MovieChat Forums > Harry and Tonto (1974) Discussion > At the very end the little girl making a...

At the very end the little girl making a sandcaste, what did it mean

posted 12 years ago by pschroeter
18 replies | jump to latest

In the very last scene Harry plays with the little girl making a sandcastle on the beach, did this mean anything? I believe that a little earlier the lady on the bench who offered Harry a place to live represented the possibility of romance, he then follows an orange tabby onto the beach which might be the new Tonto. I just wonder if the little girl meant anything. I would guess it represented Harry starting to come alive again in his new LA home.

[–] Gubbio (3893) 4 years ago

Thanks to everyone for their interpretation.

After investing 2 hours into the characters, I think the ending STUNK.

I don't like these arty endings where you are LEFT HANGING, to wonder with your own interpretations.

To me, the ending RUINED a beautiful film. 🙄

[–] Owlwise (1489) 4 years ago

I wasn't left hanging at all. Harry is at the sunset of his life, but however many or few days he has left, he'll live them to the fullest. And leaving the viewers to their own interpretations is a sign of respect from the director, who credits those viewers with intelligence & thoughts of their own, as the film's ending causes them to reflect on their own lives. I don't see how there could have been a better, more honest ending than that.

[–] redban (5183) 3 years ago

Sandcastle = symbol of fleetingness. The sand castle gets washed away by the tide, just as everything in life gets lost through time.

Right before he stops to look at the kid building the sandcastle, he was chasing a cat that looks like Tonto. And obviously, as well know, Tonto has died. The ending, therefore, signifies that he was chasing a sandcastle when he was chasing another Tonto. The cat that he was chasing = a sandcastle. It was something that, like Tonto, won't last.