Donnie Darko Questions

[Front-Ranger]

I've always been curious as to where the screenwriter/director Richard Kelly got all this stuff...The living dead, the manipulated living, the living receiver.  It's some really deep stuff. How guided are we by God or other forces among many other things. 

One of my favorite scenes has to be when Donnie and his girlfriend are watching The Evil Dead and this operatic music comes on and Frank in the bunny rabbit shows up.  Danny asks him why are you wearing that silly rabbit costume (well maybe not exact wordchoice) and Frank asks "why are you wearing that silly man-suit."

Many of the concepts presented in the movie remind me of those in The Tibetan Book of the Dead as interpreted by the Tibetan Buddhist scholar Robert Thurman.

[Aloysius J. Gleek]

Since it's Donnie Darko Month: October 1 - 30, leading up to Hallowe'en,
then back  to October 2 again, it seems appropriate to post this--

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PUFJmsCZLE&feature=related[/youtube]
(See 1:37-1:50 for Frank, whole again, yet...)


[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXbBlGBoUms[/youtube]
(See 1:49 and etc. Frank was Donnie's sister's boyfriend, and the artist
who created the mask and costume which he wore on Hallowe'en. In
the alternate timeline, when Donnie first avoided the jet engine and his
own fate, Frank accidently killed Gretchen, and then Donnie shot Frank
in the eye, killing him. When the 'original' October 2 timeline (with,
spookily, the October 30 jet engine) went back, killing Donnie, everything
else returned--but with an echo of a dream of a memory....)


Frank was played by actor James Duval

[Front-Ranger]

Thanks for reminding us it is DD month, friend!! And, point taken, that is Frank under that stupid bunny suit!! But, you've got to admit, Frank looks a lot like Donnie's mom, even has the same hair-do!!

And now I had that Tears for Fears song embedded in my brain all night long! Thanks a whole heck of a lot!!

[Jeff Wrangler]

Many of the concepts presented in the movie remind me of those in The Tibetan Book of the Dead as interpreted by the Tibetan Buddhist scholar Robert Thurman.

Robert Thurman is quoted in the current New Yorker article about the Dalai Lama.

He is also the father of Uma Thurman (Robert Thurman, not the Dalai Lama).

[Front-Ranger]

Thanks for the heads-up friend. Robert Thurman is the American who possibly knows the Dalai Lama the best, with Richard Gere as the second person.

The idea of DL being the father of Uma Thurman!!  

Later: arrrghhh! An interminably long article, with only one small quote by Thurman. But thanks the same friend!

[Front-Ranger]

Major distraction this morning, trying to figure out the meaning of a smurf that appeared in a recent dream. You think Brokies are bad? Check this out!

Heres some things that I dont really think are coincedental, and some are possible solutions if you don't like the superhero idea. First, Donald is known to mean ruler of the world, Frank comes from roots meaning free, Gretchen meaning pearl, and Gerald( the name Donnie decides to call himself when talking to Jim Cunningham) means spear carrier. Also, Jim Cunningham's initials are indeed JC, which may be religious commentary parodying a Christ figure. Could the whole story be a Smurfs playoff? Is it possible that Donnie represents the Smurf way of life, and that Frank is like Smurfette, sent by Gargamel to spy, but the overwhelming goodness of the Smurf way of life changed him. The 28 days, 6 hours, 42 minutes, and 12 seconds adding up to 88, along with the movie taking place in 1988, and the speed at which the car travels fast enough to go back in time in Back to the Future is 88 MPH, may very well play a role in the IMBD's naming of Donnie Darko as the 88th best movie of all time. Also, Cellar Door could be considered a riddle, when unscrambled to mean Recall Rood, which Jesus needed to do, as Biblically referenced, in order to save all of mankind, rood being the concept of the group being more important than the individual. The last concept is from early in the movie, when Frank wakes Donnie up, and says I've been watching you. I believe this is no coincidence especially when we see a skull in the eye poster Donnie has on his wall.

[Mandy21]

OH


MY


GOD


!!!


From where did you get that quote, Lee?  Cause I don't ever wanna go to whatever website he or she visits.  Eek!

[Mandy21]

Article in Huffington Post this morning, called "5 Teen Movies That You Should Watch Again":

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/celeste-yim-/best-teen-movies_b_3193789.html

Interesting choice for #4:

4. Donnie Darko (2001)

Why are you wearing that stupid man suit?

Donnie Darko is the strangest movie you will ever find normal. I have seen this movie at least 20 times and am still far from comprehending half of it. Donnie is constantly being pulled in different directions. He feels pressure from his parents and his psychiatrist to be normal, a human-sized rabbit is ordering him around, he's insecure about girls; he is torn. And I take comfort in the fact that, to some extent, everyone feels some sort of Donnie stage throughout his or her teenhood. It's as if we can hear Donnie's thoughts throughout the movie: Who are you? Who am I? Why am I like this? What does it mean? Donnie's arrogance hits a wall when the rabbit, in retort to questioning the rabbit suit, asks, "Why are you wearing that stupid man suit?" This is when it becomes painfully clear that none of Donnie's questions are answerable.

[RouxB]

I read that too and have to agree. I think Jake's performance as Donnie Darko is almost on par with his Jack Twist. But I never fell in love with Donnie Darko...

 

[CellarDweller]

I've watched DD a few times, I just don't get it.