Photographs
The movie begins with Phil taking a photograph on the beach somewhere in America. It progresses into him traveling and taking photos of the scenery along the way. We get an atmosphere of loneliness and depression surrounding Phil, and later we discover the true meaning of his obsession with evidencing everything with photography and avoiding writing about his experience.
Loneliness and depression
Angela, Phil's friend from New York, makes a psychoanalysis which provides a more insightful picture into the character of Phil. He confides to her about his depression, and she describes his depression and his loneliness as a loss of sense of self. He lost himself, he doesn't believe in his own existence and is constantly searching for proofs of himself, which is a part of the reason of his obsession with photography.
Travelling
The movie starts with an image of an airplane and the most of it contained in traveling. Phil travels through America, later on to Amsterdam in search for Alice's grandmother. The movie ends with Phil and Alice traveling on a train. The entire movie can be seen as a one big journey, which is essentially a trip to search for oneself.
Television
Phil confides to a friend in New York about his feelings of loneliness. He describes the previous scene where he smashed a television in a motel room. He describes as having lost senses of hearing and sight when looking at the inhuman object. This could be interpreted as his continuous loneliness and need for closeness of something human, which he feels is missing from his life.
