by Thu Nguyen

Created on: August 25, 2010

In Mr. Nobody, the oldest mortal in the world is being watched by an audience of a distant future. He is a man who doesn't exist. So it is at the age of 118 years old, he is asked by a psychologist who looks more like Hellraiser in paint, how old he thinks he is. The character, Nemo Nobody says he's a 30 year old man. It is this confusion which leads us to the rest of the movie as we watch Nemo go into a trance and see who his true identity is.

At first, it looks like there might be some personality conflict which may have caused a shifting of his thoughts. That's because he's drifting in and out of realities which we cannot tell if it is his or his made up mind but then again it's not clear. It is when we learn through the realities colliding that his thoughts are that of a 9 year old child. Sadly, this child could not make a choice between going with his mother or father as they separate. Thus, we're lead through possibilities through which one world shows him living with his mother and another with his father.

As the movie continues, we see Nemo facing his loneliness as he abhors his mother's lover and then how he found his first love. Even here love is confusing because there are three women through which his realities are linked to. However, there is only one whom he truly loves. So it is with time and time again, Nemo reaches different destinations to try to be with her. This is symbolic of the different choices in life which would happen if he had made them. That’s why we see him with one, two, three, four realities and so on. It doesn’t seem to stop.

When we go back to the future where pigs are pets and flying cars are already happening, we see Nemo describing to a young journalist who has broken into his room, the human world. Yet the young man is confused because he thinks it's impossible to be in many places at once. He doesn't understand and has no clue how it was possible. It is then that Nemo finally reveals that they are only a thought through which a child cannot make a choice. The reality which they believed to be true does not exist. They are all merely the thoughts of a 9 year old child.

In conclusion, existence and choice is our main idea here as they both collide with each other through a boy’s eyes. So the stories which he makes up for the realities which he creates and loves which he has not yet experienced, Mr. Nobody tells a tale of no one. It is of many and yet it is of none. The art through which Belgium director, Jaco Van Dormael has depicted here is not for the impatient as it is to be watched with open eyes. His weaving of human emotions and the mind’s ability to cope through choices are more or less a statement of possibilities.

Movie Information:
Year of release: 2009
Director - Jaco Van Dormael
Nemo Nobody - Jared Leto
Nemo’s father - Rhys Ifans
Nemo’s mother - Natasha Little
Elise - Sarah Polly
Anna - Diane Kruger
Jean - Linh Dan Pham
Dr. Feldheim - Allen Corduner
Young journalist - Daniel Mays

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