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Mystery Angel
Sat Sep 30, 2006 2:38 am
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:heart: The Hidden Plot :heart:
Scene Summary of Down Once More (Final Scene of Main Story)
Paragraph summary: Christine returns to Erik, again showing him her choice and her love, begging him to follow her and also answering his earlier proposal…she then goes to escape the looming mob and the darkness, thus leaving Erik with a huge decision.
:rose: Get ready, because you’re about to see this final scene of the main story in a way you may have never visualized it before!
They show Erik with the music box—it has a red/gold base here (same as it does when he comes out of the lair). They now clearly show the head of the bird on his bed—it’s a phoenix, not a swan, BUT the phoenix was called the “holy swan of song” in HCA’s poem “The Phoenix.” And it was mentioned as being black. That they show it now is a clue to the whole smashing of mirrors scene. The phoenix is a royal mythological bird that sets itself on fire and is reborn from the ashes. Erik set his opera house kingdom on fire ... (more soon.)
To see the amazing parallels to Erik/Christine and this poem (even Raoul as the “sparrow with tinsel on his wings”—here it is (and again, his bed is called a black swan bed in the companion book):
from Hans Christian Andersen’s—The Phoenix
The Phoenix bird, dost thou not know him? The Bird of Paradise, the holy swan of song! On the car of Thespis he sat in the guise of a chattering raven, and flapped his black wings, smeared with the lees of wine; over the sounding harp of Iceland swept the swan’s red beak; on Shakspeare’s shoulder he sat in the guise of Odin’s raven, and whispered in the poet’s ear “Immortality!” and at the minstrels’ feast he fluttered through the halls of the Wartburg.
The Phoenix bird, dost thou not know him? He sang to thee the Marseillaise, and thou kissedst the pen that fell from his wing; he came in the radiance of Paradise, and perchance thou didst turn away from him towards the sparrow who sat with tinsel on his wings.
The Bird of Paradise—renewed each century—born in flame, ending in flame! Thy picture, in a golden frame, hangs in the halls of the rich, but thou thyself often fliest around, lonely and disregarded, a myth—“The Phoenix of Arabia.”
In Paradise, when thou wert born in the first rose, beneath the Tree of Knowledge, thou receivedst a kiss, and thy right name was given thee—thy name, Poetry.
Erik has just had his world rocked by Christine’s kiss and the knowledge of her love, then he did the hardest thing he’d ever done—the one thing he never wanted to do and still doesn’t—by telling her to go away. At this point he thinks he’ll never see her again. That she’s now gone. He has reverted to his childhood, as often is the case when people are extremely emotionally upset. The monkey toy gave him comfort as a child, which he later made into the music box, and so he’s turned to it again. At this point he doesn’t care what happens to him. Christine is his life—“you alone can make my song take flight”—without her he doesn’t want to exist and doesn’t care if they find him. He probably wants to die. (A few sleuthers feel the music box is evil and is luring him back into hiding.)
ERIK: “Masquerade, Paper faces on parade ... Masquerade Hide your face so the world will never find you ...”
His countenance appears ten years younger; he looks like a little boy sitting there as he sadly smiles and sings. As the camera pans they show the lit globe with the white square underneath that was in WHYBMH. This could be a clue showing that he’ll choose the heavenly kingdom and light. It looks a lot like a gate I’ve seen regarding La Feria too (Festival of Lights in Seville), but I think it’s a castle … Also, they show a secret passage in the background never seen before—maybe another clue that Erik will escape.
They show Christine by the wall, probably having watched him for some time before he caught sight of her. I’m sure at this point she is floored. Despite her king’s command that she go, she has come back to Erik, wanting to see him, to get through to him. She knows the mob is closing in and it was for her safety that he ordered her to go but she doesn’t want to leave him without making one final desperate plea. That Raoul let her return to the king, alone, after all that has happened there speaks volumes—the queen has made her choice, she has matured, and Raoul realizes he no longer has any say in her life/decisions. She doesn’t belong to him. He now recognizes who the true enemy is—the Phantom spirit. Raoul heard the king order them to find safety, so he knows he’s not dangerous.
To see Erik so vulnerable probably shakes her up a bit as you can tell from her expression. She hates to see him in pain and realizes from the words he’s singing that he plans to stay in the darkness and hide.
He sees her and sings, “Christine, I love you.” First she looks shocked, then she gives a little smile, as if his words were just what she needed and wanted to hear.
Christine wants to encourage Erik to join her in the light. By the anxious way she looks down at the ring, it’s almost as if she’s thinking “I hope this will work” but she looks worried that it won’t, and that he’ll still choose to remain behind.
An unlit lamp is beside her—from http://www.dreammoods.com/dreamdictionary/l.htm
symbolism of Lamps / lampposts:
"...dimly-lit or unlit lamp signifies being overwhelmed by emotional issues. You have lost your ability to find your own way."
Erik lost his ability to find his own way; Christine came back to show him she would help him (by giving him her ring that signified light, healing, protection) And by placing the ring into his hand and folding his fingers over it, she was showing him she was his for eternity and that she loved him. More on that soon.
"...lamps represent guidance, hope, inspiration and reassurance."
***In Spanish subtitles she sings something like “I did this so we can have hope”--she has come back to guide, encourage, and inspire him.
"...someone who you least expect will prove to be a great friend in your time of need."
**Raoul did that when he sang, “say the word and I will follow you”… more soon …
Erik watches her approach, his expression lighter. He may know she can’t stay with him—thinking also that he doesn’t deserve her—but still his heart wishes for it and to see her approach when he thought he’d never see her again gives him gladness. He doesn’t want to see her go. He loves her. She looks at him sadly. Also she keeps looking at the ring, again, I feel it’s as if she’s wondering if her message to him will work. The ring that means light, healing, protection and engagement. The ring that is hers. The ring that she was NOT returning, because it wasn’t Erik’s ring to begin with and there was no longer a choice to be made—on her part. He had set her free.
He appears to be looking at her ring, as she looks at him, then he raises his eyes to her face after she has looked down at the ring.
When she doesn’t look back at him, he looks at the ring she’s sliding off her finger, his expression puzzled. His brows even draw in a bit in confusion as he intently peers at what she’s doing before they switch to a shot of her. He has no idea what she’s doing.
Notice how hard it is for her to get that ring off. If it was bought for her—it would have been custom made to fit her, but her knuckle turns red as she works to get it off--if you look close, it almost looks as if it's cut. Another reason why I believe this was an inherited ring. (The red knuckle could also apply to Erik and be another clue that she belongs to him)
She holds out her hand as if asking for his, and when he only looks up at her face as if still trying to figure out what she’s doing, she reaches for his left hand, just as he did with her earlier. Left is symbolic of marriage; left is also symbolic of Erik. He looks down at his hand as if he’s never seen it before. It’s as if he’s desperately trying to follow her actions and what she’s doing.
She lays the ring in the center of his palm, closing his fingers around it AND around her fingers—she leaves her fingers in his palm holding the ring. She then cups her other hand around his—holding his fingers around hers and holding his hand—exactly as he did to her earlier, when he asked her to spend an eternity with him. By giving him her ring—with the 11 crystals, again all of it symbolic of protection, healing, and light—she was telling him, “Now let me be your guardian—your Angel of Music (Angel meaning guardian in this time period)—come with me to the light and let me dry your tears; no one can harm you, my words will warm and calm you (and they did) . . .Let me be your freedom, let me be your light, come with me where you’ll be safe and no one will find you, where your fears will be far behind you . . .”
She was telling him by giving him her ring that things were not all hopeless as he thought, that she didn’t think him unworthy of her, and she still wanted to lead him to the light, also offering to protect him, telling him no one would find him, etc—all that the AIAOY song meant: A song about being led away from the darkness. They even start to play the song the minute she looks down at the ring after he sings, “Christine, I love you.” By putting it into his hand the exact way he did to her, the symbolism is unchanged—she was telling him it was HIM she wanted to spend an eternity with—that HE held her heart—and that she would be his wife.
And the above picture says it all. Notice how her hand has completely closed around his. Even her pinky from her other hand is no longer up but is lying against his thumb. Notice also that her fingers are still in his palm—she closed his fingers around both the ring AND her fingers. She was holding his hands, a symbolic way of telling him she was his—exactly as he held her hands before when he sang “an eternity of this.” They were fast with this clue—immediately switching cameras. You can only see this last frame if you slow mo or step by step.
This was the foundation for an avvy (signature) I made on the WB board but I’m posting it here because it shows the close-ups of the ring into each other’s hands—exactly being the same—even both of them being the left hand.
He looks up at her with a disbelieving little smile on his face, and the way he looks at her, he knows exactly what she’s telling him. Again, the man’s a genius. He’s not stupid. He may have had a hard time following what she was doing before, but only because he never expected it. Also his emotions are in turmoil—and he might not have been thinking clearly. But the following pictures are not the look of a man who’s been rejected—the smile (you can see the crease on his right side where it tips up), the expression of awe—this is the look of a man who’s just been given hope.
In the last shot, he looks all the way up at her, as if he still cannot fully believe it, his expression one of wonder—and she also gives a slight smile, as if to assure him she means it. Her expression softens in love, as if all she wants to do is stay with him, but she turns to go.
Now she looks very sad—because she knows she has to leave. All this time she’s been holding his hand—because they show her pull her hand away as she walks from him, and they show his other hand, which at some point had moved to cover hers. Her hands were holding his this entire time, as his were holding hers.
She did all she could to show him her heart, and that she wants him. She has given Erik a choice. Now he must make a decision.
He’s sad to see her go; he cries. Both of them don't want this separation, but they know she must go before the mob arrives because they'e after her too (the king wants her safe; why he commanded her to leave earlier); also she doesn’t want any part of the darkness that is phantom.
Goodbyes are hard; what she’s asking of him is hard—to leave a way of life he’s known forever as his protection, and to go into the light with her. Into the world that shunned him, abused him, mocked him. Yes, he’s always wanted the light, but it’s still hard to leave the familiar. He doesn’t know if he can after all that’s happened. He’s vulnerable—he’s always depended upon the Phantom spirit for protection, for guidance, ever since he was a child. Without the Phantom he doesn’t see how he'll survive, (This is shown in first part of DOM when he sings how people treat him.) Even though phantom has been his jailer and has made it obvious how he’s turned against him, the king is still uncertain of what to do.
A shadow crosses his face—but Christine is in the boat already, because they show that shadow as she sings. It is not Christine’s shadow. Phantom spirit is back and is trying to lure the king to remain in the darkness.
Shadow crosses his face—after she leaves:
As the king hears her first words of love to him, the shadow dissolves until it is totally gone ... Erik closes his eyes, tears fall onto his cheeks, he swallows. Again, her love—in song this time—has made the Phantom flee. Maybe Erik resisted the evil spirit, after hearing her sing to him. But at the same time, he might be struggling with how she thinks she can help him—and him actually being able to go into the light—due to the entire night’s events and all he’d allowed/done. I’m sure he’s battling many questions and thoughts at this time…
Her love song to him begins—she’s in boat—shadow starts to disappear as she sings:
Shadow completely dissolves:
A very important clue about the song: Notice where Christine starts singing it:
CHRISTINE: “Say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime . . .”
This is not the beginning of the AIAOY song. This is the line directly following the lines that Erik sang in PONR when he proposed to her, “Anywhere you go let me go too, Christine, that’s all I ask of (you). . .”
She took up right where Erik left off and is answering the proposal he made in PONR and his plea of her leading him to the light—she is singing to him, and they show even more proof of this later.
When he hears her song of love to him, her answer to his proposal, also underlining to him what she meant by giving him her ring--as she further urges him to change his mind about staying behind and asks him to come to her—his expression/body language is as if he’s being faced with a difficult decision. By his smile he gave her after she gave him the ring, he's amazed by what she’s told him with that silent message, and I think he admires the woman she’s become, but he can’t see her as his guard, his protector. Especially, when he’s always been hers, and even she was susceptible to the Phantom spirit.
But then ...
He hears Raoul. And his eyes flick wider in surprise, as if now he’s fully alert. He never expected Raoul to sing to him in his mind—but Raoul now knows King Music, has seen him, and realizes he truly exists and is indeed a king. In the memory/idea of his childhood he has found a living man. (We know Raoul can do the telepathy, from WHYBMH and also when he runs into the stables before cemetery scene.) He’s seen Christine and the king together in PONR, and then to make it even clearer to him, he’s seen Christine’s decision in how she went forward to Erik and kissed him so passionately—and he realizes that she truly belongs to the king. Her heart is his. Rauol doesn’t have the stance of someone who’s victorious. He seems defeated, resigned, but he’s made a vow to Christine as her priest to always protect her, and now he’s telling the king—
RAOUL: “Say the word and I will follow you.”
It appears that only those who want others to hear them singing in the mind can hear it, since Christine heard Erik sing to her on rooftop but Raoul did not. But now both of them want Erik to hear them, because this song is to him. When Raoul sings the above, Christine is looking toward him then looks away—so she heard him too. He has just promised to serve the king if the king wills it, and I imagine she was surprised to hear that. You can tell Erik is.
One more thing about this line. On the rooftop, Christine sings it; here Raoul does. If it was just him singing to her there would be no reason for him to sing it since it appears she’s going with him. Why should he sing to her—“Say the word and I will follow you”—since she is with him in the boat? What word needs to be said? This was not all about Christine—it was about the king too. The priest of light has just offered to serve the king, and as such, offer his protection. Remember the symbolism of an unlit lamppost, which they just showed— “someone who you least expect will prove to be a great friend in your time of need …”
The below pictures show Erik’s eylids flick up as he becomes alert upon hearing Raoul—it's easier to see in motion--but here it is anyway:
And NOW Erik comes out of his bedroom, his face a mask of shock. He didn't come out when she was singing—only after Raoul did. He is obviously stunned, as if he cannot believe that Raoul would forgive him, even offer to protect and follow him as king. In Raoul, he has met a worthy opponent. He knows that with Raoul to serve him, he has a chance outside, since Raoul is a protector of those who serve the light—and Erik knows he is his brother. (Some believe that Raoul knew too, and his mission was to help his brother from the moment he came to opera house, but got sidetracked by seeing Christine again and later was deceived by Phantom.)
To Erik, suddenly the idea of a life with Christine doesn’t seem unreachable. They also show him in picture above cupping the ring.
CHRISTINE: “Share each day with me, each night, each morning...”
When she sings this, she turns around to look at Erik and they show her mouth isn’t moving—it's closed. She is singing into Erik’s mind, as they’ve shown her doing before, in AOM, POTO, and the carriage, etc. And we already know he can sing into her mind. Another clue that this whole song was to Erik. They show twin statues of what looks like could be Atlas carrying the world. Notice also—her sleeves are again up now that she’s with Raoul. She is not yielded to him, because her heart doesn't belong to him, like it does to Erik (which they've shown her sing in foreign subtitles--for some reason my DVD player on my main PC doesn't capture the subtitles in pics anymore, though I'm going to try it with the one on my laptop when we get it working again ... also remember to click on any pictures surrounded by blue dots if you want a bigger picture.)
Right before they switch to Erik, they show her face and she looks as if she's about to cry. They're about to turn the corner, and she knows she may be looking at him for the last time. She has no guarantee he'll make the choice she wants him to make; her brows sail upward in the middle, her face very sad. It is then that they switch to Erik. This is not the face of a happy woman (this is regular and in two different zooms, since I’ve found that some can see better smaller and some bigger.):
ERIK: “You alone, can make my song take flight.”
The soothing way he sings this is as if he’s reassuring her. He even smiles the slightest bit, his lips turning up at one corner, as if to say, “It’s all right. Don’t cry. You’re the only woman for me, the reason for my existence. I’m coming to you.” He sings the words in present tense—not saying she’s the only one who could have made his dreams take flight—but that she is the only one who CAN make them take flight. He has a bittersweet expression—he has realized his dream—Christine loves him and wants him for her husband—but the point of him reaching that realization has been very traumatic for all involved.
He sings the end of MOTN to the AIAOY song—the ending line has the same tune as “Anywhere you go let me go too”—He sang that on the bridge—but he doesn’t sing it now. He already is going to be with her so doesn’t need to ask it of her any longer—now it’s all about reassuring her that he’ll soon be there. But first, he has to take care of some business …
And suddenly Erik doesn’t have the ring in his hands. Judging from what I believe this to mean—when the ring disappeared from around her neck before she kissed Raoul at Masquerade Ball, and when it disappeared from her hands in DOM, and we know she’d planned to marry Erik by her words and actions in clues—the disappearance of the ring means “acceptance of the promise.” and the ring also means protection. So this is a clue that he has accepted Christine’s silent plea—to join her in the light, and by doing so, he will also marry her, as they both want. And we see even more hints of this in a minute. And he now has and has accepted the protection needed to destroy the hold the phantom has over him.
The red and gold throne is very visible now. A king’s throne. Also what looks like a dragon (?) is to the right of it, showing just who ruled the king. But the king has had enough—and they now show FOUR candles lit, when before he went into bedroom there were only three lit. Erik is back, and he’s about to put an end to the darkness of his life—the music of the night is over—because he wants the light and Christine—and from all her actions and her song to him he realizes all that is still possible. He’s angry—at himself for letting it come to this, at Phantom for deceiving him that Christine could never love him because of his face, etc.
He storms down the stairs and they show the mannequin. We have been shown repeatedly in this movie that it symbolizes Christine. We see it has the veil on—though Christine dropped it on the floor earlier. But one thing—he's not looking at the mannequin. Remember the importance of how they've shown the POVs before. Since Erik never looks at the mannequin, we are seeing it from the mannequin’s—or rather, Christine’s POV. Just as we did when she was looking at him earlier when he sang “An eternity of this before your eyes”—the veil was missing then. She wasn’t ready, because the darkness first had to be broken over his life. But now she’s ready, because he’s about to break the darkness. We’re seeing this through her POV, not his.
He pays absolutely no attention to the mannequin, but as he comes into view, through the mannequin, it’s as if they’re showing us foreshadowing of how Christine will be feeling—what will happen in the future. He’s singing about breaking the darkness over his life, he’s accepted the ring, and when he comes into the mannequin’s view—The mannequin smiles.
It actually appears to go from an unsmiling expression to a smile as he walks by—and I believe this is to show Christine will be overjoyed. Her king is making the decision she asked of him, and she’s wearing HIS veil, waiting for him to join her. Just like the statue of Venus (also symbolizing Christine) seemed to smile at cemetery during sword fight—the Christine mannequin now gives the same slight smile that she always did when they showed Christine (Emmy) in the dress as the mannequin in MOTN and STYDI, and Emmy gave that same slight smile.
First is a picture of what the mannequin looked like earlier—and then a series of pics showing the smile get bigger. When he comes into the mannequin’s view, the smile gets biggest, though it is always slight as Christine's was. But the entire mannequin seems more lifelike—the color high, the cheeks bunched up and blushing—as if showing Christine will be the happy blushing bride and get her wish. Erik is coming to her. Also, this is just like what happened with Isabella bursting out of her bridal chamber in her wedding gown the moment after Robert was freed from demons in the Robert le Diable opera. And Christine was symbolic of Isabella too.
before:
not smiling:
starting to smile:
Erik in full view--smile bigger:
Here is a side by side to compare a before/after:
[img][img]http://img282.imageshack.us/img282/9175/pdvd5461bb.png[/img]
I believe they did this computer graphically--even the angle of the face is different and down more, as if she's staring straight at Erik--instead of up and lofty as it was, as if she looked beyond them. In short, her face looks almost human, lifelike.
As he sings about the music of the night being over, they show a better view of what they hinted at earlier when Christine unveiled the mirror—what looks like part of the phantom’s cloak, as if he’s sitting by the curtain and mirror, and a chain is there. I believe this shows the phantom spirit is there—any reference to “chains” in the movie is about him.
When Erik sings “Music” they show what looks like a blue music staff zip across both his head and toward his heart only on that one word—“music.” And I believe this is the clue of what those blue lines mean—to show us he IS Music. King Music. As other clues have also shown.
Perhaps it shows up both in his middle and his head because Christine is also Music, and it shows in her head throughout movie—but now they are one and soon will be joined in marriage, so now it shows in the king in both places. And the blue ray of light is thick and STRONG, stronger than it's ever been before. His spirit is now strong—he is overcoming the darkness.
Where only one mirror was uncovered before, now two are suddenly uncovered. “2” again meaning control/possession (Erik & Phantom). I think this is symbolic of Erik breaking the phantom’s control over him—and he smashes each mirror twice, again pointing to that. But he smashes THREE mirrors. Three = Phantom spirit. So the king is not only breaking the control Phantom had over him, but also destroying the power/hold the phantom had over the kingdom and people there. And the last mirror he breaks and walks through is the mirror that symbolizes the king—red and gold. He is breaking his hold over him entirely.
In the symbols chart/book, mirrors represent magic and were used in divination, and Erik was called a magician. Symbolically, mirrors were doorways for spirits to enter. They showed that shadow approach the moment Christine uncovered the mirror (Victorian symbolism pointing to that veiled mirrors prevented spirits from entering the area), and then they showed the specter between those mirrors, which were suddenly wide apart—and are still wide apart. By breaking these mirrors the king is putting an end to his kingdom of darkness—his music of the night—and to the phantom’s control over him. As he breaks the first mirror, in the mirror’s reflection fire falls from inside the lair—first time they’ve shown it fall INSIDE his lair, the seat of his throne—the central point of the kingdom (the heart of it) because it’s where the king resided. A lot of it begins to fall as he breaks the second mirror—they show it in the reflections of the first mirror. Also, when he goes to third mirror—they show the fire falling in the second mirror.
When Raoul looked down, down, down that long stairwell, it was stone. When the Phantom/Erik took Christine down the levels below the opera house, it was stone. He is many levels below the opera house. Fire cannot fall through stone, and they showed no wood. The fire that is falling is not from the opera house. (Also, we see proof of this in b&w scenes—the opera house, and its floors, are still intact.)
The fire that is falling is a spiritual fire—IOW, he is putting an end to the darkness—the evil magic—and THAT kingdom is falling. This also fits in with the Phoenix—the royal bird who sets itself on fire to arise reborn. Likewise, Erik’s kingdom of darkness is now falling by his own hand. Before this, the fire fell outside the lair, shortly after the white light entered during his kiss with Christine. (Remember how the Phantom blocked the light out in POTO/MOTN by putting down the gate) But NOW Erik is destroying his kingdom—and the fire falls inside the throne room to show this. Like the phoenix, he will arise spiritually reborn, better than he was—going toward the light—and leave the darkness behind. We see further proof of this in a minute.
And so, he smashes the mirrors—smashing both of them on the left side. Left symbolic of him. As he does, the music is TRIUMPHANT. It is not sad music at all—cymbals crash, it is very upbeat and victorious. The music of a victory—the king is taking the upper hand for the first time in his life and destroying the evil that’s kept him bound in chains. He is not only winning the battle--he's winning the war over the Phantom. He is the only one who could do that. Christine couldn’t do that for him. She could point him in that direction—and did, filling him with hope he never had before—but he had to make the choice. And he has done so.
He uncovers the last mirror—which is covered by red and gold—kingdom colors—HIS mirror. And looks at it a little oddly.
He hits it twice in one area, unlike he did with the others. The first time he hits it—another mark appears to the right like he’d struck it there too, but he only hit it once. Two marks—one on left, one on right—then he hits it again—the second time he hits it but three marks—destroying phantom control.
He has only struck it once, but two marks appear:
From the inside of mirror, before he strikes it, there is a pattern that was not on other side—it looks something like an eye.
Then he strikes it in what looks like the center of the eye:
There appear to be faces of screaming skulls and demons if you look carefully and frame by frame it and zoom you can see details—(I think they added those things through CGI—computer graphics) and that makes perfect sense. Because he’s breaking the kingdom of darkness, those kinds of things would be in a mirror that represented evil and magic. The things are screaming because he’s putting an end to their power over him. Also, we see a red devilish face that looks like part of the curtain, to the far left—it has a defeated expression.
Here’s just a taste—not zoomed. It looks like spiders and screaming demon/skull at bottom—one thing reminds me of woman statue at cemetery with screaming severed head in sleeve, pincers over it, etc--but what is really interesting, as this is frame by framed, those round lines that formed the “eye” just disappear into blackness—they don’t implode like the rest of mirror … they're just gone--fade away--which shows me this was graphically done.
Erik has a “there, now it’s finished” look on his face as the shards of the final mirror splinter—a satisfied look. He’s smiling. And now they show something else, after he’s broken through the last mirror—a ray of white light is shining behind him that was NOT in his lair before this. It is shining into the tunnel, as if to point the way, to encourage.
He glances back—I feel it was to look once more upon what had been his home for 22 years. It’s natural to look back. He is leaving everything behind—everything that was of the old, including the memory of his childhood symbolized in his music box—and he’s going forward, into the light to join Christine.
Erik walks over the shards, but three important things to note—a) This is a CLOSE-UP. b) light appears at his feet. C) These are not the same tall, snug black boots he wore—these are shoes with bulkier spats (not form-fitting as boots were)—showing he’s changing his footwear/protection. He is no longer allowing the Phantom to guide him. The boots are gone—now he has shoes on.
before:
now:
So, guess who will now help him? Raoul. Raoul has been shown as symbolic of shoes—shoes protect the feet, and feet are symbolic of an upright spirit in symbolism. Raoul is a priest of light. A priest protects the spirit. Also the Little Lotte song points to him being symbolic of shoes, AND Christine was always barefoot when alone with Phantom/Angel (I believe there are dual meanings for this, but it’s partly because Raoul symbolized shoes and he didn’t want her under Raoul’s protection.).
They showed four close-ups of shoes with the people in them in entire movie—and close-ups are always important in film. First they showed Raoul’s shoes at auction, a few minutes later they showed a close-up of Christine’s ballet slippers with her in them at beginning of movie as if showing he would protect her throughout the movie—and he did. Then after chandelier fell an opera patron running down the stairs ahead of everyone else and wearing pink ballet slippers (symbolic of Christine and how Raoul would save her from the mob) And now, this is another close-up of shoes with Erik in them and the light on them—which I believe shows that Raoul will help him in the outside world. Raoul sang, “Say the word and I will follow you,”—the king heard it and acted upon it. He is going to let Raoul be his priest and protector. All kings have priests (those who serve them), and Erik is switching sides. He has conquered his fear, gained the love of his queen, put to death his alliance with the Phantom, and is now going toward the light and a new life--with Chrisitine.
Meg enters the lair—well ahead of the others. She has a cross around her neck, one she’s never had before this—showing she is for the light and for the king, again, we know this because of the symbolic bag of coins—payment—to keep the mob away, etc. She was the only woman to dress in pants for the opera. Behind her, the police approach and I wonder if they can even see her. Just a thought, but I wonder if she’s visible to them (this is a fantasy). And earlier they didn’t show her with the mob ... Behind her, outside the entrance of the lair they show a secret passage—they have never shown this before—it was a rock wall. I think this might be there now as a clue to show that Erik did get away.
She stops to look at mirrors—which are again close together—on top of each other—and are no longer wide apart. The places struck are all on the left—and the phantom with chain that was sitting by mannequin chamber is now gone--there is just a wall there.
I feel all this shows that the entrance to the supernatural spirit world has not only been blocked, but destroyed. Phantom has been defeated and retreated ... the mannequin seems further back in the alcove than before, when Erik broke the mirrors, and the veil is again on the ground, but this isn’t surprising. I feel when we saw the Christine mannequin seem about to burst out of the chamber with the veil on before Erik smashed the mirrors it was one of those “now you see it, didja catch it?” clues they put off to the side. Also note, there are still 4 lit candles, showing Erik was there. No longer any reflections of any candles that showed before in the two mirrors though. But the one candle (Christine) is still lit.
She runs up to Erik’s bedroom. As she gets there, a definite shape sparkles on the wall where Christine had been standing but wasn't shown before--when you zoom, it looks like a turtledove (symbolic of Venus, goddess of love and beauty, symbolic of Christine). The wall beyond that is flat--no sparkle--except where some water drips down away from this shape.
Meg's pants are now dry—and I feel this could be due to two possible things. An underground lake symbolizes magic in the symbols chart. Since the king has broken the darkness of his kingdom, the magic no longer has effect over the people. Also, I wonder if in this fantasy story she's a true guardian angel, one who had to mature (A clue to this possibility is when she was called a blonde angel by the directors, and also that they showed her vanished in last mob scene). The only people they ever showed to wear a cross around their necks were Raoul and Madame Giry—and now Meg. Raoul and M. Giry were both priests of light and darkness in this fantasy, and Meg has been growing into her role—as protector/guide for the light. The black ribbon is gone from her hair also. It slipped out when she was running from mob. M. Giry earlier renounced the darkness and now serves the light—first time we clearly see her cross is after this, though they hinted at it in PONR. Those they have shown as “priests” (those who serve) in this hidden story are the only ones to wear crosses around their necks.
The music box is turned in a different position than when Erik left lair—and is now facing the mask. The box is now black and doesn’t look like it did throughout the movie.
First picture is in “I Remember”—
And now DOM:
Erik has left box and all it means behind—in French subtitles he sings to the music box--“hide well the colors inside you”—but he is no longer hiding in a “masquerade”. The red and gold—the kingdom colors—have been stripped away. Erik has destroyed his kingdom—and now box appears plain and devoid of its former glory. A few think it could be black now because Phantom has hidden inside box. Whatever is the case, I still strongly believe the music box in movie symbolizes Erik. And Phantom is no longer with him.
They show 3 candles are lit outside bedroom when before there were 4 —the placement is different too, so it’s not just about one of them not showing—and this shows Phantom is still there. He’s not with the king any longer—Erik destroyed his power over him. To the left of Meg is that white castle under glass globe—but there are no longer two candles there to shine on it like earlier—phantom control is completely gone from Erik. Now it seems lit from within, perhaps showing Erik has gone to the light. When I zoomed—it resembles one of the gates to La Feria in Seville—Festival of lights. (From his drawings) Held before Easter week, this was a religious feast/festival—all about the light, etc.
Before:
After:
Also there now appears to be a family portrait on the wall that wasn’t there before. Something else interesting—they didn’t show this in MOTN or when Erik sang to the music box, but now what appears to be a cradle/ baby bed from that time period is sitting there, with what looks like a white blanket with green embroidery over it. (Showing us that Christine and Erik will have children maybe, since it said she did on her headstone. It is both red, Erik's color, and green, her color.)
Meg picks up the mask, looks at it as though in sympathy, and takes it. She hears someone coming and leaves in the direction of the secret passage they showed earlier. She is of the light—they even show her cross up higher on her throat so we’ll be sure to see it—no evil was intended—the power of the mask is broken. That happened when Erik broke the mirrors and the Phantom control over his life. So in taking the mask back to him, she was again acting as his guardian, to protect him from people outside who could harm him. I don’t believe the mask symbolized evil any longer. Phantom power had been destroyed over the king’s life.
And so, to quote the summary of Robert le Diable, “darkness is dispelled, human nature is redeemed and faith is triumphant!” (And from me—in this fantasy, ALL the clues that the main story has shown from POTO intro up through now strongly point to Erik marrying Christine, his queen of the musical realm and his countess in the world outside the opera house kingdom.)
**COMPANION BOOK CLUES**
This is underlined and capped in companion book:
THE PHANTOM has vanished, leaving only his WHITE MASK. (White signified a corrupt ruler in symbolism of masks—the Phantom meaning Erik.)
Camera moves into the BLACK EYE HOLE OF THE MASK as we dissolve to RAOUL'S EYE. (Could be to show the importance of the eye of gold in the b & w scene and also that “gold eye” symbolizes phantom)
A few differences in companion—she unveils many mirrors, not just one, and I already mentioned about the wedding dress, but here’s the way they described the kiss. Also remember, the Phantom they mention is Erik:
She calmly puts the ring on her finger and kisses him full on the lips. She pulls away, tears streaming down her cheeks. The PHANTOM is stunned. Then, she leans toward him and embraces him again. But this time the kiss is long and deep. A lover’s kiss. As it ends, they look straight into each other’s eyes. The PHANTOM is crying, devastated. He has never known human love. CHRISTINE’S gesture—her sacrifice and at the same time commitment—are too much for this tragic man to bear.
And this:
She stands before him and we think she’s going to stay but instead she takes off her ring and places it on his finger. She hurries off. We stay on him as he hears:
CHRISTINE (in distance)
Say you’ll share with me one love one lifetime.
RAOUL:
Say the word, and I will follow you.
203. Int. PHANTOM’S LAIR/CANAL—NIGHT
The PHANTOM comes out of the bedroom and sees, through the descending grill, the boat disappearing into the darkness of the underground canal. CHRISTINE is looking back at him. She seems to be singing for him.
CHRISTINE:
Share each day with me … each night … each morning …
She disappears still looking at him.
To me this shows me what the creators had in mind—If you put a ring on someone’s finger (and notice they called it “her ring”), that is a sign of commitment, but even more—it is a sign of a ceremony. She was accepting him as her husband, like an informal marriage ceremony between them or a betrothal. That they make it a point to say she seems to be singing this love song for him appears to be a clue that she was singing for him (and we know she was from other clues they've shown in movie at this point)—also them saying she continues to look at him as she sings and the boat disappears makes it all about Erik.
p. 138-39: The two-page spread shows a behind the scenes shot of Christine standing in the boat and Raoul sitting, both of them looking back toward lair. Red is in her hair and in the whole set that is supposed to be predominantly green (no red was in set at this point). Her sleeves are up not down. Two crewmembers stand nearby; one wears a red shirt under his black wetsuit and carries a green/white container; under the black wetsuit of the other guy he has on a shirt with the face of an ape but it appears to be wearing clothes. There is also red on his indigo colored shirt.
P. 141—the pic of Meg—she is completely red, as are some of the others, in this green setting. And her cross doesn’t show.
P. 142-43: Two-page spread shows him break the last mirror—and makes it more obvious that the bottom was also struck—though he didn’t strike it but once. His face is completely red—perhaps, again, showing that is his color.
**SPANISH SUBTITLES TRANSLATIONS BY Phantommyangel & Promiseme & Co.** :
ERIK:
Masquerade
Carnaval
Carnival
Paper faces on parade...
Mascarada aritifical
Artificial masquerade
Hide your face so the world will never find you...
Carnaval
¿Qué se oculta en
Un rostro enmascarado?
What is hidden in a masked face?
from honey: this could relate to the fact that Phantom is hidden within
Christine, I love you
Christine, te amo
Christine, I love you
from honey: The word they use to describe "love" when Erik sings it here is different than the word they used when Raoul sang it in AIAOY--here, with Erik, it means a deep romantic love.
With Raoul, word used for "love" meant to adore; but translator said it wasn't the word for deep love but more of a familial type love
CHRISTINE:
Say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime
Di que en nuestra vida
Hay esperanza
Say that in our life there is hope
from honey: She is asking him to give her assurance that it will all work out and he will come to her.
Earlier when she was hurt/angry, she sang “we had such hopes and now those hopes are shattered”—now she’s asking him for hope again. She is asking him to “Recall those days, look back on all those times…”—and make the decision she wants him to make. To come to her.
RAOUL:
Say the word and I will follow you...
Dilo
Y voy a donde vayas tú
Say the word and I will go where you go
CHRISTINE: (looking back at him, and here we see her mouth isn't moving--she's singing in his mind):
Share each day with me, each night, each morning...
Que si estás conmigo
Nada importa
If you are with me, nothing else matters
from honey: She's letting him know that no matter what has happened and what all he’s done—If he’s with her, that is all that's important to her.
ERIK:
You alone, can make my song take flight.
Sólo tú me inspiras
De verdad
Only you inspire me, that's the truth
from honey: sounds reassuring to me
It's over now the music of the night!
Morirá
Mi música
En la noche
My music in the night will die!
from honey: Yep, and it did. His love/dependency on the darkness dies--and it's here he makes his decision.)
**FRENCH SUBTITLES TRANSLATIONS BY Phantomrose07 & Co.**
Masquerade
Mascarade
Masquerade
Paper faces on parade
Maints profils sont en parade.
Many profiles are in parade.
Masquerade, hide your face so the world will never find you
Mascarade, Cachez bien les couleurs qui vivent en vous.
Masquerade, Hide well the colors which live inside you.
Christine, I love you
Christine, je t’aime tant …
Christine, I love you so much...
Say you’ll share with me one love one lifetime
Sache longtemps
Me dire
Combien tu m’aimes.
Realize a long time to tell me how much you love me.
Say the word and I will follow you.
Trouble-moi
En inventant demain …
Disturb me
while inventing tomorrow
another translation: Get rid of trouble by going to tomorrow
from honey—this makes sense for telling Erik to leave there, leave the trouble (mob/phantom), and go to the future Christine has offered him.
Share each day with me each night each morning
Si tu m’aimes, alors
Alors la vie
M’enchante …
If you love me, then
Then this life enchants Me...
You alone can make my song take flight
Dans ma nuit j’ai attendu
Ta voix.
In my night I awaited your voice.
It’s over now, the music of the night
Jamais la nuit
Ne chantera
Pour moi ...
Never the night will sing for me...
Before I go to the Italian, this was AIAOY for these same words: (and yeah, I know I still need to get the French up for AIAOY summary. I will soon, after all summaries are up.
But notice—the words are all different than above, though words are exactly the same in English. And the way they did this was another huge hint as to the end of this story…):
Christine, in AIAOY, to Raoul:
Say you’ll share with me one love, one lifetime...
Ce soir cheris-moi d’un mot, d’un geste
Tonight cherish me with a word, a gesture
Say the word, and I will follow you....
Sur un oui, je te sais aussitot
over one yes, I know you at once
Share each day with me, each night, each morning...
Chaque instant fais-moi, toucher les anges
Each moment make me, touch the angels
And this is what Erik sang in PONR:
Say you’ll share with me one love one lifetime
Sache longtemps
Me dire
Combien
Tu m’aimes.
Realize a long time to tell me how much you love me.
Then Christine sang this in DOM:
Say you’ll share with me one love one lifetime
Sache longtemps
Me dire
Combien tu m’aimes.
Realize a long time to tell me how much you love me.
Erik in PONR:
Say you want me with you here beside you
Si tu m’aimes, alors
La vie
M’enchante…
If you love me, then
Then this life enchants me
Then Christine sang in DOM:
Share each day with me each night each morning
Si tu m’aimes, alors
Alors la vie
M’enchante …
If you love me, then
Then this life enchants Me...
Christine is singing exactly what Erik did on the bridge in PONR—as if she is repeating Erik's vow/promise—even though in English the words are sometimes different. She did not sing these words for the translations of AIAOY, as shown above (check your dvd--it's really interesting)—but the translations are the same only during PONR bridge scene, when he proposed, and DOM, as if she’s now answering his proposal. As if they are sharing future vows/promises toward each other here—and offering each other the hope she asked from him in Spanish subtitles.
**ITALIAN TRANSLATIONS by Angelofdarknss & Co.**
Paper faces on parade
Masquerade...per beffare la beltà
Masquerade…to mock the beauty
Masquerade, hide your face so the world will never find you
Masquerade...neanche tu lo saprai chi sei davvero...
Masquerade…not even you know who you really are…
Christine, I love you
Christine, ti amo...
Christine, I love you…
Christine: Say you’ll share with me one love one lifetime
Dimmi che tu mi amerai per sempre
Tell me that you will love me forever
RAOUL: Say the word and I will follow you.
Dimmi che mai più mi lascerai
Tell me that you will never leave me
Christine: Share each day with me each night each morning
se tu colmi il vuoto mio d'incanto...
If you fill my emptiness perfectly…
You alone can make my song take flight
Non avrò con me mai gli occhi tuoi...
What pleasure comes from watching your eyes…
It’s over now, the music of the night
Finì la dolce musica per noi!
It has finished the sweet music for us!
Note from translator: In the original, Christine and Raoul sing part of AIAOY, but here they sing exactly what Erik sang in PONR. I glanced over the Italian AIAOY lyrics and Erik's lines are not there. What he sings in PONR is his own.
And here is Erik’s from PONR—DOM copying it exactly, even though words are different in English—the translations are the same. What this shows me is that it wasn’t always about translating words directly from the English—since they used the same translations for completely different phrases in English--but instead it was about giving more clues to the hidden story and giving the conclusion of it, so we know what happened at the end. And whose bride Christine became. :
ERIK from PONR:
Say you'll share with me one
love, one lifetime . . .
Dimmi che tu mi amerai per sempre
Tell me that you will love me forever
Christine in DOM:
Say you’ll share with me one love one lifetime
Dimmi che tu mi amerai per sempre
Tell me that you will love me forever
Erik in PONR:
Lead me, save me from my solitude . . .
Dimmi che mai più mi lascerai
Tell me that you will never leave me
RAOUL in DOM: Say the word and I will follow you.
Dimmi che mai più mi lascerai
Tell me that you will never leave me
Erik in PONR:
Say you want me with
you, here beside you . . .
Se tu colmi il vuoto mio, d'incanto
If you fill my emptiness perfectly
Christine in DOM:
Share each day with me each night each morning
se tu colmi il vuoto mio d'incanto...
If you fill my emptiness perfectly…
From honey—this is exactly what they did in the French translations, and how I showed it there too. Yet another clue, pointing to this song belonging to Christine and Erik and them giving their vows/promises toward one another at the end. Because in AIAOY between her and Raoul--none of these words appear; they only were the same in PONR/bridge and DOM (regardless if English matched or not), and is yet another clue that this love song is not between Raoul and Christine, but instaed it belongs to Erik and Christine. It is their song.
The sweet music being finished has to do with the Music of the Night—and sweet music’s throne. MOTN is over now--it's AIOAY that they ended with--and it's AIAOY that they will continue with, because Erik is going to the light of day.
The music between them in their kingdom was the only beautiful thing he and Christine shared (besides their love)--why he may have called it "sweet"-- but now I think he's telling the Phantom that the music that jailer had intended for Erik and Christine to have/play eternally is now over. Because every other clue shows she became Erik’s, so I doubt he’s directing these words to her. She's already gone. But more these words are about her and what they shared there in the kingdom. Because at this point when he sings about the music of the night being over, he's about to end his alliance with the Phantom spirit, (whom they show when he sings this)-- as Christine has been wanting/asking/hoping Erik will do throughout entire movie: end the darkness controlling him, and leave the lair/kingdom behind to join her in the light. Thus, the resolution of this epic story: Erik is at last triumphant and love prevails ... light wins and darkness is dispelled.
**SOUND SIMILARITIES by Redrose**
Masquerade when music box plays
AIAOY when Christine comes back to him
MOTN when Phantom watches them leave (again ties in with AIAOY title phrase)
**MUSICAL ANALYSIS by Phantom’s Star**
Harp: thinking Note: I think this is what the sounds stand for.
Flute: a calling
of Angel (Angel of Music)
Cymbals: Angel is there, or near (brush of cymbals)—loud crash—he is fully there.
19) Flute—(very high) right before “leave me alone” as Erik is leaving the water. I think Christine is calling back to Erik since she looks confused by what he’s doing. We again hear the flute (same high sound) as Erik says, “Don’t let them find you.” Again, I think Christine is calling to Erik since he is telling them to leave, and her facial expressions show she doesn’t want to.
20) Harp—as Christine looks down at the ring and the melody of AIAOY begins, the harp begins as well and continues for the entire time Christine is again thinking only of Erik, focusing her attention on him.
21) Flute—right before Christine places the ring in Erik’s hand. We hear the flute (it is right before the shot we see of her placing it in his hand.) I think Christine is calling to Erik and telling him he now has a choice (she’s not giving up.)
22) Harp—Christine continues with AIAOY where Erik left off in PONR. Another reason why I think she’s singing to him. Also, the cymbals in AIAOY crashed a bit before Christine started to sing this verse on the rooftop. So again, I think it was a foreshadowing for this point)
Say you’ll share with me one love, one lifetime
Say the word and I will follow you
Share each day with me
Each night, each morning
We hear the harp during these lines and this melody. I think this is further proof that Christine is thinking of her Angel and singing to him.
Since the harp is also on the line Raoul sings, he is also thinking of Erik (as HW said) and offering his protection to Erik.
23) “It’s over now the music of the night.”—this is all Erik here. We hear the cymbals crash as he breaks the first mirror, after he breaks the second one, and as he hits the third mirror for the second time. The think about the sound of these cymbals is that they start off strong but seem to decrease in sound. I think this means Erik is going to be leaving his lair, no that the Phantom’s spirit is returning.
As Erik looks at the broken mirror and then starts to walk through the broken mirror, we hear the brushing of harp strings (twice.) Erik is leaving his lair (as we soon see, or at leas hear) and thinking of Christine (his Angel of Music.) When we see the shot of his shoes, we again hear the brushing of cymbals, not as loud as the earlier ones. Again, he is leaving his lair, probably never to return.
24) The time that we heard as the black curtain closed over Christine in MOTN and on the rooftop when Raoul was leading Christine (before he started to sing AIAOY) is the same tune we hear as Meg looks at the white mask and the camera then switches to focus just on the music box. The difference is before we heard the brushing of cymbals. In this scene we hear no cymbals. I think this means that Erik is gone, not just from his lair, but from relying on the Phantom’s spirit (since we see Meg looking at the mask) and from relying on its comfort/escape that is the music box. Instead, the flute has replaced the cymbals (hard to hear it but it’s there). Question is who is calling to Erik (since the music box symbolizes him and the camera is focusing on it?) To be honest, I think we (the audience) are being called to take in what just happened and find the meaning behind it. it’s in a box but once released, we’ll be astounded, which is why I also think the music box turns black. Erik is released, freed.
my apologies that some pictures were faded-- (a year old from WB board)--and some vivid--taken last night and today to replace the ones that for some reason aren't showing up anymore.
Link to:The Auction
http://www.phantomgerry.net/forum/viewt ... 316#222316[/size]
Scene Summary of Down Once More (Final Scene of Main Story)
Paragraph summary: Christine returns to Erik, again showing him her choice and her love, begging him to follow her and also answering his earlier proposal…she then goes to escape the looming mob and the darkness, thus leaving Erik with a huge decision.
:rose: Get ready, because you’re about to see this final scene of the main story in a way you may have never visualized it before!
They show Erik with the music box—it has a red/gold base here (same as it does when he comes out of the lair). They now clearly show the head of the bird on his bed—it’s a phoenix, not a swan, BUT the phoenix was called the “holy swan of song” in HCA’s poem “The Phoenix.” And it was mentioned as being black. That they show it now is a clue to the whole smashing of mirrors scene. The phoenix is a royal mythological bird that sets itself on fire and is reborn from the ashes. Erik set his opera house kingdom on fire ... (more soon.)
To see the amazing parallels to Erik/Christine and this poem (even Raoul as the “sparrow with tinsel on his wings”—here it is (and again, his bed is called a black swan bed in the companion book):
from Hans Christian Andersen’s—The Phoenix
The Phoenix bird, dost thou not know him? The Bird of Paradise, the holy swan of song! On the car of Thespis he sat in the guise of a chattering raven, and flapped his black wings, smeared with the lees of wine; over the sounding harp of Iceland swept the swan’s red beak; on Shakspeare’s shoulder he sat in the guise of Odin’s raven, and whispered in the poet’s ear “Immortality!” and at the minstrels’ feast he fluttered through the halls of the Wartburg.
The Phoenix bird, dost thou not know him? He sang to thee the Marseillaise, and thou kissedst the pen that fell from his wing; he came in the radiance of Paradise, and perchance thou didst turn away from him towards the sparrow who sat with tinsel on his wings.
The Bird of Paradise—renewed each century—born in flame, ending in flame! Thy picture, in a golden frame, hangs in the halls of the rich, but thou thyself often fliest around, lonely and disregarded, a myth—“The Phoenix of Arabia.”
In Paradise, when thou wert born in the first rose, beneath the Tree of Knowledge, thou receivedst a kiss, and thy right name was given thee—thy name, Poetry.
Erik has just had his world rocked by Christine’s kiss and the knowledge of her love, then he did the hardest thing he’d ever done—the one thing he never wanted to do and still doesn’t—by telling her to go away. At this point he thinks he’ll never see her again. That she’s now gone. He has reverted to his childhood, as often is the case when people are extremely emotionally upset. The monkey toy gave him comfort as a child, which he later made into the music box, and so he’s turned to it again. At this point he doesn’t care what happens to him. Christine is his life—“you alone can make my song take flight”—without her he doesn’t want to exist and doesn’t care if they find him. He probably wants to die. (A few sleuthers feel the music box is evil and is luring him back into hiding.)
ERIK: “Masquerade, Paper faces on parade ... Masquerade Hide your face so the world will never find you ...”
His countenance appears ten years younger; he looks like a little boy sitting there as he sadly smiles and sings. As the camera pans they show the lit globe with the white square underneath that was in WHYBMH. This could be a clue showing that he’ll choose the heavenly kingdom and light. It looks a lot like a gate I’ve seen regarding La Feria too (Festival of Lights in Seville), but I think it’s a castle … Also, they show a secret passage in the background never seen before—maybe another clue that Erik will escape.
They show Christine by the wall, probably having watched him for some time before he caught sight of her. I’m sure at this point she is floored. Despite her king’s command that she go, she has come back to Erik, wanting to see him, to get through to him. She knows the mob is closing in and it was for her safety that he ordered her to go but she doesn’t want to leave him without making one final desperate plea. That Raoul let her return to the king, alone, after all that has happened there speaks volumes—the queen has made her choice, she has matured, and Raoul realizes he no longer has any say in her life/decisions. She doesn’t belong to him. He now recognizes who the true enemy is—the Phantom spirit. Raoul heard the king order them to find safety, so he knows he’s not dangerous.
To see Erik so vulnerable probably shakes her up a bit as you can tell from her expression. She hates to see him in pain and realizes from the words he’s singing that he plans to stay in the darkness and hide.
He sees her and sings, “Christine, I love you.” First she looks shocked, then she gives a little smile, as if his words were just what she needed and wanted to hear.
Christine wants to encourage Erik to join her in the light. By the anxious way she looks down at the ring, it’s almost as if she’s thinking “I hope this will work” but she looks worried that it won’t, and that he’ll still choose to remain behind.
An unlit lamp is beside her—from http://www.dreammoods.com/dreamdictionary/l.htm
symbolism of Lamps / lampposts:
"...dimly-lit or unlit lamp signifies being overwhelmed by emotional issues. You have lost your ability to find your own way."
Erik lost his ability to find his own way; Christine came back to show him she would help him (by giving him her ring that signified light, healing, protection) And by placing the ring into his hand and folding his fingers over it, she was showing him she was his for eternity and that she loved him. More on that soon.
"...lamps represent guidance, hope, inspiration and reassurance."
***In Spanish subtitles she sings something like “I did this so we can have hope”--she has come back to guide, encourage, and inspire him.
"...someone who you least expect will prove to be a great friend in your time of need."
**Raoul did that when he sang, “say the word and I will follow you”… more soon …
Erik watches her approach, his expression lighter. He may know she can’t stay with him—thinking also that he doesn’t deserve her—but still his heart wishes for it and to see her approach when he thought he’d never see her again gives him gladness. He doesn’t want to see her go. He loves her. She looks at him sadly. Also she keeps looking at the ring, again, I feel it’s as if she’s wondering if her message to him will work. The ring that means light, healing, protection and engagement. The ring that is hers. The ring that she was NOT returning, because it wasn’t Erik’s ring to begin with and there was no longer a choice to be made—on her part. He had set her free.
He appears to be looking at her ring, as she looks at him, then he raises his eyes to her face after she has looked down at the ring.
When she doesn’t look back at him, he looks at the ring she’s sliding off her finger, his expression puzzled. His brows even draw in a bit in confusion as he intently peers at what she’s doing before they switch to a shot of her. He has no idea what she’s doing.
Notice how hard it is for her to get that ring off. If it was bought for her—it would have been custom made to fit her, but her knuckle turns red as she works to get it off--if you look close, it almost looks as if it's cut. Another reason why I believe this was an inherited ring. (The red knuckle could also apply to Erik and be another clue that she belongs to him)
She holds out her hand as if asking for his, and when he only looks up at her face as if still trying to figure out what she’s doing, she reaches for his left hand, just as he did with her earlier. Left is symbolic of marriage; left is also symbolic of Erik. He looks down at his hand as if he’s never seen it before. It’s as if he’s desperately trying to follow her actions and what she’s doing.
She lays the ring in the center of his palm, closing his fingers around it AND around her fingers—she leaves her fingers in his palm holding the ring. She then cups her other hand around his—holding his fingers around hers and holding his hand—exactly as he did to her earlier, when he asked her to spend an eternity with him. By giving him her ring—with the 11 crystals, again all of it symbolic of protection, healing, and light—she was telling him, “Now let me be your guardian—your Angel of Music (Angel meaning guardian in this time period)—come with me to the light and let me dry your tears; no one can harm you, my words will warm and calm you (and they did) . . .Let me be your freedom, let me be your light, come with me where you’ll be safe and no one will find you, where your fears will be far behind you . . .”
She was telling him by giving him her ring that things were not all hopeless as he thought, that she didn’t think him unworthy of her, and she still wanted to lead him to the light, also offering to protect him, telling him no one would find him, etc—all that the AIAOY song meant: A song about being led away from the darkness. They even start to play the song the minute she looks down at the ring after he sings, “Christine, I love you.” By putting it into his hand the exact way he did to her, the symbolism is unchanged—she was telling him it was HIM she wanted to spend an eternity with—that HE held her heart—and that she would be his wife.
And the above picture says it all. Notice how her hand has completely closed around his. Even her pinky from her other hand is no longer up but is lying against his thumb. Notice also that her fingers are still in his palm—she closed his fingers around both the ring AND her fingers. She was holding his hands, a symbolic way of telling him she was his—exactly as he held her hands before when he sang “an eternity of this.” They were fast with this clue—immediately switching cameras. You can only see this last frame if you slow mo or step by step.
This was the foundation for an avvy (signature) I made on the WB board but I’m posting it here because it shows the close-ups of the ring into each other’s hands—exactly being the same—even both of them being the left hand.
He looks up at her with a disbelieving little smile on his face, and the way he looks at her, he knows exactly what she’s telling him. Again, the man’s a genius. He’s not stupid. He may have had a hard time following what she was doing before, but only because he never expected it. Also his emotions are in turmoil—and he might not have been thinking clearly. But the following pictures are not the look of a man who’s been rejected—the smile (you can see the crease on his right side where it tips up), the expression of awe—this is the look of a man who’s just been given hope.
In the last shot, he looks all the way up at her, as if he still cannot fully believe it, his expression one of wonder—and she also gives a slight smile, as if to assure him she means it. Her expression softens in love, as if all she wants to do is stay with him, but she turns to go.
Now she looks very sad—because she knows she has to leave. All this time she’s been holding his hand—because they show her pull her hand away as she walks from him, and they show his other hand, which at some point had moved to cover hers. Her hands were holding his this entire time, as his were holding hers.
She did all she could to show him her heart, and that she wants him. She has given Erik a choice. Now he must make a decision.
He’s sad to see her go; he cries. Both of them don't want this separation, but they know she must go before the mob arrives because they'e after her too (the king wants her safe; why he commanded her to leave earlier); also she doesn’t want any part of the darkness that is phantom.
Goodbyes are hard; what she’s asking of him is hard—to leave a way of life he’s known forever as his protection, and to go into the light with her. Into the world that shunned him, abused him, mocked him. Yes, he’s always wanted the light, but it’s still hard to leave the familiar. He doesn’t know if he can after all that’s happened. He’s vulnerable—he’s always depended upon the Phantom spirit for protection, for guidance, ever since he was a child. Without the Phantom he doesn’t see how he'll survive, (This is shown in first part of DOM when he sings how people treat him.) Even though phantom has been his jailer and has made it obvious how he’s turned against him, the king is still uncertain of what to do.
A shadow crosses his face—but Christine is in the boat already, because they show that shadow as she sings. It is not Christine’s shadow. Phantom spirit is back and is trying to lure the king to remain in the darkness.
Shadow crosses his face—after she leaves:
As the king hears her first words of love to him, the shadow dissolves until it is totally gone ... Erik closes his eyes, tears fall onto his cheeks, he swallows. Again, her love—in song this time—has made the Phantom flee. Maybe Erik resisted the evil spirit, after hearing her sing to him. But at the same time, he might be struggling with how she thinks she can help him—and him actually being able to go into the light—due to the entire night’s events and all he’d allowed/done. I’m sure he’s battling many questions and thoughts at this time…
Her love song to him begins—she’s in boat—shadow starts to disappear as she sings:
Shadow completely dissolves:
A very important clue about the song: Notice where Christine starts singing it:
CHRISTINE: “Say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime . . .”
This is not the beginning of the AIAOY song. This is the line directly following the lines that Erik sang in PONR when he proposed to her, “Anywhere you go let me go too, Christine, that’s all I ask of (you). . .”
She took up right where Erik left off and is answering the proposal he made in PONR and his plea of her leading him to the light—she is singing to him, and they show even more proof of this later.
When he hears her song of love to him, her answer to his proposal, also underlining to him what she meant by giving him her ring--as she further urges him to change his mind about staying behind and asks him to come to her—his expression/body language is as if he’s being faced with a difficult decision. By his smile he gave her after she gave him the ring, he's amazed by what she’s told him with that silent message, and I think he admires the woman she’s become, but he can’t see her as his guard, his protector. Especially, when he’s always been hers, and even she was susceptible to the Phantom spirit.
But then ...
He hears Raoul. And his eyes flick wider in surprise, as if now he’s fully alert. He never expected Raoul to sing to him in his mind—but Raoul now knows King Music, has seen him, and realizes he truly exists and is indeed a king. In the memory/idea of his childhood he has found a living man. (We know Raoul can do the telepathy, from WHYBMH and also when he runs into the stables before cemetery scene.) He’s seen Christine and the king together in PONR, and then to make it even clearer to him, he’s seen Christine’s decision in how she went forward to Erik and kissed him so passionately—and he realizes that she truly belongs to the king. Her heart is his. Rauol doesn’t have the stance of someone who’s victorious. He seems defeated, resigned, but he’s made a vow to Christine as her priest to always protect her, and now he’s telling the king—
RAOUL: “Say the word and I will follow you.”
It appears that only those who want others to hear them singing in the mind can hear it, since Christine heard Erik sing to her on rooftop but Raoul did not. But now both of them want Erik to hear them, because this song is to him. When Raoul sings the above, Christine is looking toward him then looks away—so she heard him too. He has just promised to serve the king if the king wills it, and I imagine she was surprised to hear that. You can tell Erik is.
One more thing about this line. On the rooftop, Christine sings it; here Raoul does. If it was just him singing to her there would be no reason for him to sing it since it appears she’s going with him. Why should he sing to her—“Say the word and I will follow you”—since she is with him in the boat? What word needs to be said? This was not all about Christine—it was about the king too. The priest of light has just offered to serve the king, and as such, offer his protection. Remember the symbolism of an unlit lamppost, which they just showed— “someone who you least expect will prove to be a great friend in your time of need …”
The below pictures show Erik’s eylids flick up as he becomes alert upon hearing Raoul—it's easier to see in motion--but here it is anyway:
And NOW Erik comes out of his bedroom, his face a mask of shock. He didn't come out when she was singing—only after Raoul did. He is obviously stunned, as if he cannot believe that Raoul would forgive him, even offer to protect and follow him as king. In Raoul, he has met a worthy opponent. He knows that with Raoul to serve him, he has a chance outside, since Raoul is a protector of those who serve the light—and Erik knows he is his brother. (Some believe that Raoul knew too, and his mission was to help his brother from the moment he came to opera house, but got sidetracked by seeing Christine again and later was deceived by Phantom.)
To Erik, suddenly the idea of a life with Christine doesn’t seem unreachable. They also show him in picture above cupping the ring.
CHRISTINE: “Share each day with me, each night, each morning...”
When she sings this, she turns around to look at Erik and they show her mouth isn’t moving—it's closed. She is singing into Erik’s mind, as they’ve shown her doing before, in AOM, POTO, and the carriage, etc. And we already know he can sing into her mind. Another clue that this whole song was to Erik. They show twin statues of what looks like could be Atlas carrying the world. Notice also—her sleeves are again up now that she’s with Raoul. She is not yielded to him, because her heart doesn't belong to him, like it does to Erik (which they've shown her sing in foreign subtitles--for some reason my DVD player on my main PC doesn't capture the subtitles in pics anymore, though I'm going to try it with the one on my laptop when we get it working again ... also remember to click on any pictures surrounded by blue dots if you want a bigger picture.)
Right before they switch to Erik, they show her face and she looks as if she's about to cry. They're about to turn the corner, and she knows she may be looking at him for the last time. She has no guarantee he'll make the choice she wants him to make; her brows sail upward in the middle, her face very sad. It is then that they switch to Erik. This is not the face of a happy woman (this is regular and in two different zooms, since I’ve found that some can see better smaller and some bigger.):
ERIK: “You alone, can make my song take flight.”
The soothing way he sings this is as if he’s reassuring her. He even smiles the slightest bit, his lips turning up at one corner, as if to say, “It’s all right. Don’t cry. You’re the only woman for me, the reason for my existence. I’m coming to you.” He sings the words in present tense—not saying she’s the only one who could have made his dreams take flight—but that she is the only one who CAN make them take flight. He has a bittersweet expression—he has realized his dream—Christine loves him and wants him for her husband—but the point of him reaching that realization has been very traumatic for all involved.
He sings the end of MOTN to the AIAOY song—the ending line has the same tune as “Anywhere you go let me go too”—He sang that on the bridge—but he doesn’t sing it now. He already is going to be with her so doesn’t need to ask it of her any longer—now it’s all about reassuring her that he’ll soon be there. But first, he has to take care of some business …
And suddenly Erik doesn’t have the ring in his hands. Judging from what I believe this to mean—when the ring disappeared from around her neck before she kissed Raoul at Masquerade Ball, and when it disappeared from her hands in DOM, and we know she’d planned to marry Erik by her words and actions in clues—the disappearance of the ring means “acceptance of the promise.” and the ring also means protection. So this is a clue that he has accepted Christine’s silent plea—to join her in the light, and by doing so, he will also marry her, as they both want. And we see even more hints of this in a minute. And he now has and has accepted the protection needed to destroy the hold the phantom has over him.
The red and gold throne is very visible now. A king’s throne. Also what looks like a dragon (?) is to the right of it, showing just who ruled the king. But the king has had enough—and they now show FOUR candles lit, when before he went into bedroom there were only three lit. Erik is back, and he’s about to put an end to the darkness of his life—the music of the night is over—because he wants the light and Christine—and from all her actions and her song to him he realizes all that is still possible. He’s angry—at himself for letting it come to this, at Phantom for deceiving him that Christine could never love him because of his face, etc.
He storms down the stairs and they show the mannequin. We have been shown repeatedly in this movie that it symbolizes Christine. We see it has the veil on—though Christine dropped it on the floor earlier. But one thing—he's not looking at the mannequin. Remember the importance of how they've shown the POVs before. Since Erik never looks at the mannequin, we are seeing it from the mannequin’s—or rather, Christine’s POV. Just as we did when she was looking at him earlier when he sang “An eternity of this before your eyes”—the veil was missing then. She wasn’t ready, because the darkness first had to be broken over his life. But now she’s ready, because he’s about to break the darkness. We’re seeing this through her POV, not his.
He pays absolutely no attention to the mannequin, but as he comes into view, through the mannequin, it’s as if they’re showing us foreshadowing of how Christine will be feeling—what will happen in the future. He’s singing about breaking the darkness over his life, he’s accepted the ring, and when he comes into the mannequin’s view—The mannequin smiles.
It actually appears to go from an unsmiling expression to a smile as he walks by—and I believe this is to show Christine will be overjoyed. Her king is making the decision she asked of him, and she’s wearing HIS veil, waiting for him to join her. Just like the statue of Venus (also symbolizing Christine) seemed to smile at cemetery during sword fight—the Christine mannequin now gives the same slight smile that she always did when they showed Christine (Emmy) in the dress as the mannequin in MOTN and STYDI, and Emmy gave that same slight smile.
First is a picture of what the mannequin looked like earlier—and then a series of pics showing the smile get bigger. When he comes into the mannequin’s view, the smile gets biggest, though it is always slight as Christine's was. But the entire mannequin seems more lifelike—the color high, the cheeks bunched up and blushing—as if showing Christine will be the happy blushing bride and get her wish. Erik is coming to her. Also, this is just like what happened with Isabella bursting out of her bridal chamber in her wedding gown the moment after Robert was freed from demons in the Robert le Diable opera. And Christine was symbolic of Isabella too.
before:
not smiling:
starting to smile:
Erik in full view--smile bigger:
Here is a side by side to compare a before/after:
[img][img]http://img282.imageshack.us/img282/9175/pdvd5461bb.png[/img]I believe they did this computer graphically--even the angle of the face is different and down more, as if she's staring straight at Erik--instead of up and lofty as it was, as if she looked beyond them. In short, her face looks almost human, lifelike.
As he sings about the music of the night being over, they show a better view of what they hinted at earlier when Christine unveiled the mirror—what looks like part of the phantom’s cloak, as if he’s sitting by the curtain and mirror, and a chain is there. I believe this shows the phantom spirit is there—any reference to “chains” in the movie is about him.
When Erik sings “Music” they show what looks like a blue music staff zip across both his head and toward his heart only on that one word—“music.” And I believe this is the clue of what those blue lines mean—to show us he IS Music. King Music. As other clues have also shown.
Perhaps it shows up both in his middle and his head because Christine is also Music, and it shows in her head throughout movie—but now they are one and soon will be joined in marriage, so now it shows in the king in both places. And the blue ray of light is thick and STRONG, stronger than it's ever been before. His spirit is now strong—he is overcoming the darkness.
Where only one mirror was uncovered before, now two are suddenly uncovered. “2” again meaning control/possession (Erik & Phantom). I think this is symbolic of Erik breaking the phantom’s control over him—and he smashes each mirror twice, again pointing to that. But he smashes THREE mirrors. Three = Phantom spirit. So the king is not only breaking the control Phantom had over him, but also destroying the power/hold the phantom had over the kingdom and people there. And the last mirror he breaks and walks through is the mirror that symbolizes the king—red and gold. He is breaking his hold over him entirely.
In the symbols chart/book, mirrors represent magic and were used in divination, and Erik was called a magician. Symbolically, mirrors were doorways for spirits to enter. They showed that shadow approach the moment Christine uncovered the mirror (Victorian symbolism pointing to that veiled mirrors prevented spirits from entering the area), and then they showed the specter between those mirrors, which were suddenly wide apart—and are still wide apart. By breaking these mirrors the king is putting an end to his kingdom of darkness—his music of the night—and to the phantom’s control over him. As he breaks the first mirror, in the mirror’s reflection fire falls from inside the lair—first time they’ve shown it fall INSIDE his lair, the seat of his throne—the central point of the kingdom (the heart of it) because it’s where the king resided. A lot of it begins to fall as he breaks the second mirror—they show it in the reflections of the first mirror. Also, when he goes to third mirror—they show the fire falling in the second mirror.
When Raoul looked down, down, down that long stairwell, it was stone. When the Phantom/Erik took Christine down the levels below the opera house, it was stone. He is many levels below the opera house. Fire cannot fall through stone, and they showed no wood. The fire that is falling is not from the opera house. (Also, we see proof of this in b&w scenes—the opera house, and its floors, are still intact.)
The fire that is falling is a spiritual fire—IOW, he is putting an end to the darkness—the evil magic—and THAT kingdom is falling. This also fits in with the Phoenix—the royal bird who sets itself on fire to arise reborn. Likewise, Erik’s kingdom of darkness is now falling by his own hand. Before this, the fire fell outside the lair, shortly after the white light entered during his kiss with Christine. (Remember how the Phantom blocked the light out in POTO/MOTN by putting down the gate) But NOW Erik is destroying his kingdom—and the fire falls inside the throne room to show this. Like the phoenix, he will arise spiritually reborn, better than he was—going toward the light—and leave the darkness behind. We see further proof of this in a minute.
And so, he smashes the mirrors—smashing both of them on the left side. Left symbolic of him. As he does, the music is TRIUMPHANT. It is not sad music at all—cymbals crash, it is very upbeat and victorious. The music of a victory—the king is taking the upper hand for the first time in his life and destroying the evil that’s kept him bound in chains. He is not only winning the battle--he's winning the war over the Phantom. He is the only one who could do that. Christine couldn’t do that for him. She could point him in that direction—and did, filling him with hope he never had before—but he had to make the choice. And he has done so.
He uncovers the last mirror—which is covered by red and gold—kingdom colors—HIS mirror. And looks at it a little oddly.
He hits it twice in one area, unlike he did with the others. The first time he hits it—another mark appears to the right like he’d struck it there too, but he only hit it once. Two marks—one on left, one on right—then he hits it again—the second time he hits it but three marks—destroying phantom control.
He has only struck it once, but two marks appear:
From the inside of mirror, before he strikes it, there is a pattern that was not on other side—it looks something like an eye.
Then he strikes it in what looks like the center of the eye:
There appear to be faces of screaming skulls and demons if you look carefully and frame by frame it and zoom you can see details—(I think they added those things through CGI—computer graphics) and that makes perfect sense. Because he’s breaking the kingdom of darkness, those kinds of things would be in a mirror that represented evil and magic. The things are screaming because he’s putting an end to their power over him. Also, we see a red devilish face that looks like part of the curtain, to the far left—it has a defeated expression.
Here’s just a taste—not zoomed. It looks like spiders and screaming demon/skull at bottom—one thing reminds me of woman statue at cemetery with screaming severed head in sleeve, pincers over it, etc--but what is really interesting, as this is frame by framed, those round lines that formed the “eye” just disappear into blackness—they don’t implode like the rest of mirror … they're just gone--fade away--which shows me this was graphically done.
Erik has a “there, now it’s finished” look on his face as the shards of the final mirror splinter—a satisfied look. He’s smiling. And now they show something else, after he’s broken through the last mirror—a ray of white light is shining behind him that was NOT in his lair before this. It is shining into the tunnel, as if to point the way, to encourage.
He glances back—I feel it was to look once more upon what had been his home for 22 years. It’s natural to look back. He is leaving everything behind—everything that was of the old, including the memory of his childhood symbolized in his music box—and he’s going forward, into the light to join Christine.
Erik walks over the shards, but three important things to note—a) This is a CLOSE-UP. b) light appears at his feet. C) These are not the same tall, snug black boots he wore—these are shoes with bulkier spats (not form-fitting as boots were)—showing he’s changing his footwear/protection. He is no longer allowing the Phantom to guide him. The boots are gone—now he has shoes on.
before:
now:
So, guess who will now help him? Raoul. Raoul has been shown as symbolic of shoes—shoes protect the feet, and feet are symbolic of an upright spirit in symbolism. Raoul is a priest of light. A priest protects the spirit. Also the Little Lotte song points to him being symbolic of shoes, AND Christine was always barefoot when alone with Phantom/Angel (I believe there are dual meanings for this, but it’s partly because Raoul symbolized shoes and he didn’t want her under Raoul’s protection.).
They showed four close-ups of shoes with the people in them in entire movie—and close-ups are always important in film. First they showed Raoul’s shoes at auction, a few minutes later they showed a close-up of Christine’s ballet slippers with her in them at beginning of movie as if showing he would protect her throughout the movie—and he did. Then after chandelier fell an opera patron running down the stairs ahead of everyone else and wearing pink ballet slippers (symbolic of Christine and how Raoul would save her from the mob) And now, this is another close-up of shoes with Erik in them and the light on them—which I believe shows that Raoul will help him in the outside world. Raoul sang, “Say the word and I will follow you,”—the king heard it and acted upon it. He is going to let Raoul be his priest and protector. All kings have priests (those who serve them), and Erik is switching sides. He has conquered his fear, gained the love of his queen, put to death his alliance with the Phantom, and is now going toward the light and a new life--with Chrisitine.
Meg enters the lair—well ahead of the others. She has a cross around her neck, one she’s never had before this—showing she is for the light and for the king, again, we know this because of the symbolic bag of coins—payment—to keep the mob away, etc. She was the only woman to dress in pants for the opera. Behind her, the police approach and I wonder if they can even see her. Just a thought, but I wonder if she’s visible to them (this is a fantasy). And earlier they didn’t show her with the mob ... Behind her, outside the entrance of the lair they show a secret passage—they have never shown this before—it was a rock wall. I think this might be there now as a clue to show that Erik did get away.
She stops to look at mirrors—which are again close together—on top of each other—and are no longer wide apart. The places struck are all on the left—and the phantom with chain that was sitting by mannequin chamber is now gone--there is just a wall there.
I feel all this shows that the entrance to the supernatural spirit world has not only been blocked, but destroyed. Phantom has been defeated and retreated ... the mannequin seems further back in the alcove than before, when Erik broke the mirrors, and the veil is again on the ground, but this isn’t surprising. I feel when we saw the Christine mannequin seem about to burst out of the chamber with the veil on before Erik smashed the mirrors it was one of those “now you see it, didja catch it?” clues they put off to the side. Also note, there are still 4 lit candles, showing Erik was there. No longer any reflections of any candles that showed before in the two mirrors though. But the one candle (Christine) is still lit.
She runs up to Erik’s bedroom. As she gets there, a definite shape sparkles on the wall where Christine had been standing but wasn't shown before--when you zoom, it looks like a turtledove (symbolic of Venus, goddess of love and beauty, symbolic of Christine). The wall beyond that is flat--no sparkle--except where some water drips down away from this shape.
Meg's pants are now dry—and I feel this could be due to two possible things. An underground lake symbolizes magic in the symbols chart. Since the king has broken the darkness of his kingdom, the magic no longer has effect over the people. Also, I wonder if in this fantasy story she's a true guardian angel, one who had to mature (A clue to this possibility is when she was called a blonde angel by the directors, and also that they showed her vanished in last mob scene). The only people they ever showed to wear a cross around their necks were Raoul and Madame Giry—and now Meg. Raoul and M. Giry were both priests of light and darkness in this fantasy, and Meg has been growing into her role—as protector/guide for the light. The black ribbon is gone from her hair also. It slipped out when she was running from mob. M. Giry earlier renounced the darkness and now serves the light—first time we clearly see her cross is after this, though they hinted at it in PONR. Those they have shown as “priests” (those who serve) in this hidden story are the only ones to wear crosses around their necks.
The music box is turned in a different position than when Erik left lair—and is now facing the mask. The box is now black and doesn’t look like it did throughout the movie.
First picture is in “I Remember”—
And now DOM:
Erik has left box and all it means behind—in French subtitles he sings to the music box--“hide well the colors inside you”—but he is no longer hiding in a “masquerade”. The red and gold—the kingdom colors—have been stripped away. Erik has destroyed his kingdom—and now box appears plain and devoid of its former glory. A few think it could be black now because Phantom has hidden inside box. Whatever is the case, I still strongly believe the music box in movie symbolizes Erik. And Phantom is no longer with him.
They show 3 candles are lit outside bedroom when before there were 4 —the placement is different too, so it’s not just about one of them not showing—and this shows Phantom is still there. He’s not with the king any longer—Erik destroyed his power over him. To the left of Meg is that white castle under glass globe—but there are no longer two candles there to shine on it like earlier—phantom control is completely gone from Erik. Now it seems lit from within, perhaps showing Erik has gone to the light. When I zoomed—it resembles one of the gates to La Feria in Seville—Festival of lights. (From his drawings) Held before Easter week, this was a religious feast/festival—all about the light, etc.
Before:
After:
Also there now appears to be a family portrait on the wall that wasn’t there before. Something else interesting—they didn’t show this in MOTN or when Erik sang to the music box, but now what appears to be a cradle/ baby bed from that time period is sitting there, with what looks like a white blanket with green embroidery over it. (Showing us that Christine and Erik will have children maybe, since it said she did on her headstone. It is both red, Erik's color, and green, her color.)
Meg picks up the mask, looks at it as though in sympathy, and takes it. She hears someone coming and leaves in the direction of the secret passage they showed earlier. She is of the light—they even show her cross up higher on her throat so we’ll be sure to see it—no evil was intended—the power of the mask is broken. That happened when Erik broke the mirrors and the Phantom control over his life. So in taking the mask back to him, she was again acting as his guardian, to protect him from people outside who could harm him. I don’t believe the mask symbolized evil any longer. Phantom power had been destroyed over the king’s life.
And so, to quote the summary of Robert le Diable, “darkness is dispelled, human nature is redeemed and faith is triumphant!” (And from me—in this fantasy, ALL the clues that the main story has shown from POTO intro up through now strongly point to Erik marrying Christine, his queen of the musical realm and his countess in the world outside the opera house kingdom.
)
**COMPANION BOOK CLUES**
This is underlined and capped in companion book:
THE PHANTOM has vanished, leaving only his WHITE MASK. (White signified a corrupt ruler in symbolism of masks—the Phantom meaning Erik.)
Camera moves into the BLACK EYE HOLE OF THE MASK as we dissolve to RAOUL'S EYE. (Could be to show the importance of the eye of gold in the b & w scene and also that “gold eye” symbolizes phantom)
A few differences in companion—she unveils many mirrors, not just one, and I already mentioned about the wedding dress, but here’s the way they described the kiss. Also remember, the Phantom they mention is Erik:
She calmly puts the ring on her finger and kisses him full on the lips. She pulls away, tears streaming down her cheeks. The PHANTOM is stunned. Then, she leans toward him and embraces him again. But this time the kiss is long and deep. A lover’s kiss. As it ends, they look straight into each other’s eyes. The PHANTOM is crying, devastated. He has never known human love. CHRISTINE’S gesture—her sacrifice and at the same time commitment—are too much for this tragic man to bear.
And this:
She stands before him and we think she’s going to stay but instead she takes off her ring and places it on his finger. She hurries off. We stay on him as he hears:
CHRISTINE (in distance)
Say you’ll share with me one love one lifetime.
RAOUL:
Say the word, and I will follow you.
203. Int. PHANTOM’S LAIR/CANAL—NIGHT
The PHANTOM comes out of the bedroom and sees, through the descending grill, the boat disappearing into the darkness of the underground canal. CHRISTINE is looking back at him. She seems to be singing for him.
CHRISTINE:
Share each day with me … each night … each morning …
She disappears still looking at him.
To me this shows me what the creators had in mind—If you put a ring on someone’s finger (and notice they called it “her ring”), that is a sign of commitment, but even more—it is a sign of a ceremony. She was accepting him as her husband, like an informal marriage ceremony between them or a betrothal. That they make it a point to say she seems to be singing this love song for him appears to be a clue that she was singing for him (and we know she was from other clues they've shown in movie at this point)—also them saying she continues to look at him as she sings and the boat disappears makes it all about Erik.
p. 138-39: The two-page spread shows a behind the scenes shot of Christine standing in the boat and Raoul sitting, both of them looking back toward lair. Red is in her hair and in the whole set that is supposed to be predominantly green (no red was in set at this point). Her sleeves are up not down. Two crewmembers stand nearby; one wears a red shirt under his black wetsuit and carries a green/white container; under the black wetsuit of the other guy he has on a shirt with the face of an ape but it appears to be wearing clothes. There is also red on his indigo colored shirt.
P. 141—the pic of Meg—she is completely red, as are some of the others, in this green setting. And her cross doesn’t show.
P. 142-43: Two-page spread shows him break the last mirror—and makes it more obvious that the bottom was also struck—though he didn’t strike it but once. His face is completely red—perhaps, again, showing that is his color.
**SPANISH SUBTITLES TRANSLATIONS BY Phantommyangel & Promiseme & Co.** :
ERIK:
Masquerade
Carnaval
Carnival
Paper faces on parade...
Mascarada aritifical
Artificial masquerade
Hide your face so the world will never find you...
Carnaval
¿Qué se oculta en
Un rostro enmascarado?
What is hidden in a masked face?
from honey: this could relate to the fact that Phantom is hidden within
Christine, I love you
Christine, te amo
Christine, I love you
from honey: The word they use to describe "love" when Erik sings it here is different than the word they used when Raoul sang it in AIAOY--here, with Erik, it means a deep romantic love.
With Raoul, word used for "love" meant to adore; but translator said it wasn't the word for deep love but more of a familial type love
CHRISTINE:
Say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime
Di que en nuestra vida
Hay esperanza
Say that in our life there is hope
from honey: She is asking him to give her assurance that it will all work out and he will come to her.
Earlier when she was hurt/angry, she sang “we had such hopes and now those hopes are shattered”—now she’s asking him for hope again. She is asking him to “Recall those days, look back on all those times…”—and make the decision she wants him to make. To come to her.
RAOUL:
Say the word and I will follow you...
Dilo
Y voy a donde vayas tú
Say the word and I will go where you go
CHRISTINE: (looking back at him, and here we see her mouth isn't moving--she's singing in his mind):
Share each day with me, each night, each morning...
Que si estás conmigo
Nada importa
If you are with me, nothing else matters
from honey: She's letting him know that no matter what has happened and what all he’s done—If he’s with her, that is all that's important to her.
ERIK:
You alone, can make my song take flight.
Sólo tú me inspiras
De verdad
Only you inspire me, that's the truth
from honey: sounds reassuring to me
It's over now the music of the night!
Morirá
Mi música
En la noche
My music in the night will die!
from honey: Yep, and it did. His love/dependency on the darkness dies--and it's here he makes his decision.)
**FRENCH SUBTITLES TRANSLATIONS BY Phantomrose07 & Co.**
Masquerade
Mascarade
Masquerade
Paper faces on parade
Maints profils sont en parade.
Many profiles are in parade.
Masquerade, hide your face so the world will never find you
Mascarade, Cachez bien les couleurs qui vivent en vous.
Masquerade, Hide well the colors which live inside you.
Christine, I love you
Christine, je t’aime tant …
Christine, I love you so much...
Say you’ll share with me one love one lifetime
Sache longtemps
Me dire
Combien tu m’aimes.
Realize a long time to tell me how much you love me.
Say the word and I will follow you.
Trouble-moi
En inventant demain …
Disturb me
while inventing tomorrow
another translation: Get rid of trouble by going to tomorrow
from honey—this makes sense for telling Erik to leave there, leave the trouble (mob/phantom), and go to the future Christine has offered him.
Share each day with me each night each morning
Si tu m’aimes, alors
Alors la vie
M’enchante …
If you love me, then
Then this life enchants Me...
You alone can make my song take flight
Dans ma nuit j’ai attendu
Ta voix.
In my night I awaited your voice.
It’s over now, the music of the night
Jamais la nuit
Ne chantera
Pour moi ...
Never the night will sing for me...
Before I go to the Italian, this was AIAOY for these same words: (and yeah, I know I still need to get the French up for AIAOY summary. I will soon, after all summaries are up.
But notice—the words are all different than above, though words are exactly the same in English. And the way they did this was another huge hint as to the end of this story…):Christine, in AIAOY, to Raoul:
Say you’ll share with me one love, one lifetime...
Ce soir cheris-moi d’un mot, d’un geste
Tonight cherish me with a word, a gesture
Say the word, and I will follow you....
Sur un oui, je te sais aussitot
over one yes, I know you at once
Share each day with me, each night, each morning...
Chaque instant fais-moi, toucher les anges
Each moment make me, touch the angels
And this is what Erik sang in PONR:
Say you’ll share with me one love one lifetime
Sache longtemps
Me dire
Combien
Tu m’aimes.
Realize a long time to tell me how much you love me.
Then Christine sang this in DOM:
Say you’ll share with me one love one lifetime
Sache longtemps
Me dire
Combien tu m’aimes.
Realize a long time to tell me how much you love me.
Erik in PONR:
Say you want me with you here beside you
Si tu m’aimes, alors
La vie
M’enchante…
If you love me, then
Then this life enchants me
Then Christine sang in DOM:
Share each day with me each night each morning
Si tu m’aimes, alors
Alors la vie
M’enchante …
If you love me, then
Then this life enchants Me...
Christine is singing exactly what Erik did on the bridge in PONR—as if she is repeating Erik's vow/promise—even though in English the words are sometimes different. She did not sing these words for the translations of AIAOY, as shown above (check your dvd--it's really interesting)—but the translations are the same only during PONR bridge scene, when he proposed, and DOM, as if she’s now answering his proposal. As if they are sharing future vows/promises toward each other here—and offering each other the hope she asked from him in Spanish subtitles.
**ITALIAN TRANSLATIONS by Angelofdarknss & Co.**
Paper faces on parade
Masquerade...per beffare la beltà
Masquerade…to mock the beauty
Masquerade, hide your face so the world will never find you
Masquerade...neanche tu lo saprai chi sei davvero...
Masquerade…not even you know who you really are…
Christine, I love you
Christine, ti amo...
Christine, I love you…
Christine: Say you’ll share with me one love one lifetime
Dimmi che tu mi amerai per sempre
Tell me that you will love me forever
RAOUL: Say the word and I will follow you.
Dimmi che mai più mi lascerai
Tell me that you will never leave me
Christine: Share each day with me each night each morning
se tu colmi il vuoto mio d'incanto...
If you fill my emptiness perfectly…
You alone can make my song take flight
Non avrò con me mai gli occhi tuoi...
What pleasure comes from watching your eyes…
It’s over now, the music of the night
Finì la dolce musica per noi!
It has finished the sweet music for us!
Note from translator: In the original, Christine and Raoul sing part of AIAOY, but here they sing exactly what Erik sang in PONR. I glanced over the Italian AIAOY lyrics and Erik's lines are not there. What he sings in PONR is his own.
And here is Erik’s from PONR—DOM copying it exactly, even though words are different in English—the translations are the same. What this shows me is that it wasn’t always about translating words directly from the English—since they used the same translations for completely different phrases in English--but instead it was about giving more clues to the hidden story and giving the conclusion of it, so we know what happened at the end. And whose bride Christine became.
:ERIK from PONR:
Say you'll share with me one
love, one lifetime . . .
Dimmi che tu mi amerai per sempre
Tell me that you will love me forever
Christine in DOM:
Say you’ll share with me one love one lifetime
Dimmi che tu mi amerai per sempre
Tell me that you will love me forever
Erik in PONR:
Lead me, save me from my solitude . . .
Dimmi che mai più mi lascerai
Tell me that you will never leave me
RAOUL in DOM: Say the word and I will follow you.
Dimmi che mai più mi lascerai
Tell me that you will never leave me
Erik in PONR:
Say you want me with
you, here beside you . . .
Se tu colmi il vuoto mio, d'incanto
If you fill my emptiness perfectly
Christine in DOM:
Share each day with me each night each morning
se tu colmi il vuoto mio d'incanto...
If you fill my emptiness perfectly…
From honey—this is exactly what they did in the French translations, and how I showed it there too. Yet another clue, pointing to this song belonging to Christine and Erik and them giving their vows/promises toward one another at the end. Because in AIAOY between her and Raoul--none of these words appear; they only were the same in PONR/bridge and DOM (regardless if English matched or not), and is yet another clue that this love song is not between Raoul and Christine, but instaed it belongs to Erik and Christine. It is their song.
The sweet music being finished has to do with the Music of the Night—and sweet music’s throne. MOTN is over now--it's AIOAY that they ended with--and it's AIAOY that they will continue with, because Erik is going to the light of day.
The music between them in their kingdom was the only beautiful thing he and Christine shared (besides their love)--why he may have called it "sweet"-- but now I think he's telling the Phantom that the music that jailer had intended for Erik and Christine to have/play eternally is now over. Because every other clue shows she became Erik’s, so I doubt he’s directing these words to her. She's already gone. But more these words are about her and what they shared there in the kingdom. Because at this point when he sings about the music of the night being over, he's about to end his alliance with the Phantom spirit, (whom they show when he sings this)-- as Christine has been wanting/asking/hoping Erik will do throughout entire movie: end the darkness controlling him, and leave the lair/kingdom behind to join her in the light. Thus, the resolution of this epic story: Erik is at last triumphant and love prevails ... light wins and darkness is dispelled.
**SOUND SIMILARITIES by Redrose**
Masquerade when music box plays
AIAOY when Christine comes back to him
MOTN when Phantom watches them leave (again ties in with AIAOY title phrase)
**MUSICAL ANALYSIS by Phantom’s Star**
Harp: thinking Note: I think this is what the sounds stand for.
Flute: a calling
of Angel (Angel of Music)
Cymbals: Angel is there, or near (brush of cymbals)—loud crash—he is fully there.
19) Flute—(very high) right before “leave me alone” as Erik is leaving the water. I think Christine is calling back to Erik since she looks confused by what he’s doing. We again hear the flute (same high sound) as Erik says, “Don’t let them find you.” Again, I think Christine is calling to Erik since he is telling them to leave, and her facial expressions show she doesn’t want to.
20) Harp—as Christine looks down at the ring and the melody of AIAOY begins, the harp begins as well and continues for the entire time Christine is again thinking only of Erik, focusing her attention on him.
21) Flute—right before Christine places the ring in Erik’s hand. We hear the flute (it is right before the shot we see of her placing it in his hand.) I think Christine is calling to Erik and telling him he now has a choice (she’s not giving up.)
22) Harp—Christine continues with AIAOY where Erik left off in PONR. Another reason why I think she’s singing to him. Also, the cymbals in AIAOY crashed a bit before Christine started to sing this verse on the rooftop. So again, I think it was a foreshadowing for this point)
Say you’ll share with me one love, one lifetime
Say the word and I will follow you
Share each day with me
Each night, each morning
We hear the harp during these lines and this melody. I think this is further proof that Christine is thinking of her Angel and singing to him.
Since the harp is also on the line Raoul sings, he is also thinking of Erik (as HW said) and offering his protection to Erik.
23) “It’s over now the music of the night.”—this is all Erik here. We hear the cymbals crash as he breaks the first mirror, after he breaks the second one, and as he hits the third mirror for the second time. The think about the sound of these cymbals is that they start off strong but seem to decrease in sound. I think this means Erik is going to be leaving his lair, no that the Phantom’s spirit is returning.
As Erik looks at the broken mirror and then starts to walk through the broken mirror, we hear the brushing of harp strings (twice.) Erik is leaving his lair (as we soon see, or at leas hear) and thinking of Christine (his Angel of Music.) When we see the shot of his shoes, we again hear the brushing of cymbals, not as loud as the earlier ones. Again, he is leaving his lair, probably never to return.
24) The time that we heard as the black curtain closed over Christine in MOTN and on the rooftop when Raoul was leading Christine (before he started to sing AIAOY) is the same tune we hear as Meg looks at the white mask and the camera then switches to focus just on the music box. The difference is before we heard the brushing of cymbals. In this scene we hear no cymbals. I think this means that Erik is gone, not just from his lair, but from relying on the Phantom’s spirit (since we see Meg looking at the mask) and from relying on its comfort/escape that is the music box. Instead, the flute has replaced the cymbals (hard to hear it but it’s there). Question is who is calling to Erik (since the music box symbolizes him and the camera is focusing on it?) To be honest, I think we (the audience) are being called to take in what just happened and find the meaning behind it. it’s in a box but once released, we’ll be astounded, which is why I also think the music box turns black. Erik is released, freed.
my apologies that some pictures were faded-- (a year old from WB board)--and some vivid--taken last night and today to replace the ones that for some reason aren't showing up anymore.
Link to:The Auction
http://www.phantomgerry.net/forum/viewt ... 316#222316[/size]
Last edited by honeyphan on Thu Nov 02, 2006 9:33 pm, edited 9 times in total.
Music brought them together...One kiss bound them for life...
And two hearts were entwined for all eternity
*Thanks nightsmusic for avatar! *E/C Banner/manip made by me (from The Treasure)
*More full E/C manip/paintings in my album
~ *Captain of the Hidden Plotters ...Is there a "Hidden Plot" in 2004 POTO movie? You decide!
The Hidden Plot (HP)
E/C Phanphics (more to come soon) THE QUEST (HP-bk.1)
THE TREASURE (HP-bk. 2 - adult) REFLECTIONS of the SOUL A PHANTOM CHRISTMAS CAROL SYMPHONY in the TWILIGHT - adult -click links to read
And two hearts were entwined for all eternity
*Thanks nightsmusic for avatar! *E/C Banner/manip made by me (from The Treasure)
*More full E/C manip/paintings in my album
~ *Captain of the Hidden Plotters ...Is there a "Hidden Plot" in 2004 POTO movie? You decide!
The Hidden Plot (HP)
E/C Phanphics (more to come soon) THE QUEST (HP-bk.1)
THE TREASURE (HP-bk. 2 - adult) REFLECTIONS of the SOUL A PHANTOM CHRISTMAS CAROL SYMPHONY in the TWILIGHT - adult -click links to read
