The Road, The Movie, The Part 2

Blog #8                                                                                             9/24/19
Junhong Li                                                                                         Period 1

So, today we returned to our adventures with the boy and his father, traversing down The Road. 

Beginning at 34:04, the two spot a large house on the side of the road and decide to check it out. As the two enter, we hear whimpering and blood dripping. The father discovers the cellar and enters with a small lighter, to discover a huge group of people huddled up in there, naked and dirty, asking for help. A key line that was left out of the book but presented in the movie was one of the captives screaming, "Wait! Wait! They're taking us to the smokehouse!"(at 37:22). As the two escape from the cellar, the boy notices the people who live in the large house coming back, just in time to warn his father. The two then escape up into the second-floor bathroom, where we see a sink and a bathtub, both covered in blood. When the father overhears someone coming to the bathroom to change, he immediately pulls out the gun and tries to give it to the boy. Interestingly enough, he tells the boy "When they get ahold of you, you're going to have to do it." In this case, the father means the boy has to commit suicide, not kill his captor. Unfortunately, the boy declines the gun, causing the father to attempt to kill the boy. The father isn't encouraging survival anymore, here he is encouraging a swift painless death. This extreme change in behavior depicts how much he loves the boy. With the remaining bullet left, he would rather suffer in place of the boy than have any chance of the boy suffering. Fortunately enough, one of the captives attempts an escape right before the father pulls the trigger, preventing the person who wanted to change to ever reach the bathroom. The father notices before it is too late, and the two run out of the house. That night, the boy questions if they would ever eat people. The father's answer was no, no matter how much they were starving-- because they were the good guys, the ones carrying the fire. 

In the next scene, the two discover the father's childhood home. As a show of character development, the boy is now afraid of homes, afraid of what they would find in there. The same is true when they discover the bunker. Right before that, a scene of the two traveling is shown, with a monologue from the father over it. He says, "Everyday is a lie, but I am slowly dying. That is not a lie. I am trying to prepare him for the day when I am gone"(at 49:05). In the book, such a line would mean the father was teaching the boy how to survive by himself. In contrast, with the father's actions in the movie, it depicts a darker tone, implying the father teaching the boy how to commit suicide when he is gone.

When the two discovers the bunker, the boy begs his father to not go down there, once again in fear of what they might find. The father does not listen and goes down anyways, to discover food, water, and a place to stay for days. This shows a contrast in the boy's and the father's characteristics. If the boy was traveling alone, he would've never entered this bunker, he wouldn't be able to survive by himself for long. The father knows this and is taking all the risks for the boy, but in doing so, he also knows he cannot keep the boy safe forever. But for now, the two are safe and happy. Here the two spend a few days and the father teaches the boy to be thankful. Another very important line here is the boy saying "Cheetas" only for the father to correct him, showing once again the boy's poor childhood experience. The two spent a few more days in the bunker until the father heard something approaching. They quickly left the bunker, taking all that they could, showing the father's caution, but also his fear. 

In the next scene, we meet Ely, the traveling old man. The first thing Ely does when the father and boy approach, is throw down his bag and declare he's got nothing valuable. This shows the dangers one would encounter on the road, and how nobody is a "good guy" anymore. A difference between the film and the book is how Ely mentions he had a son too. The father also does not question Ely's name, claiming it's not real. The father invites Ely to have dinner with them, and the two talked for a bit after the boy goes to sleep. As a sign of trust, the father even shows Ely their gun. We stopped watching right after the two talk about being the last man alive, at 1:10:25.

(Credits: The Road (2009) directed by John Hillcoat)