Okay so everyone is like blade runner is an amazing movie, you’ve watched it and yeah it was decent enough for an 80s movie but what’s the big deal with that “Like tears in rain” speech at the end?
The point of this post is to try and make sense of this one sided gibberish jabber that takes place at the climax of the movie between its protagonist and antagonist.
Disclaimer: If you haven’t watched the movie or understood the premise and philosophical questions the movie is discussing don’t bother with this read. Some of it is not great dinner time conversation topics, so I will not touch them, not even with a ten-foot pole.
Let’s first watch this scene in question,
In short, leading up to this point in the movie, the androids that have stolen away to earth seeking to extend their 4-year lifespan, have learned that it’s not something that can be done. Rick Deckard who has pursued these criminals, comes face to face with their leader Roy Batty at the climax of the movie and finds himself in a bit of a tricky situation, dangling away from his end. To his surprise he finds Batty saving his life. Batty goes onto give a short final speech before meeting his end.
“I’ve seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those moments will be lost, in time, like tears in rain. Time to die”
To the untrained mind, the first three sentences of this speech may seem like nonsensical gibberish, with no plot value or merit. These three sentences are then followed by the key piece of information that allows one to decipher the gibber. This key piece of information being, the memories Batty recounts at his time of death are to him his most significant memories, as it would be for any one of us.
These most significant memories of Batty, who has lived a life of a fruit fly(supposedly having a lifespan of 4-6 weeks) are immature and insignificant. They’re not the type of memories you or I would like to recall when death comes knocking on our door. The memories of merry made with friends and loved ones, memories of passion, memories of good we have done for others.
Batty who has lived a mere 4 years, engrossed in trying to break the chains that bound him to his fate has not truly lived, he was not allowed to, he never had the time to. Yet, as the central premise of the movie is to present the viewer the moral question “is a dog’s life as significant as its master's”, which the movie allows the viewer to draw up their own conclusions to, the monologue works. It works as effectively as a sledgehammer in motion coming to a sudden violent stop, with the purpose of crushing a watermelon placed between it and solid ground.
Now watch this scene again, but this time with this new realization and see the utter bewilderment and inability of Deckard to process what he is experiencing(to digest what he has been struggling to accept throughout the story). See the sheer conviction with which Batty delivers his most sacred of memories and the validity he attaches to them, as in his mind they truly are valid and real as the rain falling down on both him and Deckard. Pay attention to the symbolism, feel the score and appreciate the color palette because they all work to deliver this central message.
Do android's dream of electric sheep? If they are, and you are to deny them of its validity what will you do?
I can't give you an answer to the question just like the movie never gave us one, but I will say that with some matters in life staying on the fence is not an option everyone can afford, we must get down to one side or the other.
