The Lacke question

[notagirl]

I was wondering why I have no sympathy whatsoever for Lacke ??

He lost his best friend, then his wife / girlfriend and then he lost his own life for actively seeking and avenging for his love ones but fail. In the attack scene I remember the 2nd thought I have was Eli got a meal

So are we so TOTALLY manipulated by TA & JAL that we lost our moral compass ??

[a_contemplative_life]

By all objective measures, Lacke should be mourned as the fallen hero. But love wins out over justice in the end.

[ayaparis]

Good question. Somehow I find myself to have more sympathy on Hakan than Lacke.

Maybe I think it's because, Lacke is defined in the film as a "normal" person. He has a "normal" life, where he goes out with his buddies and have a laugh.

If you put it this way: Eli, Oskar and Hakan, they are characters that are missing out a lot on positive/satisfying things there is on life which makes you feel sympathy with them while Lacke, Jocke, Virgina etc. are somewhat satisfied with their life. In a room where you see normal people have a laugh, you tend to leave them alone whilst if you see a lonely person on a corner you get curious as to why they are so.

So are we so TOTALLY manipulated by TA & JAL that we lost our moral compass ??

While I believe that TA & JAL did a fantastic work telling a platonic love story, I don't think we are at fault for rooting with Eli than Lacke. I agree with ACL, if our moral compass truly is working then we made the right choice. Love won over justice (film John Q is a good movie about Ethics/Morals vs. Justice/Law).




Alright, I think I need some sleep to refresh and better explain myself

[lombano]

I think part of the reason is that we can blame Lacke for having messed up so badly in his life. For example, he could have proposed the whole buy-a-cottage thing to Virginia, but he never did until it was too late. Of all the characters in this story, he is by far the one with the fewest material constraints - he is an adult, he has money, and he has no obligations (job, kids, etc). In this respect, he's the exact opposite of Eli. We also never see him being particularly kind to anyone - he mistreats Virginia, talks to Hakan only to get a round of drinks out of him, etc.

[jonjon_z]

Another part of it, I think, is because throughout the movie we are seeing the story through Oskar's eyes. So we become him. Once Lacke holds the knife to Eli's throat then any sympathy we have for him goes right out the window.

[danielma]

I think part of the reason is that we can blame Lacke for having messed up so badly in his life. For example, he could have proposed the whole buy-a-cottage thing to Virginia, but he never did until it was too late. Of all the characters in this story, he is by far the one with the fewest material constraints - he is an adult, he has money, and he has no obligations (job, kids, etc). In this respect, he's the exact opposite of Eli. We also never see him being particularly kind to anyone - he mistreats Virginia, talks to Hakan only to get a round of drinks out of him, etc.

That was actually all the reasons I ended up finding Lacke so tragic and human...He took everything for granted untill he realized it was too late. Even in the moment where he yells at Virginia you can see regret form almost instantly in realization of what he has done.

I may stand alone, but I found Lacke to be kind of tragic in many ways.

Actually i feel the quote

"To Flee Is Life
To Linger is Death"

Actually kind of applies to Virgina and Lacke just as much as it does to Oskar and Eli. Where as Oskar and Eli Flee for Life, Lacke and Virginia are kind of the result of the oppesite "To Linger is Death"

I felt that their storie was a real nice counterpart for Oskar and Eli in some ways. And in this result I found Lacke to be somewhat Tragic and Human. He fits in line with every character, no one is a perfect angel in this film, everyone is flawed and everyone is very human.

So for this reason I ended up liking Lacke and feeling a little something for him and his friends

[Nicro]

I think part of the reason is that we can blame Lacke for having messed up so badly in his life. For example, he could have proposed the whole buy-a-cottage thing to Virginia, but he never did until it was too late. Of all the characters in this story, he is by far the one with the fewest material constraints - he is an adult, he has money, and he has no obligations (job, kids, etc). In this respect, he's the exact opposite of Eli. We also never see him being particularly kind to anyone - he mistreats Virginia, talks to Hakan only to get a round of drinks out of him, etc.

That was actually all the reasons I ended up finding Lacke so tragic and human...He took everything for granted untill he realized it was too late. Even in the moment where he yells at Virginia you can see regret form almost instantly in realization of what he has done.

I may stand alone, but I found Lacke to be kind of tragic in many ways.

Actually i feel the quote

"To Flee Is Life
To Linger is Death"

Actually kind of applies to Virgina and Lacke just as much as it does to Oskar and Eli. Where as Oskar and Eli Flee for Life, Lacke and Virginia are kind of the result of the oppesite "To Linger is Death"

I felt that their storie was a real nice counterpart for Oskar and Eli in some ways. And in this result I found Lacke to be somewhat Tragic and Human. He fits in line with every character, no one is a perfect angel in this film, everyone is flawed and everyone is very human.

So for this reason I ended up liking Lacke and feeling a little something for him and his friends

Totally agree.

I felt like all the characters from the drunks with Virginia, to Oskar and Eli to Tommy and, well, everybody in the story fit together very well. Not just in that they make the plot come together but how all of them show human nature.

[shaggles]

He's a threat to the hero of the story. It would be hard to be sympathetic with him and with Eli & Oskar at the same time.

[Casper]

The "good" person in me pities Lacke, he is not unlike myself, I procrastinate all the time. He had the power to change his circumstances, and he never really worked up the motivation to do so. He kept putting it off. But I understand, change and uncertainty is frightening.

The "evil" person in me brushes Lacke away as somebody who was simply a cog the inevitable series of events that, in part, do to his inaction, was destined to happen. He was a factor in an intricate equation that happened to have an ultimately desirable outcome.

[DavidZahir]

I do pity Lacke, quite like him even.