In this instalment of 'The Films of Aronofsky' I discuss Aronofsky's first feature film 'Pi Faith in Chaos'. I explore the films themes and give my interpretation of the story.
In simple terms, for me the main message was that it doesn't matter about breaking things down in parts and understanding every minute detail. It's about appreciating the mystery without the need to fully understand it. At the end he looks at the tree and is finally at peace when he sees it for what it is, just a tree, a beautiful tree.
I see the movie as a warning about obsessive behavior. Max is obsessed with his original hypothesis much the same as his mentor was obsessed with finding a pattern in an irrational number. I think Max's mental health coupled with his obsessive behavior has made him deluded and possibly his isolation is a form of catalyst to his breakdown. The whole movie being in black and white with stark contrasts underlines Max's unwavering belief in his hypothesis. He views the world without nuance. The world either conforms to his belief or he ignores it. To him it's numbers or nothing. Max is unreliable as a story teller and I don't think his discovery is more than a delusion. In the movie the 216 digit number is seen more than once by us viewers and it is not the same each time. Also I'm not certain the number is 216 digits long. When Max discovers his first correct prediction of the stock market it's off of a newspaper borrowed from a man who is one of Max's delusions. The two parties who are interested in the 216 digit number (arguably obsessed with wealth and prosperity) both admit to being unable to make sense of the 216 digit number. Max claims that only he himself can understand the meaning of the number. In the end his obsession causes him to stop taking his medication and suffer a mental breakdown. I believe it is this breakdown which causes him to lose his savant mathematics ability and the drill is just another hallucination of his.
I don't think so At least that's not what matters in this movie It's more about that he was not ready for the knowledge (humans in general) When he was a child he was warned not to stare into the sun But he did it again as an adult and had to face the consequences Actually the movie Requiem for a dream is more about obsessive behaviour Make sure to watch it if you haven't already!
One party represents the desire for power and wealth, the other for eternal life and the such. Both are interested in understanding fundamental reality to achieve these aims. Max is interested in the numbers for their own sake, but possibly he could be seen as interested in them from a purely scientific pov, though Sol warns him that he is straying from this path and destroying himself in the process.
Max is interested in pure mathematics for its own end, but pure abstract ideas without any grounding in "the real world" will drive you insane. Religion and economics are interested in this search too, but for their own existential ends. I see the little girl at the end as the next generation to attempt to understand fundamental reality, while Max, like Sol, has finally given up the impossible goal. I can relate to this movie. I stared into own mysun and had to face the consequences. And I did it twice too. Though with different obsessions than Max. And I'm not a genius either. Lol
in the DVD commentary, Aronofsky says the telephone ringing was put in to serve as a contrast for the scene a bit later when Max focuses on Euclid/the ant and the sound cuts out; showing how Max can tune out the outside world in pursuit of his theory.
I was thinking it was there for a purpose too. We can't take these things too literally like "If he's so smart why not unplug the phone?" We need to ask "What is this trying to convey?"
@@daithiocinnsealach3173 Been a while since I've watched the film but I see the telephone as an allegory to Max's connection to reality and the outside world. Sure, he could just unplug but then he would be completely isolated and alone. I don't think he's confident enough in himself to truly remove himself from the world and have full confidence in his endeavors
Well... I found almost the same messages of the movie. Actually, this video helped me out to know how to express my conclusions about it on words. Thanks for it
I have just seen it and only once. The movie, I feel, wants us to understand that the world is not as Max sees it. It's not black and white. It's not that simple. Not everything is quantifiable and obsession will only lead to insanity. But interestingly what I also feel is that Max also realises this towards the end. In the final minutes when he is asked what the number means and what the message from God is, he admits that it is nothing. I believe that the underlying message is the spiral. It is not a pattern to anything and the shape (Spiral) is a representation of the world. That there is no end to the circles and it can just go on and on, hence no pattern. This leads him to believe that chasing numbers and the one underlying pattern is not worth it!
I agree with a majority of your assessments and while I generally enjoy Aronofsky's work, I hoped to appreciate this one a lot more than I did. The audience I watched it with was clearly bored out of their gourds and quite frankly I found it hard to counter a majority of their complaints. For a student/ indie film built on a $60,000 budget, it's impressive technically but the character development and delivery is quite abysmal. As you pointed out; being bored and/or annoyed isn't why many of us settle in to watch a film.
My understanding was that the trivial pursuit of higher “truth”such as the search for “God” or in the case of Max the search of a higher truth in numbers(math) is all senseless. At least that’s what I understood. I had to watch it multiple times because I fell sleep during the movie. This film along with Jacobs ladder and eraser head have very similar styles.
This might not be accurate, but maybe he didnt unplug the phone because he didn't want to filter anything out of natural existence in his search to the number.
The writer may very well be hinting at the mark of the beast on Max's head. Also, 6•6•6=216. "What does this mean for our weekend? Find out tonight at 11. Here's Diane with the weather. Diane."
I was born on fri. the 13 in March and two tiny metal hairs in my ear canal allow direct hearing from far and even through certain walls. get a staple and place it at angle then tilt head towards shoulder and you'll know.
I think that something people tend to miss is that Max never does real mathematics throughout the entire movie. This leads me to believe that Max is not actually a mathematician; he is just schizophrenically deluded into thinking so. Looking for patterns in the Torah, looking for patterns in the digits of Pi, trying to predict the stock market using only patterns in the result sheet, without any reference to their context, fitting Fibonacci spirals on everything (including the stock market result sheet), etc. does not take true mathematical skill; it is more indicative of someone who thinks he has mathematical skill but is mistaken, and it is spot-on for a possible manifestation of schizophrenia. There is one exception - he can multiply / divide large numbers in his head very quickly (as seen at the very beginning), but at the very end of the movie we realize that he can't do it, and was probably just repeating what the girl's calculator said and thinking that he came up with the result on his own. In fact, number theorists don't really need to be skilled in multiplying or dividing large numbers in their head, and this is more indicative of an outsider's incorrect perception of what mathematicians really do.
My opinion of "Pi": I really think the Wall Street subplot and the "Name of God" subplot are completely irrelevant. The only real story here is Max's pursuit of the truth. Max is actually the first example of the Signature Aronofsky character (tm): driven by obsession to the point that they risk destroying themselves and maybe others. The mother in "Requiem for a Dream", Noah, the ballet dancer in "Black Swan" are just like that. I don't really think the knowledge Max is pursuing is inherently dangerous. It's the dedication he has to put to get that knowledge that is so dangerous to him. The drill scene was just a gruesome way to show him choosing to walk away and stay alive instead.
@@daithiocinnsealach3173 I see your point about religion and economics having similar goals that Max has, and similar problems when they get too abstract. But I really think the subplots are superfluous. They could've made the movie with just Max and his obsessive quest.
@@Inkan1969 They could have, and I thought the economic one got a little ridiculous with the chase scene and the woman telling him that she doesn't care about him only what's in his head, but it was all serving a point. In a sense it feels a bit like a morality tale.
ISAAC NEWTON :La naturaleza se reduce a un número: π. Quien descubra el misterio de π, comprenderá el pensamiento de Dios...’ MAX , me pasé 40 años buscado ese número ... no encontré nada
he looks up a map of so called 'specialty areas' finds the math bit and trepans himself, ruining his math capabilities but stopping the headaches as it seemed they were from pressure from the math area growing, the chip was Euclid, his computer
trying to find answers for things we cannot describe or not capable of is dangerous and can lead us into insanity because it is beyond our imagination. Another example is the movie martyrs. In martyrs a cult is trying to find out what happens after death and when the cult leader got told what happens after death, she killed herself without any explanation.
Nice I saw 4:33 and clicked and glad I did. Think you nailed it because I too came to similar conclusions. He should have just given the numbers to the Jews in my opinion.
I believe you got the idea of it don't try to understand what is not meant to be understood. He thought he wanted a new equation to understand chaos and predict the stock exchange rise and fall. When he was told that the number was the name of God he kind of backs off because what was he going to use it for anyways. I think when he seen it take his friends life he was just finished with trying to chase it and so he decided he would just rather not even know math he would happier instead of constantly being hurt or looked or someone always coming up to test his gift. You got it right that director pretty much nailed what a migraine feels like and what a person goes through.
Well he was never going to "use the number" it; "using stuff" is for "Applied Mathematics" (and Max is definitely not into Applied Mathematics, i.e. he is into "Pure Mathematics,") i.e. he studies Math for the sake of Math. Jic there was ever any doubt that he does Pure Math he tells the Hasidic Jews "you're not pure, I found it." (Idk... Maybe this is only known by Math Undergrads?)
@@Pete-Logos well actually the purity thing refers to more than the math. You see man used to know the ineffable name of GOD and after priests and some other bad people misused it for their own purposes GOD hid it and told priests who ask to write this down this is not exactly word for word but it does go something like this. Many men and women have asked for the true name of GOD but GOD looked down and in his everlasting forgiveness he seen it could lead to their downfall and told some men to hide it and to write down a note and leave it in it's place. I have hidden my name from mankind and will keep it from them forever and ever for they have committed abominations with my name. In future generations mankind again will ask for this name to be revealed unto them and only those who are of a pure heart and pure mind will I reveal my name unto them and they shall decide to keep my name away from the wickedness of mankind. Like I said it's not exactly word for word but you get the idea. So to me in a way it's kind of why Max does what he does. He thought he wanted the name or the ultimate equation but after he had it he just wanted freedom from his pain and suffering.
@@Pete-Logos my bad I forgot to mention the deepest part Doh! So see they need that name or it's a name in Hebrew the ineffable name of God and see without they don't want to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. So anyways the scripture does also say what they mentioned I don't remember the exact scripture but it's something like the rabbi said that near the end of days one is of pure heart and pure mind will have the name revealed to them and they will share it with the priesthood and together they will rebuild the temple but until that time all others will refuse to give the priesthood. Max was pretty much doing exactly as the scripture says that's why he quoted parts of it back... 😳
In simple terms, for me the main message was that it doesn't matter about breaking things down in parts and understanding every minute detail. It's about appreciating the mystery without the need to fully understand it. At the end he looks at the tree and is finally at peace when he sees it for what it is, just a tree, a beautiful tree.
I see the movie as a warning about obsessive behavior. Max is obsessed with his original hypothesis much the same as his mentor was obsessed with finding a pattern in an irrational number. I think Max's mental health coupled with his obsessive behavior has made him deluded and possibly his isolation is a form of catalyst to his breakdown. The whole movie being in black and white with stark contrasts underlines Max's unwavering belief in his hypothesis. He views the world without nuance. The world either conforms to his belief or he ignores it. To him it's numbers or nothing.
Max is unreliable as a story teller and I don't think his discovery is more than a delusion. In the movie the 216 digit number is seen more than once by us viewers and it is not the same each time. Also I'm not certain the number is 216 digits long. When Max discovers his first correct prediction of the stock market it's off of a newspaper borrowed from a man who is one of Max's delusions.
The two parties who are interested in the 216 digit number (arguably obsessed with wealth and prosperity) both admit to being unable to make sense of the 216 digit number. Max claims that only he himself can understand the meaning of the number.
In the end his obsession causes him to stop taking his medication and suffer a mental breakdown. I believe it is this breakdown which causes him to lose his savant mathematics ability and the drill is just another hallucination of his.
I don't think so
At least that's not what matters in this movie
It's more about that he was not ready for the knowledge (humans in general)
When he was a child he was warned not to stare into the sun
But he did it again as an adult and had to face the consequences
Actually the movie Requiem for a dream is more about obsessive behaviour
Make sure to watch it if you haven't already!
One party represents the desire for power and wealth, the other for eternal life and the such. Both are interested in understanding fundamental reality to achieve these aims. Max is interested in the numbers for their own sake, but possibly he could be seen as interested in them from a purely scientific pov, though Sol warns him that he is straying from this path and destroying himself in the process.
@12th House Psychic then explain it yourself bud
He never loses it. 748/238=3.14. He smiles because he recognizes the answer to be simplified pi.
Max is interested in pure mathematics for its own end, but pure abstract ideas without any grounding in "the real world" will drive you insane. Religion and economics are interested in this search too, but for their own existential ends.
I see the little girl at the end as the next generation to attempt to understand fundamental reality, while Max, like Sol, has finally given up the impossible goal.
I can relate to this movie. I stared into own mysun and had to face the consequences. And I did it twice too. Though with different obsessions than Max. And I'm not a genius either. Lol
in the DVD commentary, Aronofsky says the telephone ringing was put in to serve as a contrast for the scene a bit later when Max focuses on Euclid/the ant and the sound cuts out; showing how Max can tune out the outside world in pursuit of his theory.
I was thinking it was there for a purpose too. We can't take these things too literally like "If he's so smart why not unplug the phone?" We need to ask "What is this trying to convey?"
@@daithiocinnsealach3173 Been a while since I've watched the film but I see the telephone as an allegory to Max's connection to reality and the outside world. Sure, he could just unplug but then he would be completely isolated and alone. I don't think he's confident enough in himself to truly remove himself from the world and have full confidence in his endeavors
Thank you for this very simple explanation. I might just have to re-watch this film again with this additional context.
I thought you were Frankie Muniz at first glance
Me too!
Hahahaha 😂
maybe frankie Muniz did this at the end of m in the m to forget at any cost.
Well... I found almost the same messages of the movie. Actually, this video helped me out to know how to express my conclusions about it on words. Thanks for it
Great video! Excellent ideas and a marvelous personal interpretation. Keep up the good work!
Thanks bro.
Hey you really nailed this review man, good job.
This movie is an absolute masterpiece
I have just seen it and only once. The movie, I feel, wants us to understand that the world is not as Max sees it. It's not black and white. It's not that simple. Not everything is quantifiable and obsession will only lead to insanity. But interestingly what I also feel is that Max also realises this towards the end. In the final minutes when he is asked what the number means and what the message from God is, he admits that it is nothing. I believe that the underlying message is the spiral. It is not a pattern to anything and the shape (Spiral) is a representation of the world. That there is no end to the circles and it can just go on and on, hence no pattern. This leads him to believe that chasing numbers and the one underlying pattern is not worth it!
Hard to argue with all of that. This movie certainly changed the way I look at the world, rather how I think about 'God', very profound stuff
I agree with a majority of your assessments and while I generally enjoy Aronofsky's work, I hoped to appreciate this one a lot more than I did. The audience I watched it with was clearly bored out of their gourds and quite frankly I found it hard to counter a majority of their complaints. For a student/ indie film built on a $60,000 budget, it's impressive technically but the character development and delivery is quite abysmal. As you pointed out; being bored and/or annoyed isn't why many of us settle in to watch a film.
Excellent interpretation.
your interpretation is way off there is absolutely zero chaos in this movie, it is pure substance, especially when he is writing on his walls.
care to elaborate?
Awesome review 💕💕💕💕
My understanding was that the trivial pursuit of higher “truth”such as the search for “God” or in the case of Max the search of a higher truth in numbers(math) is all senseless. At least that’s what I understood. I had to watch it multiple times because I fell sleep during the movie. This film along with Jacobs ladder and eraser head have very similar styles.
unplugging the telephone, why, hes hallucinating
Great interpretation
I loved this movie
This might not be accurate, but maybe he didnt unplug the phone because he didn't want to filter anything out of natural existence in his search to the number.
at the very end I was like what’s the point with the drill and then it hit me 😵💫
The writer may very well be hinting at the mark of the beast on Max's head. Also,
6•6•6=216. "What does this mean for our weekend? Find out tonight at 11. Here's Diane with the weather. Diane."
Awesome. You're right. The Mark of the Beast.
I was born on fri. the 13 in March and two tiny metal hairs in my ear canal allow direct hearing from far and even through certain walls. get a staple and place it at angle then tilt head towards shoulder and you'll know.
I think that something people tend to miss is that Max never does real mathematics throughout the entire movie. This leads me to believe that Max is not actually a mathematician; he is just schizophrenically deluded into thinking so. Looking for patterns in the Torah, looking for patterns in the digits of Pi, trying to predict the stock market using only patterns in the result sheet, without any reference to their context, fitting Fibonacci spirals on everything (including the stock market result sheet), etc. does not take true mathematical skill; it is more indicative of someone who thinks he has mathematical skill but is mistaken, and it is spot-on for a possible manifestation of schizophrenia. There is one exception - he can multiply / divide large numbers in his head very quickly (as seen at the very beginning), but at the very end of the movie we realize that he can't do it, and was probably just repeating what the girl's calculator said and thinking that he came up with the result on his own. In fact, number theorists don't really need to be skilled in multiplying or dividing large numbers in their head, and this is more indicative of an outsider's incorrect perception of what mathematicians really do.
What’s up with the ants then?
My opinion of "Pi": I really think the Wall Street subplot and the "Name of God" subplot are completely irrelevant. The only real story here is Max's pursuit of the truth. Max is actually the first example of the Signature Aronofsky character (tm): driven by obsession to the point that they risk destroying themselves and maybe others. The mother in "Requiem for a Dream", Noah, the ballet dancer in "Black Swan" are just like that. I don't really think the knowledge Max is pursuing is inherently dangerous. It's the dedication he has to put to get that knowledge that is so dangerous to him. The drill scene was just a gruesome way to show him choosing to walk away and stay alive instead.
They're not irrelevant in the least.
@@daithiocinnsealach3173 I see your point about religion and economics having similar goals that Max has, and similar problems when they get too abstract. But I really think the subplots are superfluous. They could've made the movie with just Max and his obsessive quest.
@@Inkan1969 They could have, and I thought the economic one got a little ridiculous with the chase scene and the woman telling him that she doesn't care about him only what's in his head, but it was all serving a point. In a sense it feels a bit like a morality tale.
@@Inkan1969 I don't think I'd like the movie as much without the name of god subplot.
if you were electrocuted at 200k volts, and jumped off the empire state building, would you die when you hit the ground? Begin Exam:
Tell me the answer!
How many amps?
ISAAC NEWTON :La naturaleza se reduce a un número: π. Quien descubra el misterio de π, comprenderá el pensamiento de Dios...’
MAX , me pasé 40 años buscado ese número ... no encontré nada
Your interpretation is quite correct. You forgot that in the end with the drill the alien microchip is removed.
he looks up a map of so called 'specialty areas' finds the math bit and trepans himself, ruining his math capabilities but stopping the headaches as it seemed they were from pressure from the math area growing, the chip was Euclid, his computer
trying to find answers for things we cannot describe or not capable of is dangerous and can lead us into insanity because it is beyond our imagination. Another example is the movie martyrs. In martyrs a cult is trying to find out what happens after death and when the cult leader got told what happens after death, she killed herself without any explanation.
Nice I saw 4:33 and clicked and glad I did. Think you nailed it because I too came to similar conclusions. He should have just given the numbers to the Jews in my opinion.
Grimes
I believe you got the idea of it don't try to understand what is not meant to be understood. He thought he wanted a new equation to understand chaos and predict the stock exchange rise and fall. When he was told that the number was the name of God he kind of backs off because what was he going to use it for anyways. I think when he seen it take his friends life he was just finished with trying to chase it and so he decided he would just rather not even know math he would happier instead of constantly being hurt or looked or someone always coming up to test his gift. You got it right that director pretty much nailed what a migraine feels like and what a person goes through.
Well he was never going to "use the number" it; "using stuff" is for "Applied Mathematics" (and Max is definitely not into Applied Mathematics, i.e. he is into "Pure Mathematics,") i.e. he studies Math for the sake of Math. Jic there was ever any doubt that he does Pure Math he tells the Hasidic Jews "you're not pure, I found it." (Idk... Maybe this is only known by Math Undergrads?)
@@Pete-Logos well actually the purity thing refers to more than the math. You see man used to know the ineffable name of GOD and after priests and some other bad people misused it for their own purposes GOD hid it and told priests who ask to write this down this is not exactly word for word but it does go something like this.
Many men and women have asked for the true name of GOD but GOD looked down and in his everlasting forgiveness he seen it could lead to their downfall and told some men to hide it and to write down a note and leave it in it's place. I have hidden my name from mankind and will keep it from them forever and ever for they have committed abominations with my name. In future generations mankind again will ask for this name to be revealed unto them and only those who are of a pure heart and pure mind will I reveal my name unto them and they shall decide to keep my name away from the wickedness of mankind.
Like I said it's not exactly word for word but you get the idea. So to me in a way it's kind of why Max does what he does. He thought he wanted the name or the ultimate equation but after he had it he just wanted freedom from his pain and suffering.
@@Pete-Logos my bad I forgot to mention the deepest part Doh!
So see they need that name or it's a name in Hebrew the ineffable name of God and see without they don't want to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. So anyways the scripture does also say what they mentioned I don't remember the exact scripture but it's something like the rabbi said that near the end of days one is of pure heart and pure mind will have the name revealed to them and they will share it with the priesthood and together they will rebuild the temple but until that time all others will refuse to give the priesthood. Max was pretty much doing exactly as the scripture says that's why he quoted parts of it back...
😳
Requiem was way more relatable.
Intense film. Leaves you feeling bored. The absolute state of millennials. We are fucking doomed.
I think your interpretation is missing some grey areas and a bit one-sided. This one is closer to mine: ua-cam.com/video/YMJLnYmtFvg/v-deo.html
Lol if you lost interest in the plot you should not be analyzing this movie. Your entire channel just became not credible. Patterns lol
Christian Armand De Vera lol not for this movie.
Diana Carolina i think the movie was too short to loose interest imo. but your logic about his taste in films is kinda flawed.
Abc Bcd If you think my logic is flawed then again this is why you don’t appreciate the movie lol. ~ring around the rousy~
Talking about annoying THE FUCKING BACKGROUND MUSIC IN THIS VIDEOS.