Nosferatu
Warning : this clause contains spoilers forNosferatuNosferatu , the latest cinema by director Robert Eggers , is a haunt report with a soft floral motif : lilacs . The empurpled flowers seem throughout the movie up untilNosferatu’sendingas Thomas ( Nicholas Hoult ) and Ellen ( Lily - Rose Depp ) Hutter attempt to thwart the ascendence of the powerful lamia Count Orlok ( Bill Skarsgård ) . sure types of flowers are often used for emblematical purposes in film and TV , and that ’s certainly the typeface here withNosferatu .
When they first come along , they come along to represent more than a gesture of affection from one of the characters inNosferatu ’s cast . But as the motion-picture show continues , this specific peak develop a recurring bearing in the movie , showing up in a handful of sequences , but not always under the same circumstances . In doing so , the movie indicates that all of these lilacs appearing in the movie is scarce a coincidence .
Ellen is Surrounded by Lilacs
In an early conniption ofNosferatu , Thomas hold Ellen a bouquet of lilac as he tells her that he will be leaving for six weeks to trade an estate to Count Orlok . Ellen respond that the flowers will die in " only in a few days " and demands that Thomas give them out . The short animation distich of the lilacs augur Ellen ’s own impending doom , wherein she will die after three day of being haunted by Count Orlok .
Before Thomas impart , Ellen tells him of a dread nightmare she had . She key herself marrying Death , and notes that " the scent of lilacs was substantial in the rain . " However , when she and Death turned to face the consultation of their wedding , Ellen remarks that everyone was dead . She describes the " atrocious " fetor of their bodies , a nod to the fact that a wilt lilac smells like a corpse . The movie directly connect lilacs to Death , an entity whichNosferatu’sCount Orlokembodies .
After making Nosferatu , Robert Eggers plans to direct a werewolf pic , and Wifwulf is the unadulterated comic to check out while wait for its handout .
At the end ofNosferatu , Ellen bravely choose to give herself to Count Orlok to bring through her town of Wisburg from a deadly plague . When Count Orlok arrives at her bedroom , Ellen is wearing lilac in her hair , the same that she wore on her original wedding ceremony daylight with Thomas . Just like in her dream of marrying Death , Ellen is smother by the scent of lilacs .
Count Orlok then successfully drains her of blood , killing her before sunlight begins to swamp Ellen ’s room and kills him . When Thomas finds their bodies , he falls to his knees in desperation . Alchemist Albin Eberhart Von Franz ( Willem Dafoe ) enters the room and break up a fragrance of lilac across Ellen and Count Orlok ’s body , presumably to disguise the scent of death . From its first step shot until its closing lines , Nosferatuensures that Ellen is enveloped by lilac .
Lilacs are Associated with Death and Possession
Lilacs Have a Special Death-Scented Chemical
Lilacs turn back indole , a chemic compound that is also find in corpses . Indole is also associated with the musky - scent of human sex . Lilacs seat at the crossroads between sexual activity and death , making them a perfect fit forNosferatuand Ellen ’s fictional character , in particular . Ellen is haunted by her loneliness and carnal desires , which ultimately manifests in her dying at the paw — or rather , fang — of Count Orlok .
Lilacs also hold up a limited place in Greek mythology , inspiring their scientific name , Syringa vulgaris , from Syringa , a nymph who was pursued by Pan , a forest god . Syringa escaped from Pan ’s Salmon P. Chase by move around herself into a lilac bush . Pan ultimately found her and created a flute glass from her Modern form , which he kept forever . Nosferatu’sEllen is a Syringa in her own right , succumbing to a relentless chase from a prurient , all - powerful being .
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