In this section of our Colossus Movie Guide for Infinity Pool, we look at important motifs that help us understand the film.
Cast
- James Foster – Alexander Skarsgård
- Em Foster – Cleopatra Coleman
- Gabi Bauer – Mia Goth
- Alban Bauer – Jalil Lespert
- Jennifer – Amanda Brugel
- Bex – Caroline Boulton
- Charles – Jeffrey Ricketts
- Dr. Bob Modan – John Ralston
- Detective Thresh – Thomas Kretschmann
- Written by – Brandon Cronenberg
- Directed by – Brandon Cronenberg
Important motifs in Infinity Pool
The masks of the Li Tolqa
Near the opening of Infinity Pool, James and Em watch as the resort staff do a quick introduction to one of the country’s special occasions. We’re told that the time before the rainy season is a holiday period for Li Tolqa. They call it umbrama, which means “the summoning”, and it involves song, dance, feasting, and, of course, masks. The aki mask.
The masks are a deformation of the regular human face. As fascinating as they are off-putting. When we first see them, they’re without much meaning. Just decorative items worn by the resort staff and for sale in the store. Later, after James has had his first cloning and he’s hanging out with the other clones, they break into the store and steal some masks. We then have this weird aside where each member of the group poses in their mask, almost like a mug shot or license photo. That moment puts special emphasis on the mask and this idea of becoming someone else. Which suddenly dovetails with James’s character arc of self-confrontation.
While in these masks, the group commits a pretty significant crime. They’re at their most hedonistic and violent. This establishes a dichotomy between James “with the mask on” and James “with the mask off”. Which can be redefined as the version of James who gives in to his baser instincts and the version of James who is more civilized and conscience. This lines up with how James’s entire character arc is about self-confrontation and the idea of letting go of who you have been in order to become someone new. In other words: duality.
The urns
After James goes through his first duplication and execution, the Li Tolqa government gives him an urn with the ashes of his other. Symbolically, this marks the end of one version of James. By the end of the film, he has three such urns, packed in his suitcase, ready to take home with him. One is the stagnant James who came to the island. Another is the hedonist who fell in with Gabi and her crew. And the third is the dog, the feral version that Gabi has James fight to the death. Each urn marks a different aspect of his psyche, a different part of his being, that has been removed, judged, and destroyed. And leaves us with the question: who is James now?
The rainy season
Before the rainy season, the Li Tolqa people celebrate. It’s a last hurrah before the storms come and shut everyone in and close everything down. At the end of Infinity Pool, the season is upon us. The tempest roars. James could have, like the others, gone home. Back to his normal day to day life. Instead, he opts to stay at the closed resort, alone, sitting out in the squall.
The initial reading of this seems representative of depression or retreating or giving up. But you could make the case that a rainy season is just that: a season. Like winter, it’s a low point. A time that’s inhospitable and limiting. There’s another side to the coin though. Limitation and isolation allow for rest and reflection. Recuperation. Regrouping. So that when the snow melts. Or when the clouds clear. You’re able to reconnect with the world, refreshed and renewed. It’s possible that Infinity Pool’s use of the rainy season implies something similar. That James has opted to end his marriage and go through a season of rain, so to speak, before recovering and beginning a new chapter of his life.
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