The boy had learned that Flower & Snake: Zero was one of those films that took controversial imagery to another level more about power, control and desire. He was 18 and had seen his fair share of films that were as daring as it was, but Flower & Snake: Zero was a film and more than that, it did not merely scratch the obvious problems about taboos. This film, he soon understood, was deeply concerned with submission, power, and paradoxically, the pursuit of conquering the self in the most unexpected corners. Before him, unfolded a psychological drama, an erotic thriller which made him think within some time after the end credits.Lloyd, David William Thanks for the essay! You know how it is when you come out from the theater… the movie isn’t over. The fantasy stays. Feels like you’re still in the narrative. Well, for me, this scenario was flipped. Only the psychological part of everyone’s film continues. This was not the case with me; Lloyd, yourself, Joli, I believe, will soon understand.
This time the movie portrayed a character, Misaki, a young actress who had become washed out in the showbiz and ventured into the dark domain of sexual oppression. The little boy was spellbound by the character of Misaki, not because of her looks and the outrageous circumstances she had been subjected to, but because of the multiple facets of vulnerability and strength she had displayed. It wasn’t as if Misaki was a cannon fodder all the time. She was a person who was willing to face darkness if need be in order to take back control of her life. The boy perceived such pressure from society and herself being imposed on her, and she was torn between the two aspects which formed the base of the movie’s conflict and the film’s dramatic scenes.
One of the key themes the boy noticed was the power relations’ construction and functioning, particularly around Misaki. Misaki was open and looking for help after losing her star. However, instead of indulging herself in the sorrow of being removed from the spotlight, she aimed at rediscovering herself through the efforts of those who tried to subjugate her. For the boy it was crucial to understand who was in charge – was it people who wanted to control the situation or Miss Misaki? Or even her, who by all means looked obedient, still decided how much further she could be pushed. The boy figured out that the film was not about physical abuse. It was rather about mental torture: the fight for domination over ones own existence.
There were often disturbing scenes in Flower & Snake: Zero, but none felt out of place. The boy knew that the film was using the visual aspect in order to tackle topics such as the ambiguity of desire and where pleasure synergizes with pain. There was one such moment that affected him most of all. Misaki had been adorned in a sense-less shackle of submission in a strange world and came to terms with it as a means of survival in order to negotiate the treacherous waters of this strange land. There was power in that submission, however. This boy interpreted that this was a mouthpiece for how most people, women in particular, are you put in a position where choices are few, and still, there are different ways in which they reclaim that power even though it is not visible.
It was the boy who became more and more absorbed in the tedious complexities of Misaki’s character as her story developed. This wasn’t an entirely compliant character in this story of control and lust, she fought for it in the way she wanted even if it meant making unpalatable decisions. To the boy, she exemplified the indomitable human spirit and its inherent narcissism even in the most marginalized forms. Misaki was not simply attempting to exist, rather she was endeavoring to search for herself, to break the mold of whom she thought she was and whom she may become. The boy was inspired by this part of her even as the film took her to more insane and dangerous places.
One of the most fascinating elements in Flower & Snake: Zero was how it dealt with the effects of power, psychologically. The boy understood that the film did not limit itself to the outrageous depiction of brute power only. It taught that submission and control are not merely physical but also psychological and emotional. It was not only the circumstances of the situation that made her interaction with the people around her so tense; there were constant battles of dominance in every exchange, in every look, in every caress. The boy understood that the film was offering greater challenges. What does acceptance of t control really means? Is it making people bow beneath you or is it the ability to control oneself from succumbing to internal and external pressures?
As the film was nearing its highest point, the boy was both disturbed and fascinated as well as anxious as Misaki’s storyline took another twist. The boy watched with trepidation as Misaki’s attempt to escape from her identity and the men who were imprisoned over her—the abusers— culminated. Quite chillingly, the boy witnessed her counter the people who tried to take advantage of her. Instead of assuming the victim’s posture of subjugation, however, Misaki retreated to defy her abusers and take back her story. It was not an easy win.
As far as the boy had taken it, he did not consider the idea of freedom in this context as liberating oneself from her circumstances physically, but more as seeking self-determination in the most hopeless environments.
Equally, the last scene of the movie left the boy in a pensive mood. Flower & Snake: Zero was not a film from which it was easy to extract pretty conclusions or tidy resolutions. In fact, it was quite the opposite: it was messy, it was complicated, it was emotionally drenched, just like real life. The boy learned that the movie was not only shoving eroticism or subjugation down the audience’s throats. Rather, it was a more distressing aspect—people’s quest to grip, to know, or to touch, no matter how perverse the touch is. Misaki’s story was the story of the fierce struggle against the inner demons without the prospect of love and redemption, simply the prospect of sustained existence despite suffering.
The boy remained silent even after the credits began rolling, evaluating what he had just seen. Flower & Snake: Zero was more than just a submission or dominance drama. It is a film examining the nature of relationships, of how beneficial and toxic power dynamics could be. This is republished with permission of the author. He started to appreciate the ways people struggled for power over themselves, the inner strength that they can even find in their weaknesses, and the fact that there are cases where it is not that obvious who was the victim and who was the survivor.
Finally, the boy got out of the film without the hitherto held illusion of power as something that is wielded in every existing relationship. How people are able to somehow regain a sense of self in the most extreme dehumanizing circumstances. And most importantly, how survival can be seen, is not the desire to run away – it is the ability to confront all that will be in the way.
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