to the point of directness Stina and capable of treason Tate. It manifests itself in each of them and forces you to make a choice every second. In particular, they have to choose between the bright, constructive part of themselves, capable of compromise, and the destructive essence, which entails a fall into the black abyss.
Superposition is a kind of experiment and the director does not draw any serious conclusions. That is why the reason for everything that happened to the heroes remained unclear. Although, perhaps this was done so that each of us would make a verdict on our own.
Frame from the film.
Similar films
Here are a few movies that are similar in meaning to Superposition:
- “Don’t tell anyone” (France, UK, 2006). Alexander cannot recover from the tragedy that killed his wife. One day he receives a strange letter.
- “We” (USA, China, Japan, 2019). Having received severe psychological trauma as a child, the matured Adelaide meets one of her worst nightmares.
- “Communication” (USA, UK, 2012). Eight friends gather for dinner. On the same evening, a comet falls and life in the world changes beyond recognition.
- “Shine” (USA, UK, 1980). A small family arrives at an elegant remote hotel. As time goes by, Jack begins to feel like he’s been here before.
