/film/ - FILM★

Bumping for you since it's been so long I don't remember much of this

He simply could not return.

>>4417
It's not the kind of situation you can apply a rigid systematic thinking to. There is no realistic explanation as to why he didn't go inside, unless you go for the psychological, 'he knew that if he reunited with them it would eventually degrade into what it was'. The psychological explanation could work, he never meets his wife again except through the mediating glass. But the film wasn't really grounded in realism to begin with so I don't feel the need to explain it away like that. He just simply could not return to them.

>>4421

but the way I see it, the fact that he went back to the club at least twice proved that he had a strong commitment to bring their family back together, otherwise he could have just left without her knowing it was ever him on the other side of the mirror. And I still dont understand why he jsut gave up his son, after trying so hard to get back into his life, and having their bonding experience on the road and at the bank

>>4429
Yes, but there's no pretty bow to tie it altogether like many people expect 'good writing' to have. He definitely had a strong commitment to speak with her and maybe, before he spoke with her, he wasn't sure whether or not he would stay afterward. I don't think he ever planned on staying with them but couldn't prove it if asked. The mother obviously hated or pitied herself, feeling guilt and inadequacy about abandoning her child.

If you asked Travis why he didn't reunite with them, I doubt he'd have the perfect logical answer to tie it all together and make sense of everything. There's just some 'power', some inclination that prevents him from being able to be a part of that life now. I've heard people compare it to Moses not being able to enter paradise, though I hesitate to develop that analogy further because I don't think the movie is biblical allegory.