The movie Lolita is one of the most thought-provoking films I’ve seen in a long time. In a society where “pedophiles” are, more often than not, thought of as monsters, it’s quite unnerving to find yourself at the other side–understanding, even sympathizing, with one. The movie was narrated in the voice of Humbert, a man who falls in love with his landlady’s (and later, wife’s) 12-year-old daughter.

The movie blurs the line of morality. Is it really wrong to fall in love with a child? And is someone as young as Lolita can be held responsible for her acts? The character’s ages tell us clearly who is to blame, and yet it is true that adults can be foolish, and that children can grow up faster than their years. In cases such as that, wherein the child manipulates the adult, and the adult loses his wits, who really is at fault?

Lolita (brilliantly played by Dominique Swain) has an attitude comparable to that of a toddler’s–curious, testing her limits, knowing her power, taking advantage. She knows she has Humbert wrapped around her finger, and she uses his fixation as a means to get what she wants: money, privileges, treats. And yet in the midst of it all she remains childish–she pulls faces, she moans, stamps her feet and screams her lungs out when she doesn’t get what she wants. One minute she’s laughing innocently at a newspaper cartoon, the next, making love with her stepfather. Such displays of innocence lead one to think that, like most adolescents, Lolita hardly knows what she’s doing, or the consequences of her actions–though she may claim otherwise.

The quote above is one of the ones I liked best from this movie. I’m thinking of painting them on a pair of shoes sometime soon, though I do think my mother will be horrified when she reads it, haha.