I know it's real
Ana Stelline: “Someone lived this yes. This happened.”
What’s notable in this scene, and what speaks of the power of emotional investment, is that we don’t see the memory, instead we focus on the faces of those involved. As the music bleeds into the scene and begins to pool, we simply see Stelline’s face, the tears streaming down her cheeks.
As the reality of this memory dawns on K, his outburst is a rage against his mental and emotional imprisonment.
K’s reaction is the rawest moment of pure emotion within the film. For anyone watching who feels a sense of restriction in their own lives, the connect here is so powerful, that it remains in your mind long after the movie has ended. Aside from the emotional impact of the scene, it reflects the ‘tears in rain’ scene in BR82. Whereas Batty’s scene was at the end of his life, this is the start of K’s existence as something other than a slave.
Nothing in recent years has matched this for emotional impact and resonance. The Replicants’ plight is reflected in modern day society: from oppressed sub classes to those stuck in soulless corporate jobs. There is not a human alive that would not feel the emotional impact of this scene. Viewers bond with a synthetic human, over the fact that we are all chained to something.
“We are all chained to fortune: some men’s chain is loose and made of gold, that of others is tight and of meaner metal, but what difference does this make?”
- Seneca, Accommodation to Circumstances
This film achieves what Hollywood has been aiming at for the better part of the last two decades. Hundreds of Millions of dollars are spent each year on bigger and more spectacular blockbusters, yet the majority fail in connecting with the universal human experience. In an irony of ironies, a film about humanity lacking empathy manages to not only connect, but offer a transcendental human experience; all in a scene involving nothing more than two people sitting together. This inability of Hollywood producers to forge a connection with their audience strangely echoes Niander Wallace’s attempts to breed Replicants. Both invest huge amounts of capital into their ventures, but despite the power and influence they hold, neither can overcome a simple obstacle. This obstacle is a standard feature of the human load out, highlighting how out of touch they are with their own species. In contrast to this, Stelline changes K on a fundamental level. As a creator parent, her memory implant is the spark that ignites change.
After retiring Sapper Morton, we saw that K was injured. His response: “I’ll glue it”, showed little care for himself. He existed in purgatory, doing morally repugnant work that was beneath humanity. Now we can see that a change has taken place.
As he looks at the snow falling in his hand, there is a polar shift in his perception.
Where he once stood diametrically opposed to Morton, he now sees the same miracle – the ephemeral nature of existence. With that comes a sense of meaning, and most importantly, purpose.
It’s a bittersweet feeling, experienced by those who come face to face with their own mortality. The instant that full human potential is realized is directly connected to the moment that life is in danger.
This is a feeling which unites humans and Replicants:
Only when it becomes scarce, do we want more life, fucker.