"All my life I always wanted to fly. I always wanted to live like a hawk. I know you're not supposed to be jealous of anything, but... to take flight, to soar above everything and everyone, now that's living." - Hugo, "O"
"O" (2001) is a modern adaptation of Shakespeare's Othello. The movie takes much the same course as the play; following with the same themes such as jealousy and plots. The idea of jealousy is my main focus.
In the first scene we see this when Hugo mentions he is jealous of the hawk. The dark, beautiful creature that flies above all else. It is loved by all even though it is so very different. While watching the blurred doves fly around the enclosed room, I began to make a connection. The doves are small and white. They fly in their room, following one another. They are ignored. The hawk, on the other hand, is dark and mysterious. It is brought out at every basketball game. It is beloved. This shows what Hugo thinks of Odin. He sees Odin as the hawk, flying above all else, living life on a never ending high. He comes from a different background and is different in almost every way and yet nobody fears him. They respect him. Hugo is like everyone else and is simply ignored. He is pushed aside like the white doves.
When planning and beginning to write this post, I wanted to find the exact quote from the beginning of the movie. When searching, I happened upon this one:
"All my life I always wanted to fly. I always wanted to live like a hawk. I know you're not supposed to be jealous of anything, but... to take flight, to soar above everything and everyone, now that's living. But a hawk is no good around normal birds. It can't fit in. Even though all the other birds probably wanna be hawks; they hate him for what they can't be. Proud. Powerful. Determined. Dark. Odin is a hawk. He soars above us. He can fly. One of these days, everyone's gonna pay attention to me. Because I'm gonna fly too." - Hugo, "O"
It was exciting to see my theories proven in this way, but it also made me a little disappointed. Does the movie need to state this so clearly? Can they leave anything to be inferred? It seems as if the entire movie takes out all of the questions that one could get from reading Othello. In the play, we can question if Emilia knew she was doing something wrong, but in the movie we are shown quite clearly she did. In the play, we question if Othello and Desdemona consummated their marriage, but in the movie we see that clearly as well. Now, this one small mystery I greatly enjoyed analyzing, has been proven in the most obvious of ways. It could be the point of the film; trying to keep the viewer from leaving with doubt. I just found the doubt to be part of the fun in Othello. I absolutely loved sitting after finishing reading and discussing every possibility. Analyzing Shakespeare's every word. Now I am left to deal with the obvious and it has left me feeling a little angry. Did anyone else feel the same way? Or is do you disagree?
Source for quotes: "O"
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