The visualization portrayed in Cold Fever is a daunting one. The intense weather, wind blowing, snow everywhere, making it hard to travel and see forced Hirata to put up a fight he did not even want to put up with. This parallels with his spiritual journey - he felt obligated to go to Iceland to put his parents to rest peacefully, even though he really wanted to spend his vacation in Hawaii. He faced many hardships and setbacks, including but not limited to flat tires, being car-jacked, snow blocking the major road to reach his destination and having his car break down. This all paid off once he overcame it all. The setbacks and frustrations leading up to the destination reflect the weather and the wide open, endlessly white land - difficult.
One distinct landmark that turned Hirata's views around was the funeral he came upon at the beginning. It was there that he met Laura, the funeral collector. He was taken aback by her views on funerals, how they were beautiful and allowed families to grieve and find closure. All he knew was what his culture forced him to believe - funerals were an obligation. However, if it were not for happening upon the particular funeral where he met Laura, he would not have been able to see the ritual as anything other than what he knows.
Another distinct feature of the landscape that symbolized the greatest part of Hirata's spiritual journey was the bridge which he had to cross to reach the river. Not only was the bridge a crossing-over, physically, but it also reflected the crossing-over in his journey. Once Hirata crossed the bridge, it was then that he got to focus on the burial ritual and for once really connect with what was around him. As he said at the end, a journey can take you to a place not on any map, and that holds true to parallel his spiritual journey in Iceland.
No comments:
Post a Comment