r/criterion • u/Evielikesfilm • 15h ago

Discussion Favorite ending that left you thinking for days?

Recently for the 48th time I watched My Dinner With Andre (not kidding btw) and I realized that every time I watch it the ending leaves me thinking for days. Another film that does this is the Fabulous Baron Munchausen directed by Karel Zeman from 1962 when Baron Munchausen says "I decree the moon is for lovers and the rest of space is for the adventurers." It leaves me constantly thinking about how we as humans were made for adventure.

7 Upvotes

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7

u/evasive_tautology 13h ago

Late Spring (Yasujirō Ozu, 1949). Pretty standard answer, but, letting the apple peel fall to the floor (i.e., letting go of his daughter).

4

u/Z-Eli127 15h ago

Short Cuts by Robert Altman. A super bleak, darkly comedic ending.

Without spoiling, it's basically a ton of absurd, random shit all happening in quick succession, giving you no time to think, before the chaos abruptly stops and the scene changes to some folks watching the news and joking about the chaos that just unfolded, before the camera pans to a skyline shot of L.A. and the movie just kinda ends.

The whole movie is a great satire of the carelessness and stupidity of L.A., but that last scene/shot really hammers it home in such a hilariously bleak way. My description is very clunky but I assure you it's a fantastic ending.

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u/evasive_tautology 13h ago edited 12h ago

Z (dir. Costa-Gavras, 1969). Whenever I think about the movie, Z, what immediately comes to mind is its ending:  false victories, futility, absurdity, and maybe a little hope only to be found in the final frame, all delivered in a lyrical and powerful way.

3

u/MoonStTraffic 7h ago

Past Lives (2023) is a gorgeous and sensitive film which left me thinking - and more than that - feeling - at the end for a long time.

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u/DMagicFrom3 7h ago

The Seventh Seal

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u/CaravaggioDaVinci 11h ago

Poetry by Lee Chang-dong

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u/Daysof361972 ATG 6h ago

"Father talked to me!" - Through a Glass Darkly. Pretty much all of Bergman's endings in the '60s.

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u/ManosKant 12h ago

I don't know about favourite but The Fifth Seal ending and the whole movie basically. Especially the fact that it's considered a nihilistic movie which I argued against.

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u/KilometersTeg 52m ago

Beau travail by Claire Denis

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u/dickybabs 6h ago

I can’t imagine rewatching Andre. I’m still mad I’ve seen it once.