***Spoilers warning (although if you're reading "greatest last scene" and not expecting spoilers you prolly messed up already)
I just saw this one for the first time ... I was left with exactly the same feeling.
I was coming into it from a different perspective maybe. I was just mad. When Oscar robs her and she's left ruined, I couldn't think where else the movie could have gone, but it just left me frustrated. I was emotionally involved with her enough that it mattered and just seeing her knocked down one more time was just frustrating. At that point I really thought the best ending would have been for her to jump off the cliff.
When she didn't, and started walking back up to the road, I knew that the movie had to go there, it had to end on a message of "however bad her life gets, she finds the strength to go on". At the moment, I found the idea of that ending intensely annoying. Maybe because that ending has been done so many times since then (probably inspired by this movie) and it has become such a cliche.
I think it's a little more than that though, I think for the most part it's just not well-done when I've seen it in other movies. It's not just a cinematic cliche, but a cliche in life. Like when something really bad happens to you and a friend tells you "well, you just have to find the strength to go on" or whatever other cliche. "Everything happens for a reason". It's something that had meaning for them once, so they repeat it hoping it will have the same meaning again the next time around.
But life doesn't work like that. A moment in time, the context of it, is not the same later. Repeated later, it becomes empty. Worse than no use, it becomes a form of dismissal. As if to say "well I've given you this cliche, now your problem is solved" and any further unhappiness is your fault because you couldn't appreciate this valuable advice you've been given.
Both in life and in movies I find that kind of message annoying, irritating, offensive. And as in life in movies it's usually presented as a cliche, you get the POINT, but it has no MEANING. Like a moment you try to relive later but it's empty.
So I was really set to dislike this ending, when I saw where it was going. Really all the way from when she got back up after Oscar ran away, I was halfway ready to just stop the movie and call it good.
But the ending of Cabiria isn't a 'moment relived later, but meaningless'. It's an actual MOMENT. It's PERFECT, and I have no idea why.
The actress has a lot to do with it ... she is very genuine, especially at first where the kids are dancing around her and she is polite but still wrapped up in her own problems. That was important, because otherwise it would have become a cliche, if she had gone too quickly to happy. It just wouldn't have been real.
The direction was a lot of it ... the single streak of mascara was such a briliant touch. I mean there's more to the direction of that scene, but it's hard to break it down.
Possibly most important is the SILENCE of the scene. I mean there's no 'plot' dialogue at all, no conversation. "Why are you crying, lady?" "You just have to DANCE, even though you're sad!" A million different things could have been said to carry the point ... and in my opinion, any of them would have ruined the moment utterly.
Somehow the silence of the scene carries you from a point where the movie is lecturing you, presenting you with it's Message, and into reality ... and in reality, there's no reason not to change.
So by the end, for whatever reason, it did hit me, even though I saw it coming and wanted to hate it, and the stupid thing made me cry.
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pjbrubak
16 years ago
I enjoyed reading your thoughtful post. Cliches are all people seem able to muster when offering condolences : "She's in a better place now" which is how a friend rationalized the death of his daughter. "Be strong" used whenever times are tough. "Take care" when trying to cheer someone up.
One phrase that I really like, even though it may only be two hairs shy of a cliche, is one attributed to Winston Churchill. If I'm going through tough times I sometimes remember what he said:
"When you're going through hell, keep going."
You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes you might find you get what you need.
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NylonN
16 years ago
The scene doesn't have any dialogue, but it's far from silent. One interpretation of the ending is that Cabiria finally finds her salvation in music.
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BobbyDupea
9 years ago
[SPOILER IMPLIED HERE] Yes, I agree that it's a very moving ending, and I was surprised that I was moved, like you. I credit the writing, directing, and the amazing acting of Giulietta Masina for the effectiveness of the ending and its emotional impact.
I dislike the cliche of "Well, you have to get up, dust yourself off, and keep on living..." as you do - and I think it's been overdone in movies. However, one has to see this movie in the context of history, where it was made and when it was made.
This movie was made in post-war Italy, where, at the time, people were very much struggling to make a living and many people were enduring hardship in every way. It was probably unusual there and then to be perpetually positive. We have a hard time understanding that attitude here in the US, as we have a culturally-ingrained myth that anyone can succeed in life if they just try hard enough. In the context of Italy at the time this movie was set, it was probably startling and revelatory to see a character act as did Cabiria.
My real name is Jeff
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