Ульяна Семёнова

Виолетта Салахутдинова

Horror

Drama

Dolphin: Burning bush

Russia

The film "Dolphin: Burning Bush" is a philosophical allegory that explores the themes of the cycle of life, suffering, choice and sacrifice. The painting is filled with symbols that play out religious, natural and existential motives. The directors combine these ideas into a plot that makes the viewer think about fate, the meaning of life and the role of suffering.

The Meaning Of The Name "Dolphin: Burning Bush".

Dolphin: The image of a dolphin flashes only in the background narrative, but its meaning is profound. The dolphin symbolizes rebirth and transition, embodying the hope of salvation and a new cycle of life. In ancient Greek mythology, dolphins were often considered guides of souls to the afterlife, which adds an additional layer of symbolism.

Burning bush: the place where two seraphim met is the "burning bush". In Christianity, the Burning bush symbolizes a fireproof bush. This means that the bush is an unchangeable location, a place where an endless cycle takes place, where the dark seraphim comes, lying down in the fetal position and repeats history.

The beginning of the story: birth and the first cycle.

The white seraphim appears in front of us in the fetal position — a symbol of the beginning of a new life. This pose emphasizes his defenselessness and connection with nature. He crawls out into the light like a newborn child full of curiosity. But instead of following his duties and maintaining the balance of nature, he is distracted by contemplation. His actions trigger chaos: seraphim scares a butterfly, breaks branches, plucks leaves. It shows how even small deviations from the "purpose" can disrupt the harmony of the world.

The image of a fish: symbolism and a new stage.

Later, the white seraphim finds a fish. The fish performs several roles here. On the one hand, it is a symbol of Ichthys (the image of Jesus), on the other — a metaphor of life going its own way. By taking the fish out of the water, the white seraphim disrupts its natural course and at the same time begins a new stage of his life. He takes care of the fish, awakening maternal feelings, but this action also disrupts the natural cycle.

The scene in which Seraphim buries a fish is tragic and filled with symbolism: this is his first encounter with loss, the realization of the consequences of his actions. The fish becomes a reflection of the seraphim himself, foreshadowing his future fate.

Six roses and six teeth: the connection between life and suffering.

The symbolism of roses is the central element of the film. The white seraph finds six roses, each of which is associated with six teeth that appear at the end. The sixth rose becomes the key one: in the flashback, it is shown how she bleeds. This moment hints at the inevitability of Seraphim's suffering. When he is stabbed by a thorn of a rose, the viewer realizes that this is not just a wound — it is a confirmation of his destined fate.

At the same time, the dark seraphim spits out the sixth tooth, which symbolizes receiving wisdom. However, this wisdom condemns him to eternal suffering. The spat out tooth hints that the white seraphim, like roses, is an "unnecessary organ" in the mechanism of the eternal cycle.

The confrontation of the white and dark seraphim.

When the white seraph meets the dark one for the first time, it becomes the culmination of their story. At first glance, their interaction seems to be a confrontation of opposites: light and darkness, good and evil. However, as the scene progresses, it turns out that the dark seraphim is his brother. The falling feathers from under the dark wings confirm that he was also a white seraph in the past. Despite his harsh and rude appearance, he is also a martyr of the system, an eternal victim of the cycle of suffering. This moment becomes an important rethink: even those who seem to be enemies are in fact kindred spirits bound by a common destiny.

The dark seraphim explains that he once committed a sin, the same as the white one, which led him to be cursed. His illness, which he transmits through a "bite" in order to rid himself of this curse at least for a short time, becomes a symbol of how sins spread, destroying not only the guilty person, but also those who encounter him.

Sin, murder and the cycle of suffering.

The dark seraphim, having transferred the disease to the white one in order to free himself, commits another sin — murder, for which he will be repeatedly punished with the disease. He returns to his place by the bushes to continue infecting others, in order to feel free for a second and maintain the cycle of suffering. The earth is represented here as hell, where sin and pain become an endless cycle.

However, in this hell, the dark seraphim retains a grain of sympathy. Realizing that the white seraphim is doomed, he ties him to a tree and strangles him to reduce his suffering. This gesture shows that even those who are infected with pain and curse do not lose their humanity to the end.

The finale: hope and destruction.

In the last moments, the white seraphim reaches out to the rose, a symbol of hope that is associated with his life. He crawls, bleeding, trying to keep his faith in a bright future. But rose is also "bleeding", as it was shown in the flashback. This moment highlights the fatality of his fate: he becomes part of a cycle that he himself has broken.

The dark seraphim, having completed his ritual, spits out a wisdom tooth — a sign that the cycle is completed, but at the same time started anew. The white seraphim becomes a new victim, an unnecessary element in a system where everyone is replaceable.

Open questions and reflections.

The film leaves a lot of open questions that the viewer has to solve on their own. Is the cycle of life a closed prison, or is it just a stage on the way to something more? Is suffering really an integral part of being, or is it our choice? The white seraphim, seemingly broken, in his last gesture to the rose leaves a hint of hope, albeit ephemeral.

The work of Salakhutdinova and Semenova here resembles a whisper, which sounds louder than a scream. They avoid straightforwardness, allowing the viewer to feel the weight of each image and draw their own conclusions. This approach not only makes the film a powerful tool for reflection, but also emphasizes the skill of directors who do not impose, but invite dialogue.

Dolphin: Burning bush

Cast

News and articles

Reviews

Similar Movies