Watching The Film "Prestige" With A Psychologist - Relationships, Reviews

• "Prestige". UK, USA, 2006
• Director: Christopher Nolan
• Starring: Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, David Bowie, Scarlett Johansson

A film about magicians-illusionists who entered into irreconcilable hostility and rivalry. The film, which itself becomes a clever trick, keeps the viewer in psychological tension until the end, striking the imagination with a completely unexpected denouement. How do friends turn into rivals and what to do about it?

A vicious circle of revenge

Robert and Alfred were friends and partners in the show, but an accident during one of the tricks not only put an end to their friendship, but gave rise to a whole chain of intrigues, betrayals, and deception.

This is a veritable vendetta where human life is at stake

How did it all start? One of his friends accidentally made a mistake and became the unwitting culprit in the accident. The second could not forgive and took revenge, he made a steeper move. So a vicious circle of revenge arose with the impossibility of going beyond it, when an escalation (strengthening) of the conflict inevitably occurs.

The heroes of the film "Prestige" begin with attempts to disrupt the opponent's focus, and in the end it comes to the most terrible - murder. This kind of scheme leads to a protracted, growing conflict until one side destroys the other (sometimes paying for it with its own destruction).

Is there an alternative to irreconcilable hostility?

A parable will help answer this question.

One day a disciple came to Buddha and asked:

“Master, I've been hurt. How do you answer this? Evil?

- No, it will increase the amount of evil in the world.

- O Teacher, then I need to respond to the harm done to me with good?

- No, you are not enlightened.

- O Teacher, how then should one respond to evil?

- And evil must be answered with justice.

The same law applies in situations of conflict. If the inflicted damage is answered by inflicting damage, and even more, it will increase the problem. If the damage is ignored, an imbalance will arise, one of the parties will remain in the role of the offended Victim, the other - the guilty Aggressor. In the future, such a relationship will be dysfunctional.

There is only one way out - to restore balance

How do you end the enmity? Both parties agree on how the guilty party will compensate for the damage, and the past is no longer remembered

But this is exactly what the heroes of the film could not do: just talk, discuss what is happening and how to stop at the very edge.

The conflicting parties cannot always reach an agreement directly without intermediaries. Emotions, prejudice, mutual projections, past grievances interfere.

In conflict situations, mediators can effectively help - mediators in difficult negotiations and resolving conflict situations

The role of a mediator is not easy, he has to maintain stability, neutrality, not to get involved in the conflict.

With the help of a mediator, the conflicting parties may not even meet. The mediator communicates with them in turn or organizes a meeting at the negotiating table, where he regulates the communication of opponents, monitors its correctness.

An episode from the Soviet cartoon "Prostokvashino" can serve as a comic, but vivid illustration for the figure of the pick. Remember how the postman Pechkin played the role of a mediator in the conflict between the cat Matroskin and the dog Sharik, when the heroes did not want to communicate directly? Postman Pechkin passed information from one to another.

If the heroes of the film at the very beginning were able to talk directly or someone from the outside took on the role of a mediator in the conflict, the consequences would not be so sad and fatal

The magic of Nikola Tesla's discoveries

It is curious that one of the characters of "Prestige" is a real person - the great scientist Nikola Tesla (played by David Bowie), whose personality is covered with mysteries. In addition to real scientific achievements, incredible discoveries and inventions are attributed to him.

The filmmakers could not resist and addressed Nikola Tesla with a fantastic invention, which one of the heroes uses in his show

In general, the film is harmonious: the plot, the dynamics of the development of the action, the music, the acting - all this allows the viewer not to get bored and to wait with trepidation for the opening of the final focus.

Read also:

• Conflict partners. Who are mediators
• Tesla. The "culprit" of the Tunguska catastrophe
• Forgiveness with a sweep. About revenge and forgiveness