An eccentric observer enters his twin sister's troubled household, where private experiments and journals expose a marriage's deterioration and Charles's madness.
Story Structure — 5 Plot Phases
The Experiment Burns Home
Barjo's eccentric scientific experiment accidentally burns down his house. The disaster forces him to leave his familiar environment.
Key Events
Barjo's Eccentric Routine — Barjo is introduced as eccentric, naive, obsessive, and absorbed in private investigations. Characters: BarjoLocation: Barjo's home
The Scientific Experiment — Barjo conducts a self-described scientific experiment inside his house. Characters: BarjoLocation: Barjo's home
The Accidental Fire — The experiment accidentally starts a fire that burns down Barjo's house. Characters: BarjoLocation: Barjo's home
Home Destroyed — Barjo is left without his home after the accidental destruction. Characters: BarjoLocation: Burned house
A Twin's Unusual Refuge
Barjo moves in with his twin sister Fanfan and her husband Charles. The new household becomes the setting for his continuing experiments and observations.
Key Events
Moving In With Fanfan — Barjo moves into the home shared by his twin sister Fanfan and Charles. Characters: Barjo, FanfanLocation: Fanfan and Charles's home
The Married Household — Barjo becomes part of the domestic environment occupied by Fanfan and Charles. Characters: Barjo, Fanfan, CharlesLocation: Fanfan and Charles's home
Cataloguing Old Magazines — Barjo continues cataloguing old science magazines in his new surroundings. Characters: BarjoLocation: Fanfan and Charles's home
Bizarre Inventions — Barjo tests bizarre inventions despite the disruption caused by the house fire. Characters: BarjoLocation: Fanfan and Charles's home
Notebooks Of Human Behavior
Barjo catalogs old science magazines, tests bizarre inventions, and fills notebooks with observations. His writing also turns toward the end of the world.
Key Events
Human Behavior Notes — Barjo fills notebooks with observations about human behavior. Characters: BarjoLocation: Barjo's notebooks
End Of The World Thoughts — Barjo's notebooks also contain thoughts about the end of the world. Characters: BarjoLocation: Barjo's notebooks
Journals Become Narrative — The film uses Barjo's journals to reveal developments inside the marriage. Characters: Barjo, Fanfan, CharlesLocation: Barjo's notebooks
Marital Conflict Emerges — Barjo's records show conflict developing between Fanfan and Charles. Characters: Barjo, Fanfan, CharlesLocation: Fanfan and Charles's home
Marriage Under Observation
Barjo's journals reveal growing conflict and sexual tension between Fanfan and Charles. The domestic relationship becomes increasingly unstable.
Key Events
Charged Marriage — The marriage is marked by growing sexual tension alongside its conflict. Characters: Fanfan, CharlesLocation: Fanfan and Charles's home
Barjo Records Tension — Barjo continues documenting the unstable emotional dynamic in the household. Characters: Barjo, Fanfan, CharlesLocation: Barjo's notebooks
Domestic Deterioration — The conflict and sexual tension contribute to the deterioration of the marriage. Characters: Fanfan, CharlesLocation: Fanfan and Charles's home
Charles Loses Stability — Barjo's observations chart Charles's worsening psychological condition. Characters: Barjo, CharlesLocation: Fanfan and Charles's home
Charles's Psychological Collapse
The marital deterioration culminates in Charles's descent into madness. Barjo's journals preserve the collapse of the household as their central subject.
Key Events
Descent Into Madness — Charles undergoes a descent into madness as the domestic conflict intensifies. Characters: CharlesLocation: Fanfan and Charles's home
Madness Recorded — Barjo's journals frame and record Charles's psychological collapse. Characters: Barjo, CharlesLocation: Barjo's notebooks
Household In Ruin — The shared household is defined by the deteriorated marriage and Charles's madness. Characters: Barjo, Fanfan, CharlesLocation: Fanfan and Charles's home
Barjo's Final Observations — Barjo's written observations leave the household's collapse as the film's central record. Characters: Barjo, Fanfan, CharlesLocation: Barjo's notebooks
Story Breakdown
Barjo's Eccentric World — Barjo's obsessive habits establish his unusual perspective on science and human behavior.
Obsessive Experiments — Barjo conducts a scientific experiment that accidentally burns down his house.
Private Observations — He catalogs magazines, tests inventions, and studies human behavior.
The House Fire — The accidental fire destroys Barjo's home and forces a major change in his circumstances.
Accidental Destruction — A scientific experiment causes Barjo's house to burn down.
Forced Relocation — Barjo moves into Fanfan and Charles's home.
The Twin's Household — Barjo enters the domestic space shared by his twin sister and her husband.
Fanfan's Welcome — Fanfan provides Barjo with a place to stay after the fire.
Charles's Marriage — Charles's marriage to Fanfan becomes the center of Barjo's observations.
Barjo's Written World — Barjo's notebooks transform everyday observations into a record of human and apocalyptic concerns.
Science Magazine Catalogues — Barjo continues cataloguing old science magazines.
Apocalyptic Notes — His notebooks contain thoughts about the end of the world.
Marital Tension — Barjo's journals reveal the unstable emotional relationship between Fanfan and Charles.
Growing Conflict — The journals document conflict developing within the marriage.
Sexual Tension — The marriage is also marked by increasing sexual tension.
Charles's Madness — The deteriorating marriage culminates in Charles's psychological collapse.
Deteriorating Marriage — Conflict and tension cause the household relationship to deteriorate.
Complete Descent — Charles eventually experiences a complete descent into madness.
The narrator, "Barjo" (nutcase, crap artist), is an obsessive simpleton, given to filling his notebook with verbatim dialog, observed trivia, and oddball speculation on human behavior and the end of the world. When his house burns, he moves in with his twin sister, Fanfan -- an impulsive, quixotic egoist -- and her husband, Charles, the Aluminum King. Charles becomes the focus of the film, as his wife and brother-in-law bewilder him.
