Cider House Rules

In session 5 of the introduction to film course I watched Cider House Rules. This was a wonderful movie that really makes the audience think. Some of the major parts of session 5 that relate to this film are is the theme of the film, the relationships of parts to the whole, the film as moral and social statement, and the film as an emotional experience.

I would classify this film as being a moral and social statement piece. The overall theme of the film is whether or not it is okay to break rules to better the lives of people. Some of the rules or laws that are broken during the film are abortions being performed, Candy cheating on Wally with Homer while Wally is away at war, Mr. Rose raping and impregnating his own daughter, Dr. Larch lying to the children about Fuzzy's death, Dr. Larch falsifying Homer's medical degree, Dr. Larch abusing ether, and the Cider House Rules being broken.

The period of time the film was set in abortions were illegal. The film made the statement that it was better to help women who were pregnant and did not want to be or shouldn't be by giving them the abortion. This broken the laws of the time but it saved lives. A scene in the film proved this point when a very young girl was found outside. The girl was obviously to young to be having children and she had gone to someone to get help and was seriously injured as a result. Dr. Larch made the point to Homer that the girl had taken extreme measures to get help and as a result of the law she died.

A moral statement that was made in the film was when Candy was left alone while her boyfriend Wally volunteered for a dangerous assignment in the war. Candy stated several times that she did not do well by herself and that she needed someone with her. Candy was lonely and Homer thought she was kind and beautiful. They eventually ended up being in an intimate relationship. Homer made the comment to Candy in the film that it was neither of their faults. She doesn't do well alone and Wally knew it and Homer had never been with a woman before. This situations brings up the question whether it was right or wrong for them to be together. Ultimately Wally returned from war crippled and Homer went back to the orphanage.

Another moral dilemma was when it became apparent the Ms. Rose was pregnant and she informed Candy that it was her fathers baby. Mr. Rose claimed that he would never hurt his own daughter and that he loved her. Homer performed an abortion on Ms. Rose and in the end she stabbed her father when he tried to say goodbye to her when she left. Mr. Rose committed suicide by further stabbing himself after she left. The question was not whether it was wrong for Mr. Rose to sexually assault his daughter and impregnate her. It is obvious that it was wrong. The question was is it okay for Homer to lie to the police about how Mr. Rose died. Homer would be saving Ms. Rose and Mr. Rose could rest in piece. At the same time Mr. Rose would not be held accountable for what he did and Ms. Rose would not be held accountable either. The secret was in Homer's hands due to Ms. Rose being gone and Mr. Rose dying.

All of these lies and broken rules are benefiting the people involved. A statement was made by one of the field workers toward the end of the film. He stated that the cider house rules were made by someone who had never lived in the cider house and therefore the rules did not apply to the men living in the house. This statement summed up the theme of the film in saying that rules that are made by someone who has never been in the circumstance does not have the authority to decide what is right or wrong.