MovieChat Forums > Belle de jour (1968) Discussion > The Ending (Spoilers)

The Ending (Spoilers)

posted 8 years ago by davidsmith666999
5 replies | jump to latest

I enjoyed this film. But, I don't see why so many are confused regarding the ending. One of the women in an interview on the Criterion release went so far as to say "She got away with it in the end". Others seem to think there's two endings. The director says the ending was ambiguous. I didn't think so.

The way I see the ending is from the narrative. This had a very distinct narrative, where the turning points weren't hard to figure out.

The opening is a fantasy, she gets beaten and raped... The last shot is also a fantasy. Her husband in reality is crying, and she realizes there's nothing she can say. So, she does her needlework and goes off into a fantasy. The fantasy is, he rises and they talk about going on vacation for a few weeks. This moves to the carriage that doesn't have them in it. So, her fantasy now is having a "normal" life with the man she truly loves, instead of the vegetable in the wheelchair, that she basically put there.

Am I missing something? This seems rather simple to me.

[–] robby_ross 7 years ago

Your interpretation is rather close to my own. I also don't think this is such an enigmatic ending when you break it down (similar to how you've done).

She is certainly experiencing a sort of self-induced absolution with the empty carriage. I only wish such a powerful ending had been used for a more profound subject matter. That said, I get weary of folks saying 'Belle de Jour' is Buñuel's shock romp or "a thinking man's sex movie". There is incredible depth to this film, and the ending ties it up excruciatingly.

Always when those sleigh bells start jingling at the final moment, I get shivers. This ending puts the viewer in one's place if they are really watching.

[–] Graybell 7 years ago

How do you know the ending is a fantasy? That's the question. It could be that many months have passed by and he has recovered. Or perhaps the scene with him paralyzed is a fantasy.

[–] davidsmith666999 7 years ago

I wrote my original post right after I saw the film. I don't remember exactly what the thug did to the husband (shot him?). But, it seemed plausible that the Dr would be permanently wheelchair bound.

I think the reason I don't believe time passed is because they wore the same clothing and the shots were continuous. That's also the reason for the ending to be a fantasy. There's no legitimate reason she would fantasize about her husband in a wheelchair. So, it's normal to figure that him rising and planning a vacation is the fantasy.

[–] stanleycoleman 7 years ago

It's possible that the paralysis was a fantasy to punish her due to her feelings of guilt, and then once Husson revealed what she had done, she finally felt liberated and absolved of that guilt. She is also freed from the shame and burden of suppressing her fantasies. That would be a very literal interpretation of the symbolism, as well. Who can say for sure?

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[–] davidsmith666999 7 years ago

If the paralysis is the fantasy, then what is the vacation? What is the empty carriage? In reality the husband was fine with her infidelity, that he's planning a vacation?

In my theory it all fits. the carriage fantasy changed from beginning to end. Why?