Every time I've seen "Lili", at the very end, when Lili runs back into Paul's arms and the camera pans back and we see the puppets applauding, I lose it. I'm 39 years old but that ending makes me cry like a baby. I even get choked up thinking about it. I guess I'm sentimental, but that's OK.
shareI cry every time I see it too. Every time I see Mel Ferrer's face as she leaves, or when she tears the curtain away to reveal him. I can't help it. This seems like an innocent little musical, but it's something powerful. I end up in tears every single time I watch this movie.
shareThe part that gets me is when the puppets beg her not to leave. Like Lili, I forget that they are all a part of Mel Ferrer and not separate entities.
shareThat's just it! We forget because we're supposed to forget. That's art. The puppets are a part of him just like the brothers Karamazov are a part of Dostoevsky. And sometimes an artist puts so much of himself into his art that it becomes more real than he is. This is pretty profound stuff.
shareMe too! It takes a while to realize they're all part of him. They reveal so much about him that he couldn't reveal on his own. I think that helped her to fall in love with him. She could see all the beautiful characters inside him.
... are in bloom again
It isn't sentimental to cry at this - it isn't a cheesy chick flick or fluffy romance. This movie has some powerful emotional and psychological themes; I think we tend to forget them because Lili is so young, and there are puppets, and a carnival, all of which lend an air of innocence and light-heartedness to the movie. But it really is much more dark and serious than that. The movie exposes the naked souls of the characters, in all their ugliness and with all their flaws. It is uncomfortable at times. But we still watch, entranced, because we see ourselves in these characters (okay, maybe not in all of them). By the time the movie is ending, we've woven ourselves into the desires and souls of Lili and Paul, so the end is as much of an emotional release for us as it is for them. The puppets provide paradoxical symbolism, as they are symbols of simple innocence, and aren't real; yet they ARE real, with complex personalities like real people - and they aren't innocent at all. Everyone connects with the puppets in this movie, because we all have those "separate personalities." Even children can understand this concept when watching the movie. I remember watching this over and over again as a pre-teen and teenager, even though it was somewhat unsettling to me - I think the fact that it seemed like an innocent story, but really wasn't, made me uncomfortable. I always cried at the end, too. Most times I pretended my allergies were bothering me because I was embarrassed to cry in front of my parents. :-D If I saw it again now (I'm 32) I'm sure I'd still cry at the end.
I am 21 and my first time was yesterday and almost the entire movie I cried hysterically, I was nuts.
Roberta Trevisan
"Film lovers are sick people"
"Till The Angels Say Amen"
lol I loved loved this movie and I loved the puppets...just like Lili :) those scenes with the puppets said it all...great screenwriting.I would love to see puppet shows like that. :)
"Ooo, she's so cold, sweetie! I'll just bet she has her period in cubes."
Then the film achieved exactly what the screenwriter and the director and the actors wanted. :-)
shareIt's a sweet movie!
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Jim Hutton: talented gorgeous hot hunk; adorable as ElleryQueen; SEXIEST ACTOR EVER
I think it is beautiful that it touched you so, there are a few films that I've seen in my lifetime that make me feel so wonderful as well. When a movie brings out the tears, I'm impressed (as I don't cry easily). This movie isn't one that made me cry, but I got the strange feeling that if I were one to cry more easily, I would have. Very nice ending.
Please excuse typos/funny wording; I use speech-recognition that doesn't always recognize!