The impression I got from the director's commentary was that even the director had no idea how it ended.
An intruder!
Sorry, but websites and director's commentary have absolutely no bearing on the finished product. Things have always suffered when the artist's statement is more profund than the artist's creation. The fact that my analysis (and of many others) fits the movie and the fact that the world ending all of those days ago still makes no sense when applied solely to the film only goes to show that Richard Kelly is quite possibly a poor filmmaker (which I've suspected).
But yes, I admit it! I'm an asshole when it comes to cinema, but it's only because my taste is so bloody fantastic.
Professional Zig Mover
The impression I got from the director's commentary was that even the director had no idea how it ended.
B Student
I just went through the whole website. At least I think I did... does it end with the article about the engine crashing into the house and the follow up story? Or am I missing another gateway?
Last I saw was the discussion between the two about the engine. Then it says "Time's up Donnie"
THE VOID
OK. For all of you who would like to understand the movie from the directors point of view, Here is the said material that I have read, which includes an abridged version of the book that Roberta Sparrow wrote, The philosophy of time travel.
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from http://www.tangent-universe.org/time-travel.en.html :
The Philosophy of Time Travel
by Roberta Ann Sparrow
I would like to thank the sisters of the Saint John Chapter in Alexandria, Virginia for their support in my decision.
By the grace of God, they are:
Sister Eleanor Lewis
Sister Francesca Godard
Sister Helen Davis
Sister Catherine Arnold
Sister Mary Lee Pond
Sister Virginia Wessex
The intent of this short book is for it to be used as a simple and direct guide in a time a great danger.
I pray that this is merely a work of fiction.
If it is not, then I pray for you, the reader of this book.
If I am still alive when the events foretold in these pages occur, then I hope that you will find me before it is too late.
Roberta Ann Sparrow
October, 1944
The Tangent Universe
The Primary Universe is fraught with great peril. War, plague, famine and natural disaster are common. Death comes to us all.
The Fourth Dimension of Time is a stable construct, though it is not impenetrable.
Incidents when the fabric of the fourth dimension becomes corrupted are incredibly rare.
If a Tangent Universe occurs, it will be highly unstable, sustaining itself for no longer than several weeks.
Eventually it will collapse upon itself, forming a black hole within the Primary Universe capable of destroying all existence.
Water and Metal
Water and Metal are the elements of Time Travel.
Water is the barrier element for the construction of Time Portals used as gateways between Universes at the Tangent Vortex.
Metal is the transitional element for the construction of Artifact Vessels.
The Artifact and the Living
When a Tangent Universe occurs, those living nearest to the Vortex will find themselves at the epicenter of a dangerous new world.
Artifacts provide the first sign that a Tangent Universe has occured.
If an Artifact occurs, the Living will retrieve it with great interest and curiosity. Artifacts are formed from metal, such as an Arrowhead from an Ancient Mayan civilization, or a Metal Sword from Medieval Europe.
Artifacts returned to the Primary Universe are often linked to religious iconography, as their appearance on Earth seems to defy logical explanation.
Divine intervention is deemed the only logical conclusion for the appearance of the Artifact.
The Living Receiver
The Living Receiver is chosen to guide the Artifact into position for its journey back to the Primary Universe.
No one knows how or why a Receiver will be chosen.
The Living Receiver is often blessed with Fourth Dimensional Powers. These include increased strength, telekinesis, mind control, and the ability to conjure fire and water.
The Living Receiver is often tormented by terrifying dreams, visions and auditory hallucinations during his time within the Tangent Universe.
Those surrounding the Living Receiver, known as the Manipulated, will fear him and try to destroy him.
The Manipulated Living
The Manipulated Living are often the close friends and neighbours of the Living Receiver.
They are prone to irrational, bizarre, and often violent behaviour. This is the unfortunate result of their task, which is to assist the Living Receiver in returning the Artifact to the Primary Universe.
The Manipulated Living will do anything to save themselves from Oblivion.
The Manipulated Dead
The Manipulated Dead are more powerful than the Living Receiver. If a person dies within the Tangent Dimension, they are able to contact the Living Receiver through the Fourth Dimensional Construct.
The Fourth Dimensional Construct is made of Water.
The Manipulated Dead will manipulate the Living Receiver using the Fourth Dimensional Construct (see Appendices A and B).
The Manipulated Dead will often set an Ensurance Trap for the Living Receiver to ensure the Artifact is returned safely to the Primary Universe.
If the Ensurance Trap is successful, the Living Receiver is left with no choice but to use his Fourth Dimensional Powers to send the Artifact back in time into the Primary Universe before the Black Hole collapses upon itself.
Dreams
When the Manipulated awaken from their journey into the Tangent Universe, they are often haunted by the experience in their dreams.
Many of them will not remember.
Those who do remember the Journey are often overcome with profound remorse for the regretful actions buried within their Dreams, the only physical evidence buried within the Artifact itself, all that remains from the lost world.
Ancient myth tells us the Mayan Warrior killed by an Arrowhead that had fallen from a cliff, where there was no Army, no enemy to be found.
We are told of the Medieval Knight mysteriously impaled by the sword he had not yet built.
We are told that these things occur for a reason.
If this wasn't enough, here it is spelt out for you:
I now have a theory if what was said above is true... the engine comes from Donnie's mom's plane (Keep in mind I've only seen this movie once. I hope my memory serves me well).
First we must erase everything we think we know and start with the basics.
What is the main plot point?
...The world will end in 28 days.
Why is this?
...A wormhole opened and an engine fell from the sky, thereby creating a pocket dimension (tangent universe).
I have read the passages released on the Internet from the fictional book that Sparrow wrote (Grandma Death), which can be found here...
The following are quotes and explanations by me.
"If a Tangent Universe occurs, it will be highly unstable, sustaining itself for no longer than several weeks.
Eventually it will collapse upon itself, forming a black hole within the Primary Universe capable of destroying all existence."
This is the end of the "world" that Donnie is aware of. The amount of time is four weeks.
"When a Tangent Universe occurs, those living nearest to the Vortex will find themselves at the epicenter of a dangerous new world."
As Donnie is.
"Artifacts provide the first sign that a Tangent Universe has occurred. If an Artifact occurs, the Living will retrieve it with great interest and curiosity. Artifacts are formed from metal, such as an Arrowhead from an Ancient Mayan civilization, or a Metal Sword from Medieval Europe."
In this case it's the airplane's engine.
"The Living Receiver is chosen to guide the Artifact into position for its journey back to the Primary Universe. No one knows how or why a Receiver will be chosen. The Living Receiver is often blessed with Fourth Dimensional Powers. These include increased strength, telekinesis, mind control, and the ability to conjure fire and water."
The living receiver is Donnie. He can see people's paths. He conjures water by creating a flood in the school and conjures fire by setting the motivational speaker's house on fire.
"The Living Receiver is often tormented by terrifying dreams, visions and auditory hallucinations during his time within the Tangent Universe."
He sees and hears Frank. He is surreal and scary.
"Those surrounding the Living Receiver, known as the Manipulated, will fear him and try to destroy him."
Not sure about this one. The only people to try and harm Donnie were the two thugs with knives at the end of the movie (one of them also assaulted him in the b-room).
"The Manipulated Living are often the close friends and neighbors of the Living Receiver. They are prone to irrational, bizarre, and often violent behavior. This is the unfortunate result of their task, which is to assist the Living Receiver in returning the Artifact to the Primary Universe. The Manipulated Living will do anything to save themselves from Oblivion."
The mother and girlfriend are manipulated (explanation as to why, at the end).
"The Manipulated Dead are more powerful than the Living Receiver. If a person dies within the Tangent Dimension, they are able to contact the Living Receiver through the Fourth Dimensional Construct."
Frank is killed in the Tangent Dimension. Therefore he is able to come back through the Fourth Dimensional Construct and contact him.
"The Fourth Dimensional Construct is made of Water."
This is why Frank is sometimes behind a water-like wall.
"The Manipulated Dead will manipulate the Living Receiver using the Fourth Dimensional Construct. The Manipulated Dead will often set an Ensurance Trap for the Living Receiver to ensure the Artifact is returned safely to the Primary Universe."
During the whole movie Frank is manipulating Donnie. Frank shows him what will happen if he continues his normal path and doesn't sacrifice his own life and deliver the artifact back.
It is said the Manipulated Dead are more powerful than the Living Receiver… At this point we have to consider that Donnie would have slept walk out of the house on his own (like previous nights) and that it wasn’t Frank that got him out of bed (otherwise he would have died, which was the key to the movie’s ending). It is this act of "supposedly" saving Donnie’s life that makes Donnie trust Frank and do his bidding.
Frank tells him to flood the school. If Donnie didn’t flood the school and meet that girl, she wouldn’t have died (thus making him want to go back in time to rectify it). Frank tells him to set the guy’s house on fire. If he didn't set that guy's house on fire, his mom wouldn't have been on the plane with his sister (thus making him want to go back in time to rectify it). "The Last Temptation of Christ", which was one of the movies playing at the movie theatre, has a similar theme in it. Jesus is shown another path, "tempted" to leave the cross for the life of an ordinary man who marries, has sex, and has a family.
"If the Ensurance Trap is successful, the Living Receiver is left with no choice but to use his Fourth Dimensional Powers to send the Artifact back in time into the Primary Universe before the Black Hole collapses upon itself."
Now that Donnie is convinced to go back in time, and knows how to do it (thanks to the book), he does so. He heads back before the artifact hits his house. He stays in bed, willingly sacrificing his life. Somehow this must send the artifact back, but I don’t know how. I came up with a possible theory, although it’s not that great…
THEORY: The fact that the mysterious engine landed on a house and nobody was hurt, made the investigative team more lax while doing their research. However, with Donnie’s death, a small-town outcry is heard. The investigators find the airplane connected to it and ground it for testing purposes. The plane never flies over the house to get sucked into the portal, thus nothing busts through to create a Tangent Universe.
Yeah, I know, weak.
"When the Manipulated awaken from their journey into the Tangent Universe, they are often haunted by the experience in their dreams. Many of them will not remember. Those who do remember the Journey are often overcome with profound remorse for the regretful actions buried within their Dreams, the only physical evidence buried within the Artifact itself, all that remains from the lost world."
I believe this is why the mother and the girlfriend wave to each other at the end. Also why the girlfriend was saddened, even though she never technically met Donnie. They were both victims in the Tangent Universe, which somehow allows them to have a subconsious recollection of the alternate world.
So, unavoidable paradoxes aside, there it is.
Good post.
Yep, I read that earlier, and it sheds just about as much light as you can on this movie.
An intruder!
I'm not so stubborn as to not recognize when I'm wrong, and even then, I still don't fully believe the world ends as there's no strong evidence in the film to back it up. Is this a movie or is this "Some guy talking with a neat story idea!! Bonus: Website and film!"? The 'true answer' is buried under so many layers of ridiculousness, including Kelly's gigantic ego, that it becomes impossible to cultivate. Once again, the fact that no one can arrive at the 'world is ending' conjecture without the help of external sources does not help your arguement.
ok.
THE VOID
He decided to make the movie really open ended, which in my opinion is what makes it extra special. if he included all of that crap in the movie, none of this discussion would have happened
also, The tangent universe ended, NOT the world.
Firstly, this theory is wrong. Artifacts don't create the tangent universe, they are evidence of it being created. The reason why Donnie getting crushed stops the tangent universe from existing is that Donnie infact creates the portal, which is the corruption of time mentioned in "the philosophy of time".from above:
THEORY: The fact that the mysterious engine landed on a house and nobody was hurt, made the investigative team more lax while doing their research. However, with Donnie’s death, a small-town outcry is heard. The investigators find the airplane connected to it and ground it for testing purposes. The plane never flies over the house to get sucked into the portal, thus nothing busts through to create a Tangent Universe.
Also, this theory creates a paradox. If Donnie never got up from bed due to Frank, none of this would have happened, and therefore Frank would not have been shot by Donnie, which means that Frank could not have contacted him that night. However, in the movie, when Donnie is talking to his science teacher, He says that all time is predecided by god, which gives a dodgy excuse as to why it all happens this way. God wanted it to happen like this.
However, a more concrete Paradox is that if Donnies death occurs to ground the plane, hence stopping the "artifact" from travelling through the portal, he would never have been crushed, hence creating a time loop ala grandfather paradox.
My theory in the making (you could call it an alpha version):
First of all, a fairly popular theory of time travel is that you actually travel to other dimensions, hence any alterations that occur only affect the dimension travelled to and not your original thread of time.
If donnie doesn't get crushed, he sends the engine to another dimension, like at the start of the movie. This creates a time loop, repeated over and over again in each dimension.
Because he has the ability of time travel, he is able to travel to the next dimension to be affected, and hence break the loop by getting crushed.
By removing the corruption of time, he no longer is the "living reciever", hence none of it happens again.
The reason we see the family greefing the loss of donnie is that we are witnessing the second dimension he travels to.
I know my theory is flawed, but I'm working on it.
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