A lot of symbolism and non-obvious messages

Rating: Null/10 (18 October 2004)

My comments are intended for people who WATCHED the movie already, and may be classified as SPOILERS.
As one of the reviewers commented here, there is obviously a good deal of religious symbolism in this movie. Jewish line is straightforward, but the details implicating Islam are fairly subtle. I personally missed the association of the Mecca chip and it's black cube shape. Thanks for fellow viewer's comment pointing this and other nuances out.
When I see an artful movie like this I always look for a message. In my book an artist, as opposed to entertainer, does have a message, whether intended or unintended. To me the message here appears to be that the human being cannot establish contact with God on his own initiative. If you attempt to find a magical number (or word, or stone, etc.) allowing to talk to God - the ultimate result is death or insanity. Compare to "Raiders of the Lost Ark". The God will talk to you, if and when the time comes.
In this movie, apparently Max Cohen stops short of crossing the line. He burns the hard copy of "the number" and drills it out of his brain. He saves his life and sanity, but loses his math geniality. His buddy Sol goes all the way and pays the price. Frankly, I was surprised that Max was able to back off the brink, after seeing how nutty he is throughout the movie.
Few more symbols I noted:

Some scenes fade into darkness, others into bright light. Is this a symbol that something is bad or good?

The story about Max staring into the sun as a kid, despite being warned not to do so. This alludes to biblical notions of the God being like a bright light, excruciating to look at. It is unclear in the movie whether Max regrets doing it or not.

Several times when Max is sweating his brain in his apartment, there are noises behind the wall, resembling somebody making love - moaning, talking, etc. I still cannot make out this one - is that a symbol too.

Jewish scholars beat the Wall Street mafia when it comes to duking out for Max. Is this pitting God against the Golden Calf?

This movie raises more questions than gives answers to. And that is always good.