Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Foreign.
[00:00:20] Hello, everyone, and welcome back to the final girl on 6th Avenue podcast. My name is Carolyn Smith Hillmer and I am 6th Avenue's very own Final Girl. And today I, you know, I hope you all really enjoyed the episode I did on Benny's video because things don't really get better from here. I'm sure you are all hoping for some sort of reprieve, but I'm back with another Michael Henneke film. This time we're going to be talking about the second seventh continent. This was released in 1989. It's one hour and 48 minutes. And our Bible, IMDb has the following description.
[00:01:04] The daily routines of a seemingly ordinary Austrian family begin to take on a sinister complexion.
[00:01:13] Yes, that is the description I'm sure you all were looking for. And you probably are thinking, wow, Carolyn, that sounds really boring. Why are we, you know, going to be embarking on this? This sounds like another Jean Delman, you know, situation. Three hours of me watching somebody live their daily life. And while you may be true, you know, you may be right.
[00:01:38] I think this one is different.
[00:01:41] I really do.
[00:01:43] So the Criterion Right Collection. This is where I was actually able to watch this film. If you do not subscribe to the Criterion Channel streaming, you really should.
[00:01:59] If you love film and you don't subscribe to that or Mubi. Like, do you even like movies at all? Do you even like film? Like, can you even call yourself a cinephile if you don't sub to those two streaming services? Like, I don't think so. But, you know, there are. The first three films that Michael Henneke directed are compiled in what is called the Glaciation Trilogy.
[00:02:34] This trilogy includes the film we're talking about today, the seventh continent, 1989, Benny's video, 1992 and 1994, film 71, fragments of a Chronology of Chance.
[00:02:50] All are very good.
[00:02:53] I obviously enjoy this director's films. I don't think that anybody is surprised to hear me say that.
[00:03:00] But those three films comprise what's known as the Glaciation Trilogy. And the Criterion Collection actually describes the trilogy as a trilogy depicting a cold bureaucratic society in which genuine human interactions and relationships have been supplanted by a deep seated collective malaise.
[00:03:25] One could argue that the main glaciation in reference is regarding the emotional right, an icing over a turn to the cold, and maybe heartless. And for someone's first feature film to be such a home run is nearly unheard of. It appears that American audiences did not appreciate the Seventh Continent at The time of its release because it was submitted as the Austrian entry to the Academy Awards, but did not receive a nomination at the ceremony. I think that's a mistake.
[00:04:00] Nobody from the Academy ever asks me my opinions. And I think that that is just. I mean, why not? I obviously know what I'm talking about and I obviously pick stellar films.
[00:04:13] But let us waste no more time and let's get into the seventh continent.
[00:04:19] Our film opens with the credits and a title screen because, you know, we're not afraid. So we put the fucking credits at the beginning. I love that.
[00:04:29] While the family car gets a thorough car wash. It feels like a 20 minute car wash.
[00:04:37] Then we see this, you know, normal family wake up, start their day. They have the clock radio, you know, by their bedside table, and the news is what they choose to wake up to. They're talking about some, you know, invasion in the Middle East. They eat breakfast and head out for the day. Mom and dad, Anna and George go to work and daughter Eva goes to school. This film is divided into three chapters. Each chapter starts with a letter written to George's parents.
[00:05:10] The first two are narrated and written by Anna.
[00:05:14] So part one.
[00:05:16] This letter reads. Dear In Laws, please forgive George and me for not writing sooner. But so much has happened since my mother passed away that we've had little time. My brother Alexander took her death so hard that we didn't know what to do. He became extremely depressed. Some days he didn't even get out of bed. He finally had to go to the hospital where he underwent horrible treatments. It was awful. I had to run the business alone, handle the will, keep the household running, and look after both my family and my sick brother. But things have calmed down. Thank God Alexander is better now and so I finally have time to write. George was wonderful throughout all of it, even though he found it as difficult for himself as it was for me.
[00:06:06] He's been transferred to a new department where he's been told he has much better chances for advancement. Unfortunately, his new boss is really incompetent. The man will retire in a few years, but he thinks he knows everything.
[00:06:19] Fearing that George might replace him, he does his utmost to make life difficult for him. But you know your son. That only spurs him on to focus all of his time and energy on doing the best job possible and proving that he's the best.
[00:06:34] He got another raise, which, together with the inheritance from my mother, has made our financial situation very comfortable.
[00:06:42] Let's see, what else. Eva, our little problem child, is back in good health. Knock on wood.
[00:06:49] She hasn't had an asthma attack since we saw you last winter. The doctor is very pleased. She sends you both a big kiss. So you see, nothing but good news. A big hug from me too. Your daughter in law, Anna. P.S. george sends his love too, of course, and begs your forgiveness for not writing himself.
[00:07:08] Cool. Nice letter. I love that. That's great.
[00:07:14] At school, Eva is actually being carried out of the bathroom by her teacher. And she tells her teacher that she actually can't see anymore.
[00:07:24] She's been apparently hiding this really well because nobody knew. Her teacher tested her by running her hand in front of Eva's face really close and she wasn't able to see it until it was right in front of her face.
[00:07:40] Nobody knew how, you know, nearsighted she was.
[00:07:46] At work, Anna gives a patient an eye exam. She's an optometrist, so is her brother. They own a practice together.
[00:07:54] The patient is telling a story about how everybody is apparently cursed because, you know, by her senior year everyone wore glasses and stopped making fun of other people for wearing them at an earlier age.
[00:08:10] So it's kind of interesting because Eva's affliction, you know, of not being able to see seems like it was pretty sudden and nobody really knew that that was happening. And you know, now we have this woman as a patient in the office talking about how, you know, there was a girl who, you know, she grew up with, who wore glasses. And then everybody thought she was cursed and she hated life because everybody made fun of her. But then by their senior year, everybody wore glasses and she didn't get made fun of anymore.
[00:08:49] Now we're at the grocery store.
[00:08:52] They purchase completely normal groceries, produce, vegetables, bread, meat, wine. Standard European grocery trip. They get gas, they check the transmission fluid, they go home, unload the groceries from the car. I mean, we are truly just watching people run errands and live their normal life. And at this point you're probably asking yourself, why am I listening to this if we're just going to talk about people running errands? I promise the payoff is worth it.
[00:09:22] At home, Eva does some homework at the kitchen table and George takes a shower. Anna starts dinner and puts the groceries away. The phone rings and Anna answers. It's a call from the school.
[00:09:34] And the school is calling her to talk about the fact that Eva claims that she is blind.
[00:09:41] When Anna goes to confront Eva about it, Eva says that she never said that and that perhaps her teacher is lying.
[00:09:52] Anna asks her if she pretended to be blind.
[00:09:56] Right. Knowing full well that mom, Anna herself is an optometrist.
[00:10:03] Eva says that she pretended, and Anna slaps her.
[00:10:09] What's interesting is that it, based on Eva's facial expressions and body language here, almost looks like, and appears to be that she actually can't see very well.
[00:10:26] And she's too afraid to tell her mom that she can't see very well because she doesn't want to wear the glasses. Right.
[00:10:37] But she was comfortable enough to tell her teacher about it.
[00:10:42] She just didn't want her mom to know about it. So it's very strange. We actually don't get, like, a super clear resolution on this. I'm just gonna tell you right now. But it is something that, like, kind of you continue to think about throughout the rest of the film.
[00:11:00] Anna's brother Alexander joins the family for dinner. They discuss. They. They laugh. They talk about the woman that was in their office that day, talking about how everybody that had glasses wore ugly ones, and apparently she didn't know that contact lenses existed and blah, blah, blah.
[00:11:16] Alexander, you know, kind of lets Anna know that the food is incredible and asked Anna what she seasoned it with. And so she tells him, but then he breaks down in tears at the table.
[00:11:30] Anna lets him cry for a little while, but then stands up to comfort him. And using my context clues, the ant. The. You know, the recipe that Anna used and described may have potentially belonged to their mother, which is, you know, what caused him to have this emotional breakdown at the table. Not entirely sure, but that's what I'm kind of gathering.
[00:11:58] Later, they watch tv. Alexander shares a memory he had of his mother before she died, in which she was discussing an alternate reality where people did not have opaque heads, like, in the sense that we do, but instead there was a way that we could visually see into people's minds by, like, looking directly into their head. Pretty cool idea. Something I feel like we've all thought about.
[00:12:27] Anna is tucking in Eva for bed, and she finds a newspaper article under Eva's school workbook that discusses blind children. It's like, a story about how, like, a blind kid, like, still has friends and, you know, their journey of, you know, finding out and becoming blind and, like, still living, like, a fulfilling life. Afterwards, Anna tucks Eva into bed, and she asks Eva if, you know, she feels lonely sometimes, and Eva says no.
[00:12:59] She asks her mom to leave the light on on her way out after saying I love you and their nightly prayer, but Anna says no because it's too late.
[00:13:08] Cut to random footage of a beach.
[00:13:15] George wakes up in the middle of the night. Turns on the lamp on his bedside table, which wakes up Anna. When she asks what's wrong, he says nothing and turns off the light.
[00:13:25] So perhaps this random footage of the beach was, I don't know, his dream.
[00:13:35] Part two, 1988.
[00:13:39] George and Anna are having sex in bed. Their alarm goes off to wake up at 6am, after which the clock begins to play news radio. Apparently the Soviets hijacked a plane and the situation is unclear at this time.
[00:13:54] They get out of bed to start their day and wake up Eva for school. George and Anna are like very, very careful to be quiet in the house. Even though everybody's awake. They're not turning on any like unnecessary lights. They're closing doors really softly by like, you know, turning the handle, bringing the door to meet the frame and then like lifting the handle back up so that way it doesn't really make any sound. And yeah, they're just trying to make as little noise as possible.
[00:14:23] They leave for the day. It's pouring rain and another letter.
[00:14:30] So Anna writes to George's parents, this time.
[00:14:34] Four days ago on the 1st of the month, George began his new position. It was a lot of work getting there. You may recall that when he was transferred to that department, his new boss was quite hostile. But George won the battle. He brought new inspiration to the department. And since his boss has recently been mostly out sick with a long standing intestinal ailment, George was asked to take over as acting department manager. His boss will be retiring soon anyway, so George's appointment as head of the department is just a formality for now.
[00:15:07] So you have every reason to be proud of your son. Alexander is much better too. He went on a summer cruise to Scandinavia, which did him a world of good. He sends his regards. George's senior boss is coming for dinner tonight. It's our way of thanking him for his party two weeks ago at which George's new position was unofficially confirmed.
[00:15:29] His boss is a real gourmet, so I'll have to use all my culinary skills to win him over. Mother, I'll be relying on your recipe for stuffed duck. Wish me luck.
[00:15:41] It's at this time that George's ailing boss, right, the one who was hostile, comes into the office to grab his personal belongings, right? And George says that he had them moved to human resources.
[00:15:58] He asks the man, you know, how are you feeling? He says he's feeling better. But then if he's feeling better, why is he there to pick up his stuff?
[00:16:07] He apologizes for disturbing George during his work day and at School gym class for Eva includes gymnastics, which I think is pretty cool, because I can tell you that American, you know, PE gym class does not involve gymnastics or anything cool of that nature. So I like that.
[00:16:29] Anna picks up George later that evening. It's still absolutely pouring rain, and apparently their dinner guest is coming alone because his wife is sick.
[00:16:38] They drive the car, you know, along the highway to go home, and there is a car accident on their way. It looks really bad, and it looks like an adult and a child are dead as a result.
[00:16:52] So we're washing the car again. Nothing says high class like a clean car.
[00:16:58] They just run it through the car wash. But, like, they're doing it all the time.
[00:17:03] Kind of bizarre. I mean, I don't own a car anymore, but when I did, I can tell you that I maybe washed my car.
[00:17:13] I don't know.
[00:17:16] Not as often as it feels like they're doing in this movie. I mean, every part in this film is like one year apart. But still, still, they're like, you know, they make it a point to always wash the car. They're always washing the goddamn car.
[00:17:31] Anna cries in the car wash.
[00:17:34] George and Eva both notice and, you know, we're not really sure why she's crying, but I don't know, I guess a car wash is probably a good time to let it out if you want, because, like, nobody can really hear you. If they hadn't looked at her, they probably wouldn't even have noticed.
[00:17:57] Yeah, interesting.
[00:18:00] Part three, 1989. The family goes on a road trip to visit George's parents.
[00:18:07] George is driving, like, super fast to get home, like, staying only in the left lane, passing cars. Like, they're standing still. Like, this man is like, I'm going to fucking get home right now.
[00:18:23] Their house sitter, you know, apparently forgot to feed the fish. They have a giant fish tank in, you know, the dining room area kind of separates, like, the kitchen, dining room and the living room.
[00:18:36] It's a gorgeous fish tank. Like, I would only dream of having something like that in my home, especially if I could have somebody, you know, come in and make maintain it for me professionally. Like, I would love that.
[00:18:51] It's beautiful. Anyway, Eva loves the fish. So, like, throughout the film, sometimes you'll see her, like, looking at the tank or, like, you know, feeding the fish really quickly, like she does in, you know, this part.
[00:19:04] So anyways, George mentions that he plans on firing their house sitter tomorrow, presumably because she forgot to feed the fish.
[00:19:16] Eva's dinner tonight consists of a giant bowl of cereal Cereal really is like the greatest dinner of all time. I was very jealous of her.
[00:19:27] And George doesn't want anything to eat. Anna is not really shown to be eating, so who knows? But you know, Eva's growing girl. She needs to eat dinner.
[00:19:38] Anna does the nighttime routine with Eva again, and she again asks for the light to be left on, and Anna says no. But this time, Eva grabs a big stuffed animal and heads off to sleep in bed. George reminds Anna that they're actually going to need to cancel the newspaper, like, the subscription as well, which kind of implies that they're going to be canceling a lot of things this time. Like I said, there's a letter in every part. There is a letter here as well this time. It is written by George and narrated by George.
[00:20:18] It's broken up into, like, pieces. So I'm just going to read you it as it's presented on screen and via the audio throughout the film.
[00:20:31] So the letter reads or starts to read. Dear Mother and Father, here you are receiving a letter so quickly, even though you always say I'm too lazy to write and that you never hear from me. Today, just one day after our visit, I gave notice at work. My boss was a bit surprised at first, as I'm sure you probably are too. But he assumed I'd found something better and felt you shouldn't hold someone back intent on leaving. And he's right.
[00:20:59] You're probably wondering why I didn't mention any of this during our visit. But don't you think that the arguments would have spoiled our time together for both you and us? When you've made a decision, you should see it through. That's what you've always said, Father. And we've made a decision. We've decided to pull up stakes here because except for you two, there's nothing that can hold us here. Anna asked her brother to take over her part of the business even before we came to visit you. He. He will run the business alone.
[00:21:32] Anna goes to the grocery store. She's literally buying so much food and, like, so many, you know, sweets and everything that when she's at the bakery, the baker is like, is this for, like, a wedding or something? Like, what is this for? And Anna's like, no, like, she's just buying a shit ton of stuff.
[00:21:52] Eva goes to school. Her side is, like, really itchy, and she cannot resist the urge to scratch it.
[00:22:01] Her teacher asks her to show her, like, what itches. There's nothing really there to itch, but, like, she just can't stop we all know how that feels. Okay.
[00:22:14] Anna waits to be seen by the doctor where she gets a prescription for medication, which is possibly like an antidepressant or like, I don't know, a benzo or something. It's. I'm not sure, but, you know, the doctor makes sure to remind her, like, this is the last time that he's going to be writing this prescription. So, you know, don't. Basically, don't come back and ask again.
[00:22:39] She goes to the hardware store, she buys tons of tools, like an axe and a sledgehammer and like these large clippers and anything you can think of. Chainsaw, like, she's buying, just, like, tons of tools.
[00:22:56] George picks her up from her optometrist practice where Alexander pays her a tender goodbye.
[00:23:04] You can tell that this brother sister duo mean a lot to each other. And the fact that they are moving is obviously hard for the both of them. Them.
[00:23:17] They go to the bank together, Anna and George, and they withdraw all of their money.
[00:23:22] When questioned by the bank teller why it's so urgent, right?
[00:23:28] Anna says that they're moving to Australia this time. They run the car through the car wash again, but it's just Eva and George, no Anna.
[00:23:41] Anna's at home, and so she calls the school and lets them know that Eva will be out for a while because she caught a fever while they were skiing and she's sick and she's just gonna be home.
[00:23:53] George takes Eva with him after the car wash to meet a man who owns, like, a car lot or, like a yard, basically, of used cars and parts and whatnot. And they sell the car, they take a taxi home, and George surveys the neighborhood before going inside to make sure no one is outside or seeing them. Basically, once he goes inside the house, he locks all the doors, closes all the blinds and the curtains, and cue the random beach footage again.
[00:24:27] The letter continues.
[00:24:31] And then there's our little Eva. We thought long and hard about whether to take her with us or leave her behind with you. As you can imagine, mom, and certainly you, too. Dear Father, making this decision has caused us many sleepless nights.
[00:24:46] Because while we're certain we're doing the right thing for ourselves, it's an entirely different matter to decide the fate of someone else. Someone you love more than anything in the world. Perhaps you remember last Easter when we all heard that cantata at your church? One line said, I look forward to my death.
[00:25:08] When Eva afterwards said, me too, you were both quite shocked. We've talked about it a lot since then, and I know that death Holds no terror for Eva now that we've decided to take her with us. We spoke to her about it again today. It was both beautiful and sad to see how easy it was for her to agree to stay with us. I think that looking back at the lives we've led makes it easy to accept the idea of an end. Please don't be sad or blame yourselves or take it as any kind of criticism. I'm merely stating simple facts that have nothing to do with you.
[00:25:50] They eat a wonderful dinner as a family. Eva and Anna are smiling, and the phone rings.
[00:25:57] They're all kind of like, afraid that the phone is ringing or just apprehensive about it. So George walks over, he picks it, you know, up off the hook and puts it back down.
[00:26:09] And then is like, eh. And before he actually places it, he's like, nope, I'm just gonna leave it hanging off the hook, basically. So the line will ring busy and no other calls will come through, right?
[00:26:21] We see the letter that we've been, you know, been hearing from George, and he's been narrating it to us. We see the handwritten letter. He finishes it. With love, your son, George.
[00:26:35] Eva goes to bed the next morning, while the coffee is being made, George brings all of the tools that Anna had previously purchased into the house. And it looks like they really want to eat breakfast and cause chaos.
[00:26:53] So George lays all the tools out on the couch. Anna makes breakfast. George and Eva knock down one piece of, like, built in shelving in one of the rooms. And when Anna comes in to be like, what the fuck is that noise? They tell her that the best way to do this is systematically.
[00:27:15] So I'm like, you're gonna destroy your house for real.
[00:27:23] They enjoy a rather gluttonous breakfast, including champagne. Okay, like I'm saying, the spread of this breakfast is, like, incredible.
[00:27:34] It's indulgent, it's beautiful. It's what we can only hope to eat, you know, for breakfast every day of our lives, right?
[00:27:46] George reminds Eva at the breakfast table to put on sturdy shoes so that she does not get hurt. They remove all the photos from the walls, all the clothes from the closets, and then they begin to, like, cut and tear each article of clothing. Like, every shirt that's buttoned up and, like, you know, buttoned in the closets, they're tearing them to rip all the buttons off, and they're like, cutting them with these shears and, like, tearing the fabric. Very, very strange.
[00:28:20] They move on to the curtains. They strip them from the windows, tear Them apart, destroying them basically in the same manner as the clothes.
[00:28:29] All of this, by the way, includes Eva, who also is destroying her drawings and her artwork. I'm talking books, magazines, records. Every individual item in the home is being broken and destroyed. Every fixture, every piece of furniture, every photo from every picture album. Even the giant, beautiful fish tank with the fish inside of it.
[00:28:58] George takes a tool, you know, and smacks it up against the glass of the fish tank. Of course it breaks.
[00:29:09] Anna had warned him, you know, asked him to not do that.
[00:29:14] He does it anyway.
[00:29:17] We see the fish, like, pour out of, you know, with the water from the tank all through the living room and, like, onto the giant disaster that's been created of them destroying every single thing inside their house and leaving it all on the floor. And the. The fish are just writhing around, dying on the floor.
[00:29:43] And Eva is horrified, okay? She's, like, inconsolable about the fish. And, you know, Anna is comforting her, and George, like, kind of apologizes, but it doesn't. It doesn't really mean anything.
[00:29:56] And during this, the doorbell rings.
[00:30:00] They kind of hesitate, like, are we going to answer that? Are we not?
[00:30:04] George gets closer to the door, and he kind of like to, you know, kind of to see, like, who it is and, like, scout it out and see if he even wants to answer the door.
[00:30:13] And it's actually two men from the phone company.
[00:30:17] Someone reported that they were unable to get through to their line. I wonder why.
[00:30:25] He says he took it off the hook because he didn't want anybody calling.
[00:30:31] And, you know, the two guys from the phone company are like, okay, dude, like, that's not allowed. You're gonna have to put it back on.
[00:30:39] George admits to them that, you know, he didn't know that it wasn't allowed and that he just wanted to not be reached.
[00:30:47] And they were like, oh, well, if you don't put it back on, like, you know, we're gonna have to disconnect the phone service to this house. And he's like, yeah, okay, whatever.
[00:30:56] So they leave, and George takes some, like, tissue or fabric and wedges it in between, you know, the. I don't even know how to explain it. He basically puts it inside of the phone, and he does the same for the doorbell. So that way, the little metal piece that hits the bell when the phone is ringing or when the doorbell is ranging, like, can't make any noise. So it essentially, like, doesn't disconnect the doorbell, and it doesn't prevent people from getting through to the phone line. It Just won't make any noise.
[00:31:38] Then he goes in the bathroom and he takes up every piece of cash, all the money that they have that they withdrew from the bank, and flushes it. He's ripping them apart and flush. Flushing them in the toilet. This takes, like, way too long.
[00:31:57] Like, way too long. I get it. I get the scene. But, like, wow. And it also hurts because, like, money, they're just literally throwing it away.
[00:32:07] And after a full day of, you know, destroying their house, they all take a break and decide to eat some more.
[00:32:14] And sure, they're tired and hungry after their adventure.
[00:32:18] And Eva asks if she can watch TV in one of the rooms that they still have in the home. They basically, like, destroyed everything except for, like, one place to sit and. Or lay and a tv. That's it. Everything else is broken.
[00:32:36] Cut to montage of this disaster of a house. Okay, we're looking at all the shit broken and strewn all over the place.
[00:32:46] And the letter to George's parents is taped on the door.
[00:32:52] George decides that after this long day, he's gonna take a bath. And Anna is looking out of the window between the slats of the blinds to just, like, see what's going on out there. She sees a dog, but that's pretty much it.
[00:33:08] Okay. This is where shit gets really real, and I'm really sorry.
[00:33:13] So Eva and George are watching tv. And the only remaining room of the house, right, that still has furniture to sit on and a tv. And a cover of someone performing the Power of Love by Celine Dion is playing on the tv. And Anna comes in and joins them. They all watch kind of with this look of like.
[00:33:35] It's a mix of, like, disdain and hatred and exhaustion and, like, shock almost behind their eyes. It's very hard to explain.
[00:33:51] Eva lays, you know, down on her mom, on Anna, and she says her bedtime prayer. And then cut to black.
[00:34:03] Anna goes to the bathroom.
[00:34:05] She gets what I'm assuming is the medicine that she got from the doctor. There's a meatloaf concert playing now on the tv.
[00:34:15] And we see when we cut back to George and Eva, who are still in there, that there's an empty needle laying on the furniture.
[00:34:31] Anna tries to dissolve these pills into a glass of water and, like, you know, trying to break them down into smaller pieces and dissolve them, but it's, like, taking too long for her, and she's, like, in a panic, so she takes it and she drinks it, chunks of pills and all. And then she gets, you know, a bottle of wine, takes a big chug of it. And then, you know, takes off her sweater and she cries and holds Eva George.
[00:35:03] Now, he's like, you know, throwing up. I think the reality of the situation is finally sinking in for him.
[00:35:11] He then gets up and goes to the bathroom and mixes together some concoction of medicine and powders and whatnot into some water for himself. And then he takes that mixture, loads it into a needle, and injects himself.
[00:35:27] When you look at the wall of this room that they're in, George wrote down the name of each person. So Anna, Eva, George.
[00:35:40] Eva, Anna, George. Actually, their time of death.
[00:35:47] Okay. And the date.
[00:35:52] He looks, you know, at his name, but isn't exactly sure what time he's gonna die yet. So obviously he doesn't finish that.
[00:36:02] He lays awake staring at the static on the TV screen. Sounds cool to lay next to your dead kid and wife all night, right? Very cool.
[00:36:14] The screen for the viewers, us, turns into static, and the film ends. They have all decided that they want to die.
[00:36:29] Text at the end of the film says that Alexander had called the police to check in on the family because he couldn't get a hold of anybody. And the police broke in to find what was going on, and they. They uncovered this fucking situation.
[00:36:47] And despite the letter that George wrote, his parents actually don't believe it was a suicide at all. I don't really know how you could not believe it since, you know, you, like, why would you write a letter like that if it wasn't for a suicide? But fine.
[00:37:07] But anyway, they demanded a murder investigation, which turned into nothing. No leads, the case remains unsolved, and that is the end of the seventh continent.
[00:37:21] So you're probably wondering, after I just told you about this horrific film, what does it all mean?
[00:37:29] You know, one thing that I find interesting, just, you know, to hear my thoughts on it all, is that, yeah, it's. It's pretty much exactly what you think, right? Like, we have this family of three.
[00:37:46] Everything's cool, until, like, to you, who maybe, you know, you're listening, right, but you maybe haven't seen this film, you might feel like this kind of comes out of nowhere. And what I would like to convey to you, dear listener, is that this didn't come out of nowhere at all, really. When you watch this film, maybe not for the first time, but maybe the second time or the third time, or even if you just watch it once and sit back and really, really think about it, you can tell that this has been something that's been planned and. Or contemplated for quite some time.
[00:38:36] In the first two parts, when we're watching this family, like, live their everyday lives, there's a lot of scenes where, like, you can't see the faces of, you know, anybody in the shot or in the frame or, like, there's like no words for a lot of it. Like, you're pretty much just watching these things take place and there's not really any dialogue happening. The one dialogue you can always count on is, like, the letters that are read.
[00:39:08] But that's really it.
[00:39:11] These people live what appears to be, to them the saddest life ever to be. But their life really isn't bad.
[00:39:25] To them, it is to them. It's meaningless, it's mundane, it is not worth living.
[00:39:36] You can tell that they're not happy about anything throughout the film. The first time we see them smile right together is at the very end in part three, whenever they're eating dinner. And Eva and Anna smile at each other. I mean, really, it's like the first time that they ever look like they're kind of happy or hopeful.
[00:39:59] And that's a wordless exchange. But, like, you kind of get like, wow, something good is happening. Like, something really good is about to change the trajectory for this family so that they're not like the most depressed human beings that ever have lived. And I also want to say, right, that this film is a cinematic story, but it's actually based on a real incident.
[00:40:32] There was a, you know, in the 1980s, there was a family in Austria who had been found dead.
[00:40:43] Middle class family, suburban home, suburban living, just like the family in the film.
[00:40:50] And there was a suicide letter also to, you know, their family who they were leaving behind.
[00:41:00] And this included, you know, taking the life of their daughter as well. So this is everything, you know, it's all there.
[00:41:08] But apparently what people were mostly like, concerned about and confused and disturbed by was the fact that in the real life incident and in the film. Right, but in the real life incident, they also destroyed and flushed all their money down the drain, down the toilet, which is something that we spend a lot of time observing in the film as well.
[00:41:42] Yeah, it's. It's, I think, the most chilling part of it for me. I. The money. I don't give a. About that. I mean, I think it's more like there's a moral implication or maybe even an ethical implication that you could have given that money to someone or like, donated it or something so that it could be used for a.
[00:42:08] To better someone else's life or, like, you know, I don't Know anything, but instead you decided to flush it down the toilet.
[00:42:19] Like, I understand we're trying to paint the picture that, you know, to other people were moving or whatever to Australia, but, like, come on, come on. You know, if you gave it to, I don't know, anonymously, just, like, walked door to door in, like, a slightly more impoverished neighborhood in Vienna, you could probably just leave envelopes of money for people to pick up and find themselves, but you chose instead to actually manipulate it in such a way that, like, it can't be used anymore. Like, I just. I don't know. I, I. That, that to me was very bizarre.
[00:43:01] But the part that disturbs me the most. Right.
[00:43:05] Is that their daughter was in on this. I mean, I'm a little confused about, based on what we know in the film, you know, is that I keep. I keep going back to Eva telling her teacher that she can't see.
[00:43:26] And perhaps. Right, perhaps that's true.
[00:43:32] And she, you know, obviously didn't want to tell her parents. She didn't want to tell her mom, because if she did, then she knew that her mom would make her wear glasses. And perhaps there's some part of Eva who thought that maybe she wouldn't be worthy of love anymore or something, or she would. The ridicule that she would face at school for wearing these glasses.
[00:43:59] And if we are operating under the assumption that this is true and that she is blind, then I think it makes sense that she's not afraid to die because she refuses to fix her problem by getting glasses or by, like, telling anybody, like, her parents that there's something wrong and would rather just die instead.
[00:44:30] The most haunting scene to me is in part three, when.
[00:44:36] Right before, you know, right whenever Anna gets up to go to the bathroom to create this concoction for herself that she's going to use to kill herself. And there's a glimpse of the room that they're all in, and you see the needle, empty neck on the, on the furniture, you know, by Eva. And she is not moving or breathing.
[00:45:03] That is like, there's no words to describe that and, and how it was depicted. And you almost have to wonder even why it was chosen to be shown, but it was. And so now I have to live my life knowing that I've seen that.
[00:45:29] And if you obviously didn't catch it already, the seventh continent is in reference to Australia. The continent of Australia.
[00:45:39] These random footage, you know, clips of this ocean beach with, like, mountains in the background and stuff like that, I. I'm assuming are meant to depict Australia, maybe as how George visualizes Australia in his head.
[00:45:59] But why is he dreaming of a place like this, right? This is he using Australia as being the seventh continent to, you know, be like, hey, I know none of you guys have been there, so this is a really easy, you know, reference for me to make. And, and I don't, I don't know, it's really interesting the way that he pictures this in his head and like, has this, I guess, I guess this dream throughout the film of just peacefulness and beauty within nature.
[00:46:39] That's not really something that's shown. Like, Austria is beautiful, okay? Like, I don't want to hear anybody say anything otherwise because that's a lie. It's gorgeous.
[00:46:52] But, like, we're not seeing George and Anna and Eva go and explore Austria in that way or, like, explore it or go out of their way to, like, see the natural beauty of their own country or their continent of Europe. Like, we only see them basically bebopping around their city and hanging out in their suburban home. And that's pretty much it.
[00:47:22] Something that I think is interesting throughout all of this director's films is that you never get an answer to the why, right? We're, we're just observing, right, what this director is choosing to show us.
[00:47:41] And there is never, like any revelation of what the true reason behind their actions is.
[00:47:52] So, like, it's very detached and clinical. It almost looks like I just set up a camera in somebody's living room and just left it there. They're the reasoning as to why they wanted to do this, commit this act, is never revealed. That's something that you as the viewer have to figure out and decide on your own. He's not going to spoon feed it to you, nor does he really want to describe it to you in any way. It's more for you. And I think that that is what makes his film so chilling, is that it's not.
[00:48:35] Nobody puts a nice bow on it and calls it a day. Like, I'm still supposed to just sit here and think about this and think about what I watched and why in the fuck did I watch it without any formal resolution.
[00:48:51] It's almost like I'm being strapped down in a chair, unable to move, while I watch all of these events unfold in front of me and I'm not able to intervene in any way.
[00:49:05] You might also be questioning whether or not or maybe why.
[00:49:12] What could the possible motivations have been for Anna and George to embark on this journey of a familial suicide? And after having you know, a good amount of time myself to think about it. I can tell you that this is where I'm coming from. This is what I think.
[00:49:39] I think that, you know, our whole lives were taught that we need to and told by those older than us that we need to grow up and go to school and get a good education and start working and we need to get a well earning and well paid job and you know, get married and have a child and have a house and own property and save and you know, invest money and save for retirement and all of these things.
[00:50:17] Those things are fine, okay? I think that in general they're fine and sound pieces of advice, but no one ever tells you, right? What does that feel like after you've done all those things?
[00:50:37] Anna and George went to school. George is an engineer. Anna is a doctor. They've already gone to school, They've already gotten well paying jobs. Anna owns a fucking business with her brother.
[00:50:50] They're married. Check box. They have a child. Check that box. They have a beautiful home. Check that box. They own so many worldly possessions. Books and records and clothes and you know, the fucking fish tank and all these things.
[00:51:10] It's almost like people tell you in a vacuum, right? People tell you that these are all the things that you should strive to have. Because for the majority of people it truly takes their entire life to accomplish all of those things.
[00:51:35] Sit with that thought for a moment.
[00:51:42] If I accomplish everything that I've already been told that I'm supposed to accomplish, what else is there now? I'm just living and there's no goal to strive for. There's no, I don't know, there's nothing, no one's giving me more advice on, like, oh, like your next, you know, goal post should be this one.
[00:52:15] I think that's kind of what life is like for George and Anna. I'm not saying that that's exactly what life is like for me. Please don't take that the wrong way, but I think that for George and Anna, that's probably what life feels like while all the people around them are working their entire existence to maintain and check every single box that you're supposed to check.
[00:52:40] George and Anna did that pretty damn quick.
[00:52:46] And all of the stuff that they've worked for, it doesn't mean anything.
[00:53:00] The, you know, the paintings on the walls and the TVs and the nice furniture and the, I don't know, the, the, the house and all of the stuff in it, you know, their clothes, like none of that matters at the end of the day. None of it matters if you are satisfied.
[00:53:30] And assuming you're satisfied would be to assume that you're happy.
[00:53:36] But the only time we ever really see any sort of humanity out of any of them is. Is whenever George breaks the fish tank and the fish die. And that humanity doesn't come from him. It comes from Anna and Eva.
[00:53:54] The other time is when Anna and Eva exchange a smile with one another at the dinner table the night before they're going to succumb to their fate.
[00:54:12] That's it. The rest of the time you're watching this film, there is no humanity, really. Oh, I'm sorry. And the scene where Anna cries, right, and the car wash. But everything else is just these people living life. We're not even fucking shown, like, in the first two parts of the film. Like, we're, like, barely shown the people in the film.
[00:54:39] We're looking at objects. We're looking at toothbrushes. We're looking at coffee makers. We're looking at food. We're looking at, you know, the car. We're looking at. We're not even looking at the people in the film when we're grocery shopping. We're only seeing what's being thrown in the cart. We don't see the people actually grocery shopping.
[00:55:04] They are essentially, what I think trying to tell us is that the world perceives your worth and your value only to the extent of what you are able to buy and what you have.
[00:55:26] And that's it.
[00:55:29] I don't need to see Anna do the grocery shopping because Anna is all of the nice food and, you know, produce and the wine. That's all she is.
[00:55:44] These people show no emotion, hardly at all to the entire thing. And at the very end, it's almost like you realize with yourself, like, they're already fucking dead.
[00:55:57] They've been dead inside the whole time.
[00:56:01] They walk like zombies around their everyday life for no apparent, you know, reason.
[00:56:10] It's like they're not even there.
[00:56:13] And then when they go and they're, you know, shattering and tearing and sawing in half everything, every belonging in their home, they show no emotion.
[00:56:30] Only with the fish tank. That's it.
[00:56:36] There's no emotion behind it. Like, I think I would have a hard time.
[00:56:42] There would be a lot of things that I think if I had to destroy, I would be. I would be upset. I would be emotional about it.
[00:56:52] I really would. You know, we always try to act like as a society, especially Americans, that like the things that we have, the material items that we own. Don't mean anything, but they do. They really do.
[00:57:06] And money, we try to act like, oh, like money isn't everything. Like, you could be happy with no money. Well, I don't know, man. Try to tell a poor person who's wondering where their next meal is coming from that money doesn't fucking matter because I. I'm pretty sure they're going to feel a lot differently than you do.
[00:57:25] We're instilled from early ages to have and to succeed and to earn and to purchase and to do all the things that, you know, people believe that we're supposed to do. And sometimes that just doesn't mean much.
[00:57:47] I think what really is the core of the film, you know, is that when we destroy everything that we own, are we also destroying ourselves?
[00:58:11] I don't know.
[00:58:13] Maybe if. If you are without any form, any sort of humanity at all or personhood to the point that you're walking around the world like a zombie like they are, then you would think, like, okay, well, like, destroying your house would be something that would be emotional, right? Like, you worked your whole life to get this house. Like, aren't you going to be sad? They're not.
[00:58:43] They're not at all. Even Anna, whenever they're having dinner at the beginning of the film with her brother Alexander, he breaks down in tears and everyone just stares at each other and at him. And it's not until, like, you know, a little while goes by before Anna actually stands up to, like, comfort him. But even when she does that, she's.
[00:59:15] It doesn't feel genuine in any way. Like, it's almost like she's holding him but, like, she doesn't give a about holding him. And she doesn't give a that he's crying. Like she actually doesn't care that her mom died and that her brother is mentally ill and clearly still struggling. Like there is nothing left to her.
[00:59:38] She is as good as the things that as she owns and what she's accomplished and that's it.
[00:59:48] So whenever she feels this emptiness, and they all feel this emptiness, they feel this way.
[00:59:57] What for? What many people speculate is due to modern life. Modern life is, you know, materialism, consumerism, accomplishing, bragging, money, who has the best handbag, who has the coolest shoes, who gets to travel, to what destination do they get to fly first class on the way. All the things that, like, they don't even matter at the end of the day. They don't matter.
[01:00:34] Nihilism to me is the. The core, the crux of this film.
[01:00:43] If you don't know what nihilism really describes.
[01:00:49] I'll link a, like a Wikipedia article for you that kind of illustrates the etymology and where this came from and all the different types of nihilism right there. There are a lot.
[01:01:06] I think it's interesting, maybe you will too.
[01:01:09] But it's essentially a family of views that reject certain aspects of existence.
[01:01:18] Okay, so existential nihilism, for example, is the belief that life is inherently meaningless. It means nothing and lacks a higher purpose, and that all individual and societal achievements are pointless, which leads to, or can lead to lack of motivation, depression, indifference about anything, any aspect of life.
[01:01:54] It could lead to an existential crisis. I'm assuming if that's, you know, it's not what we were shown here in this film, but I. I could definitely see how it. It can and would.
[01:02:10] So if life, you know, is. If we're operating under the assumption that life is inherently meaningless and that it. It doesn't have a higher purpose in any way, then if Anna and George and Eva feel this way, then, like, of course they're not going to want to stick around with the rest of everybody else to see how it goes.
[01:02:34] On the other hand, it. It also preaches to this idea that those who are successful and have money are cold.
[01:02:48] And I think that that can sometimes be an exaggeration and hyperbole and also just not true. It's a bit of a stereotype, but, I mean, I don't know. This. This film does a really good job at letting us know that, like, that really happens. It really does. And that if there's ever a time, right now is as good as any to stop focusing so much on the things that you want and what you can and you can't have and what you can and you can't afford. And, like, if you're happy being, I don't know, a nurse, like, be happy being a nurse. Being a nurse is badass.
[01:03:41] Don't listen to everybody else who's like, oh, well, you're not a doctor who gives a shit, right? Everybody's so hung up on how people are perceived and, and how things look and how much money you have and what you can buy and all of your accomplishments in life that it's like nothing is ever good enough, so why even try?
[01:04:07] And I think that that is what this film was ultimately getting at.
[01:04:15] We in modern society have basically created zombies that are here only to go to work, purchase and consume. And if we're not doing those two things, then life isn't worth it.
[01:04:36] And if you are doing those two things, sometimes life still isn't worth it.
[01:04:42] Especially not when you have to sacrifice all of your humanity to do it.
[01:04:48] So that is my closing thought. I could go on and on, but I love this film. Please, if you've never seen it and you have the chance to watch it, I would say go in with an open mind, number one. And number two, be prepared to feel physically ill afterwards because I can tell you that I have been in a rather saddened headspace since watching it and I'm hopeful that that will dissipate at some point. But I also think that film is important and feelings are important, and allowing myself to be present in the moment to understand that that film had an impact on me is incredibly healthy. So tread lightly. But if you think you can watch it, please, please do.
[01:05:48] And before I let you go, I have to remind you that this podcast is part of the Morbidly Beautiful Network. Morbidly Beautiful is your home for horror. If you love horror in any way shape form, you are welcome with us at Morbidly Beautiful. So please go to morbidly beautiful.com to check us all out and show us some love. We really appreciate all of the support. You can find this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Amazon Music and Pocket Casts. If you enjoyed the show, it would mean the world to me if you left me a five star review and subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts. For any questions, comments, concerns, suggestions or requests, you can email me at finalgirlon6gmail.com or send me a message on Instagram at final girl on 6.
[01:06:37] Sorry for the absolute downer today, but I hope that you are able to sit and reflect on your life and the choices that you make. Because that is what film intends for us to do.
[01:06:52] And yeah, the next episode will not be of this same exact, you know, level of sadness.
[01:07:08] It's my hope anyway. But you know, sometimes, sometimes these movies just get me, you know, and I feel like I have to talk about them. But anyways, I digress. Thank you for listening. I appreciate you more than, you know. Never forget that I am 6th Avenue's very own Final Girl.
[01:07:40] It.
