The film is essentially a portrayal of a power struggle between a narcissistic father and his emotionally abused son, who naively strives to earn his father's love and admiration, but rebels against his father once he realizes that he can never please his father nor truly earn his respect. At every opportunity, the king-father publicly belittles and humiliates his son before his governing subjects, making the regent-son question his own self-worth. The king even goes to the extent of revealing to his son that he considers his own son to be an enemy, when they take a stroll through their ancestral burial/worship place. The king, finally realizing that he cannot fully control his son, replaces his rebelling son with his younger grand child, whom he can easily manipulate and control. The old king gives up his throne only after his death. The power-hungriness, contempt, violence, and the narcissistic need to subjugate and humiliate is made quite evident in the interactions of the king with his son. It was also interesting to see the conniving enablers in the court always trying to please the authoritative figure and not standing up to him. The apparent powerlessness and pathetic inability to stand-up to the oppressive figure in the victims as well as the enablers are quite striking. All in all, the movie provides a great insight to narcissistic relationships.
Review of The Throne
