Troubled Water starts out with Jan, a convicted murderer, being released from prison. He gets a job as the Organ player at a local church. The story continues as he creates a relationship with Anna, the priest. Jan also builds a relationship with her son, Jens. Meanwhile, Agnes, the mother of the boy who Jan killed, tracks him down and struggles with the past. We first see Jan's journey from the time of his release and hiring to when Jens goes missing outside of his preschool under Jan's supervision. Next the film moves to the journey of Agnes. Her life is shown in a series of flashbacks throughout her everyday life with her family and two adopted daughters. She stalks Jan periodically and finds out information about his life after prison and discovers that Jan is with Anna and her little boy Jens. The stories converge at the kidnapping of Jen's from Jan by Agnes. Jan finds her and admits to killing her son Isak while Jen's is in the car. Jens runs down the same riverbank where Jan killed Isak year's prior and wades into the river. Jan saves him from drowning and Agnes helps them both ashore. Jen's is returned to his mother. This is the first time Anna knows that Jen's was a murderer and their story is cut off halfway through a painfully conflicted conversation. Agnes goes home and reunites with her family. This is her turning point. She is able to let go of Isak and move forward fully embracing the present with her husband and two daughters.
The close-up blurry shots hint at a sense of confusion. Jan is tapping into his grey area. He has been lying to himself for so many years that he started to actually believe that he didn't kill Isak. The blurry close-ups are like looking into his mind. When people think about untrue events obsessively and for long enough, they learn to permanently deny the truth, which they are trying to hide. They just bury it until even they believe the lie. This happens to Jan after he kills Isak. He starts denying it the moment he commits the crime. After that he denies responsibility in trial and is left to meditate on it in prison for years. No wonder he believes it himself. Once he is released from prison, however, he is reminded of what really happened and starts having flashbacks due to seeing Jen's and the café etc. These tangible sights and things were not there in prison. The confines allowed him to focus on denying the truth. Out in the real world, he is confronted again and again with reminders and identity crises. Agnes helps Jan realize the truth and Jan helps Agnes move on.
Jon really doesn't talk much throughout the movie. Maybe words cannot express the regret and guilt that he feels about killing Isak. His music, while in prison, seems incredibly simple and dry. Once he is released and gets the opportunity to play in a real church on a magnificent organ, he is able to tap into his talent once again. The music is his way of repenting, and confessing. It is his way of expressing all of those unspeakable emotions. The beauty in his music, however, isn't achieved in a solemn tone or minor key. It is in the build, the crescendo, and/or climax of the music where hope is illustrated that inspires the beauty. During such a hard journey, Jan expresses his hope through his music.
The end of this film is very depressing and not entirely closing. I don't like how things are left between Anna and Jan. Although Anna doesn't seems to look like she will forgive Jan, you never know. Her role as a priest puts her in an interesting position. There are two sides to her: mother and priest. At the end she has to pick because she is so conflicted. Although it appears to viewers that she picks motherly instincts over priestly views, one can never be sure. This just seems like such a bummer for Jan. He finally gains some closure with Agnes after she steals Anna's son Jen's and Jon saves him from her and from drowning. I guess he can't have everything though. It would probably be too much to hope that he, Anna, and Jens live happily ever after as one big happy family. The viewer is left with Anna's signs of pain and conflict and Jon's yearning to be forgiven, but no one actually knows how they end up. This film is filled with beautiful conflict.
The close-up blurry shots hint at a sense of confusion. Jan is tapping into his grey area. He has been lying to himself for so many years that he started to actually believe that he didn't kill Isak. The blurry close-ups are like looking into his mind. When people think about untrue events obsessively and for long enough, they learn to permanently deny the truth, which they are trying to hide. They just bury it until even they believe the lie. This happens to Jan after he kills Isak. He starts denying it the moment he commits the crime. After that he denies responsibility in trial and is left to meditate on it in prison for years. No wonder he believes it himself. Once he is released from prison, however, he is reminded of what really happened and starts having flashbacks due to seeing Jen's and the café etc. These tangible sights and things were not there in prison. The confines allowed him to focus on denying the truth. Out in the real world, he is confronted again and again with reminders and identity crises. Agnes helps Jan realize the truth and Jan helps Agnes move on.
Jon really doesn't talk much throughout the movie. Maybe words cannot express the regret and guilt that he feels about killing Isak. His music, while in prison, seems incredibly simple and dry. Once he is released and gets the opportunity to play in a real church on a magnificent organ, he is able to tap into his talent once again. The music is his way of repenting, and confessing. It is his way of expressing all of those unspeakable emotions. The beauty in his music, however, isn't achieved in a solemn tone or minor key. It is in the build, the crescendo, and/or climax of the music where hope is illustrated that inspires the beauty. During such a hard journey, Jan expresses his hope through his music.
The end of this film is very depressing and not entirely closing. I don't like how things are left between Anna and Jan. Although Anna doesn't seems to look like she will forgive Jan, you never know. Her role as a priest puts her in an interesting position. There are two sides to her: mother and priest. At the end she has to pick because she is so conflicted. Although it appears to viewers that she picks motherly instincts over priestly views, one can never be sure. This just seems like such a bummer for Jan. He finally gains some closure with Agnes after she steals Anna's son Jen's and Jon saves him from her and from drowning. I guess he can't have everything though. It would probably be too much to hope that he, Anna, and Jens live happily ever after as one big happy family. The viewer is left with Anna's signs of pain and conflict and Jon's yearning to be forgiven, but no one actually knows how they end up. This film is filled with beautiful conflict.