Dostoyevsky placed himself in the crucible between modernity, the passing of the old world and the disintegration of faith. In the process he attracted opprobrium from arch modernists such as DH Lawrence who wrote, “I don’t like Dostoevsky. He is like the rat, slithering along in hate, in the shadows, and in order to belong to the light professing love, all love.”
Rainer Sarnet’s adaptation of The Idiot both appeals to and resists many tendencies in Estonian culture. The theatricality of the film conveys the importance the stage played in defining Estonian national identity in the 19th and 20th centuries. The film takes place in the setting of Estonia’s impressive cathedrals and monasteries, it is heavy with the country’s deep love of symbolism yet, in the choice of adaptation, the film surrenders to the cultural imperialism it tried desperately to shake off.
THE IDIOT is a brilliant film, and most alarmingly, still relevant in a world where a saint can be considered as a fool and exploited as such.
The film marks the fall of the world of faith by exposing fragments of modernity into the story. Flaubert’s work is present, as are garish bikinis and light bulbs that blow out like candles. More damning is modernity’s view of beneficence. The kindly Prince sees those around him as they want to be seen. Does he flatter to deceive them, or is his lack of judgement genuine? Is he a saint or is he an idiot? His kindness is sexually unappealing and it is a modern malaise that moral progression falls short of inspiring procreation.
In earlier drafts, Dostoyevsky wrote the Prince as demonic, and receptive to sin. The mutability of these characters is captured beautifully by Sarnet. Pity and love are often confused: the most beautiful woman, Anastassya, is also the most hideous. We stare at her beauty and look directly into the eyes of the devil.
Religious imagery and idolatry are reflected in material pursuits. When faith in religion dies, what takes over is a faith and love devoted to abstract things, to beauty. You see your own desires reflected in others.
Death and the cruelty of nature stalk Sarnet’s film. Some have embraced death, some hold it at arm’s length. Others exist in the world, already resigned to death – “My soul is in hell” Anastassya confesses. Like Christ, the good Prince is acutely aware that he will die soon. The crumbling of faith in the face of modernity is laid bare in the scientific interpretation of his religious visions – just an aura he experiences before succumbing to epileptic fits. He is condemned to live and die in a world for which he is too good, which does not understand him or how to deal with him.
THE IDIOT is a brilliant film, and most alarmingly, still relevant in a world where a saint can be considered as a fool and exploited as such.
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