Product: Rosemary's Baby (El Bebe de Rosemary) [ NON-USA FORMAT, NTSC, Reg.4 Import - Latin America ] (1968)
Rating: 5.0
Social more than satanical
One of Stephen King's favorite films. Why ? Polanski goes beyong anything we can imagine in reincarnating the devil, in bringing the antechrist into this world. The son of Satan is born, like Christ, from a woman, but without her consent, except of course the consent of the husband who gets some good and hefty kick-backs in his profession (he is an actor). But the whole film is not so much to explore that diabolical side of things, but rather the social and psychological sides of the event. The mother is thus described in full details, day after day, and her developing psychosis is the main thread of the thrilling suspense Polanski builds it shot after shot in the film. And the trap is unescapable, and the psychosis has to be lived through and overcome. And her maternal instinct will definitely do it though the film remains open on the issue. The second level of exploration is social : we could consider that project of a manipulation of the pregnancy of this woman, or rather of the manipulation of this woman as a mother, as a criminal act, especially since it goes against the will of the mother herself, but the whole society has absolutely no human recourse against this enterprise. The mother is totally abandoned and everyone is giving a helping hand in the project, just as if the whole society, even if it is only for a bunch of greenbacks, was endorsing the project of bringing that satanical child into the world. It is disquieting and very unsettling, not so much because it is the devil's son, but because there is no way for the victim to escape the situation, to be protected. Society, be it only because of its love of money, is endowed with the will and desire and interest and acceptance of such a project. It is thus an allegory of evil in the world. It is produced by our good financially-minded society and by our materialistic minded neighbors. This even regenerates the diabolical project into some respectful dimension because the project itself is not material and money-greedy. No matter what the project would be, something that may change habits and customs, that may break routines and humdrum everyday boredom would be endorsed by society, by all kinds of people, just for the sake of an evasion from sickening money and the love of material riches. Is the film optimistic ? I doubt it. It is a deeply pessimistic vision of human nature in our present phase of human development, what some people call post-modernism. Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, Paris Universities II and IX.