The Ninth Gate

I admit I like this movie. There are three semi-identical books, with half forgeries and half magical illustrations. The sets of three are interesting mathematically. I happened to catch the film for the first time during one of the Lawson Conferences, late at night I couldn't rest and took in a late showing, and got hooked. It's a more cerebral film than a lot of Johnny Depps' recent work (Trancendence excepted). Johnny Depp tries a lot of interesting roles. In his role as Corso, I find it interesting that someone could make a full career out of pursuing, and trading antique books. Not to just have a walking history memorized of the book contents, but to be cognizant of the various printings and methods of manufacture, and current whereabouts of different copies.

To those looking for the illustrations on the web, here is a link. Symbolism in the Ninth Gate. To their list I would add: the four towers represent the fourth drawing, the forgery.

It's also meaningful regarding traveling. Supposedly the book, which I've yet to read but ordered, has more relations with Dumas and Cervantes' Don Quixote, to which the movie only makes some initial reference. Because he followed the journey prescribed, even though he was not managing it, he ended up at the end in a destination he neither planned for or believed he could see. It's also not clear if it's really a reward or a damning punishment that he will achieve.

Delving further into analysis of the cultists leads some to describe them as Catharsists, which I had to research as well to understand more. In France they were dualists, and they at one point resided in Carcassone (the boardgame our family loves to play). I appreciate when games tie into history without being blatant. (Also see backgammon or Nardi - there is some that see a relationship, including my Central Asian Studies professor at the U of MN Wuzirgmir.

The solving of the book puzzle is also a kind of game - with a cheat, one of the pages is not actually in any of the books, but was stolen and a forgery introduced by the Ceniza brothers. In yet another fortunate arrival of time and space he finds the last piece and completes his journey.

Soundwise, the movie is ideal. The musical theme keeps repeating itself throughout the film. The sounds I especially like are the tactile, ASMR-level turning of the pages. It's such a sensory invitation that to someone who has spent their life around different books, its almost like you can get an olifactory component to the locations and props.