I just saw the movie and I thought it was very good. However the ending wasn't too clear to me. Does Pierre walking alongside the railing of the bridge with his nephew mean that he was going to kill himself along with his nephew. The bridge appeared to be condemned and the final music cue was threatening.
I believe it is the same bridge his aunt committed suicide on. If anuone knows let me know. Thanks
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I don't know for certain what was meant by the ending but it sure did make me nervous. I think it was the same bridge of the suicide. Maybe that was the tattoo put on Pierre while he was passed out in the motel room? Perhaps it was meant to be a metaphor, about the riskiness of his chosen path? This was quite a sad movie so I guess they weren't going to show uncle and nephew skipping off into the sunshine holding balloons and cotton candy.
This movie deserves another look.
And a wider audience!!!
No. Think about it and it makes sense, the tattoo is the family name in Chinese that he shows his brother earlier. It was his brother's surprise to him. Look closely, freeze-frame (and zoom, if necessary).
However, I also thought the ending felt a bit sinister, that maybe he would - if not jump - fall and plunge to his death, taking his nephew with him. But I don't think that was purposely meant to imply this - it was probably just what it looked like, a fun but risky game for his nephew.
Because it was a fictional story, I think the ending is purposely left open to interpretation. Maybe even the writer or director don't know what happens next.
But my view is that by going to the bridge, he was confronting his family's past and bringing along a member of the family from a new generation. It was like going to a cemetery to lay flowers and pay respects; sad, but not ominous. Maybe he's come to grips with his own and his family's tragic history and the tattoo helped him do this.
I read the ending as more metaphorical. Pierre has taken his nephew on as his responsibility. The movie has twice told us that the future is built on the shoulders of the past. Pierre takes his nephew onto the railing -- the future of their life. Three things can happen -- they can fall off into the river and die (disaster); they can fall back onto the roadway (setback), or they can reach the end of the railing (getting through life). The camera slowly pans out and we see just how long that bridge is, and how dangerous will be the journey along that railing.
shareYes, I had similar thoughts after watching the film.
You know, I take my hat off to writer / directors who have the guts to leave the conclusion of their film 'open ended', which hopefully triggers questions, healthy debate, and interpretation from their audience.
At the same time it kind of irritates me that so many "movie"-goers seem to struggle with, (& complain about), films that don't conform to giving their audience the typical / easy way out, with those watered down "Hollywood-esque" endings wrapped up in a nice bow for convenience and emotional sake.
I've been in numerous conversations, (and read many IMDb posts), where people have blindly criticized endings of such films as: Children of Men, Cache, In the Bedroom, No Country For Old Men, & Babel, (to name a few within the past few years), simply because it forced them to ponder at little more and didn't clearly state "how will it all end up?".
Anyhow, Le Confessionnal is a classic Canadian film. I really wish it had a wider audience.
I was wondering about what the ending could mean with them walking on the bridge, so what you wrote is very good interpretation, stevemr.
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