After discovering Luke’s duplicity and escaping from the Fishes, Theo, Kee and Miriam seek out help from Theo’s friend Jasper. That night, Theo returns from a walk and listens into a conversation that Jasper and Miriam are having about the roles of Faith and Chance in life. This conversation sets out one of the key ideas of the film: the tension that exists between “faith” and “chance”, and how these concepts can define how we live our lives.
Jasper: Everything is a mythical, cosmic battle between faith and chance. …
Jasper: So. You’ve got faith over here, right? And chance over there.
Miriam: Like yin and yang.
Jasper: Sort of.
Miriam: Or Shiva and Shakti.
Jasper: Lennon and McCartney!
Kee: [looking at pictures] Look, Julian and Theo.
Jasper: Yeah, there you go! Julian and Theo met among a million protestors in a rally by chance. But they were there because of what they believed in in the first place, their faith. They wanted to change the world. And their faith kept them together. But by chance, Dylan was born.
Kee: [picks up another photo] This is him?
Jasper: Yeah, that’s him. He’d have been about your age. Magical child. Beautiful. Their faith put in praxis.
Miriam: “Praxis”? What happened?
Jasper: Chance. He was their sweet little dream. He had little hands, little legs, little feet. Little lungs. And in 2008, along came the flu pandemic. And then, by chance, he was gone. You see, Theo’s faith lost out to chance. So, why bother if life’s going to make its own choices? …
Miriam: Oh, boy. That’s terrible. But, you know, everything happens for a reason.
Jasper: That, I don’t know. But Theo and Julian would always bring Dylan. He loved it here.
QUESTION 1: What is meant by “FAITH”?
QUESTION 2: What is meant by “CHANCE”?
QUESTION 3: What is the relationship between the two?
QUESTION 4: How do we see these ideas played out through the character of Theo? What ideas are governing his life at the beginning of the film, and how does this change as the film progresses?
QUESTION 5: How do these ideas relate to the notion of “HOPE” and “HOPELESSNESS”, which are so prevalent in the film?
EXTENSION: Can you think of any other aspects of the film where the ideas of ‘chance’ and ‘faith’ are explored or contrasted?
