Post by Deleted on Oct 7, 2018 12:34:36 GMT
I saw this movie recently and was so inspired by the duality concept (good versus bad, Lucifer versus Satan) and the symbolism used that I googled for more information. That’s when I found this website slapphappe.wordpress.com/2009/03/22/symbolism-in-the-ninth-gate/. Corso (played by Johnny Depp) and Balkan play out the twin pillars of the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil here. I copied here part of the description:
“The movie “The Ninth Gate” is based on a Spanish work of fiction “The Club Dumas” by Arturo Pérez-Reverte. In it the protagonists, Balkan and Corso, respectively search for and research a fictional book called “The Nine Gates of the Kingdom of Shadows”. The searcher is material and acquisitive — he knows what he wants and he goes after it. The researcher seeks knowledge, doesn’t know what the outcome will be and enlightenment is his reward. Both are embarking upon a journey, with very different outcomes, one of destruction by fire and the other of enlightenment. Keep your focus on Corso, this is his story, only he passes through the ninth gate. Corso himself doesn’t seem to realise this until the end. Decide for yourself what the role of Corso’s companion is: Is she heaven sent or come straight from hell? Could she represent the whore of Babylon symbolising a false religion and is the burning of the castle at the end a reference to the downfall of Jerusalem?
This is a story about two parallel lives going in opposite directions. I’ll refer to the movie, which I have seen, not the book, which I have not read. There are likely to be differences. For Balkan, the journey is downwards, as he tries to summon up the power of the devil: He descends into the Kingdom of Shadows. The fire at the Ninth Gate (of the forged image) is Balkan’s destruction. For Corso the journey is upwards: He emerges from Kingdom of Shadows. The light at the Ninth Gate (of the real image) reveals that it casts shadows upon this world — and for the worthy the journey is out of the Kingdom of Shadows. The light at the end is Corso’s enlightenment.
Three variations of an ancient book “The Nine Gates of the Kingdom of Shadows” exist. Each book contains nine engravings. Three different engravings in each of the three books are signed LCF for Lucifer. Six are signed AT for Aristidem Torchiam, the fictional book’s author. One engraving signed LCF is a forgery. The nine LCF engravings plot the path into or out of the Kingdom of Shadows. The differences in the symbology of the AT and LCF images decode the underlying story.
In Latin the word “Lucifer” means “Light-Bringer” and references the morning star. The name has become associated with evil and the biblical satan — although gnostics believed quite the opposite, that he was a positive influence. You must figure out whose light is actually shining here and on whom the shadows are cast. It’s a good/god versus evil/satan story that, like a playing card, you can read well enough either way. You could make a convincing case for either — which, I think, is a deliberate dilemma of duality introduced by the author.”
The writer goes on explaining the 9 gates that are represented by cards/pictures. The symbols described here and what they stand for are truly amazing! Interesting is the description of the 9th gate, as it completely describes the 7-headed beast and the whore of Babylon JVP wrote about:
“The 9th Gate: Captioned “Now I know that from darkness comes Light” all three of the Ninth Gate engravings are apparently identical. A castle is in the background. In the foreground a naked woman with an open book is seated on a seven headed dragon like creature — which likely represents the whore of Babylon out of Revelations in the bible, associated with the antichrist and downfall. It is the final sexual temptation our pilgrim will encounter. Corso’s guardian angel is apparently a fallen-angel, protecting him on his journey to the Ninth Gate where he succumbs to her temptations.”
“The movie “The Ninth Gate” is based on a Spanish work of fiction “The Club Dumas” by Arturo Pérez-Reverte. In it the protagonists, Balkan and Corso, respectively search for and research a fictional book called “The Nine Gates of the Kingdom of Shadows”. The searcher is material and acquisitive — he knows what he wants and he goes after it. The researcher seeks knowledge, doesn’t know what the outcome will be and enlightenment is his reward. Both are embarking upon a journey, with very different outcomes, one of destruction by fire and the other of enlightenment. Keep your focus on Corso, this is his story, only he passes through the ninth gate. Corso himself doesn’t seem to realise this until the end. Decide for yourself what the role of Corso’s companion is: Is she heaven sent or come straight from hell? Could she represent the whore of Babylon symbolising a false religion and is the burning of the castle at the end a reference to the downfall of Jerusalem?
This is a story about two parallel lives going in opposite directions. I’ll refer to the movie, which I have seen, not the book, which I have not read. There are likely to be differences. For Balkan, the journey is downwards, as he tries to summon up the power of the devil: He descends into the Kingdom of Shadows. The fire at the Ninth Gate (of the forged image) is Balkan’s destruction. For Corso the journey is upwards: He emerges from Kingdom of Shadows. The light at the Ninth Gate (of the real image) reveals that it casts shadows upon this world — and for the worthy the journey is out of the Kingdom of Shadows. The light at the end is Corso’s enlightenment.
Three variations of an ancient book “The Nine Gates of the Kingdom of Shadows” exist. Each book contains nine engravings. Three different engravings in each of the three books are signed LCF for Lucifer. Six are signed AT for Aristidem Torchiam, the fictional book’s author. One engraving signed LCF is a forgery. The nine LCF engravings plot the path into or out of the Kingdom of Shadows. The differences in the symbology of the AT and LCF images decode the underlying story.
In Latin the word “Lucifer” means “Light-Bringer” and references the morning star. The name has become associated with evil and the biblical satan — although gnostics believed quite the opposite, that he was a positive influence. You must figure out whose light is actually shining here and on whom the shadows are cast. It’s a good/god versus evil/satan story that, like a playing card, you can read well enough either way. You could make a convincing case for either — which, I think, is a deliberate dilemma of duality introduced by the author.”
The writer goes on explaining the 9 gates that are represented by cards/pictures. The symbols described here and what they stand for are truly amazing! Interesting is the description of the 9th gate, as it completely describes the 7-headed beast and the whore of Babylon JVP wrote about:
“The 9th Gate: Captioned “Now I know that from darkness comes Light” all three of the Ninth Gate engravings are apparently identical. A castle is in the background. In the foreground a naked woman with an open book is seated on a seven headed dragon like creature — which likely represents the whore of Babylon out of Revelations in the bible, associated with the antichrist and downfall. It is the final sexual temptation our pilgrim will encounter. Corso’s guardian angel is apparently a fallen-angel, protecting him on his journey to the Ninth Gate where he succumbs to her temptations.”