Explain ending


Hi, can anyone please explain the ending, with regards to the significance of the fish?

Thanks

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why should the fish hold any special significance? It conveyed an emotion, a feeling, and that's the purpose they served.

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[deleted]

Fishes gather around Ali's feet, "kissing" them. At least that's what I remember from the book.

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I am told Gold fish are for good fortune, goodluck type of thing, so if you look back when the father is picking up the food and "shoes" for both his son and his daughter.....so its kinda like saying and they lived happily ever after, without saying it, they just showed the fish...

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that makes sense...cool, thank you

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Gold fishs are symbols of angels from heaven who were kissing (praising) ali's feet.

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thanks for everybody's responses...makes sense now :)

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In iranian culture, gold fish are a symbol of renewal, and cleanliness. The gold fish at the end "kissing" ali's feet were symbolic of new and good things to come, and a good new start. We also know this because in the little sequence before we see Ali's father coming home with two new pairs of shoes for ali and zahra, and also other treats.

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nice insight

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I find some of these explainations interesting since I understood the ending in a completely different way:

First I should say that when I first saw the ending, I hated it. I thought 'what a pathetic and uneventful way to end the movie without any real resolution to the story.' Then I started to think back on the movie and began to wonder if all the bad things that happened were all part of a theme, because alone they make little sense to me. 1) The girl finds her shoes but modestly decides to let the other girl keep them only to have them be thrown away. 2) Ali and the father travel to upstate and are able to make lots of money only to have an accident on the bike and perhaps spend all the money they made on a ride home? 3) Ali fails at acheiving his goal of 3rd place in the race after being tripped by another boy and has blistered feet as a result of his attempt.

It seems this family just has a really tough life with things happening outside of their control due to the vicious cycle of poverty. This is exactly what brings them together and makes them so attractive to the audience. Conversely, the little boy in the rich upstate house was practially begging Ali to play with him; He had plenty of material conforts, but lacked the rich personal companionship the family shared.

Ending this story with a happy ending is naturally what the audience wants, but life doesn't always result in happy endings. The family must persevere and continually lick their wounds in order to survive and even thrive with the love and bonds they share together. I really feel this ending drove home an empathy that grows on you throughout the movie for people that are forced to live in these conditions.


I'd love to hear anyone's thoughts on my take on this, since it seems to be contrary to what everyone else has written so far. I really enjoyed this movie.

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I generally have the same thoughts you do. That riches go beyond the physical. Your example of the rich little boy was perfect.

Another point that supports your argument was the little girl who had Zahra's shoes. She was even less economically and socially well off than Ali and Zahra (poor with a blind father). Yet she was happy. You don't have to be wealthy to be happy.

Don't you think that clauses such as "cycle of poverty" and "forced to live in these conditions" are a bit cliché? While the father was poor he had an opportunity to earn more. Poverty was not the cause of his failure to do so - dumb luck was (or his imprudent operation of a bicycle). Think about it; while he failed how many others in similar conditions tried and succeeded? Even the friend who loaned him the sprayer had used this method to move up.

And he wasn't really "forced to live in these conditions" as he demonstrated by his taking the opportunity to improve his position (gardening). He noted that the new job would allow them to move to a new house (counted his chickens). He lived in meager conditions but he could have lived in worse. While his landlord demanded rent he sounded as though he was not unreasonable as gave them time to come up with it.

Loved the movie.


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It's true that one of the messages of the film was that family and relationships bring happiness, and that money can't buy these things. That said, I think the ending was absolutely a happy one. The father has bought shoes for both children, which is after all the major plot conflict. I think this is meant to indicate that the bicycle accident was just a momentary setback, and that the family's fortunes really are on the upswing. (Not to mention that Ali has won the race, albeit unintentionally.)

Another point is that the blind guy's daughter, Roya, is apparently not as impoverished as Ali and his sister initially imagine. Roya discards Zahra's old shoes without a second thought when she gets a new pair. So we were all led to make unjustified assumptions about Roya and her family simply because her father was a blind man who apparently made his living scavenging for recyclables.

The paradox, which is revealed to Zahra too late, is that Roya didn't really care about Zahra's shoes, and doubtless would have returned them had she understood the situation. The lesson is that Zahra is happier to leave the shoes with someone she believes to be less fortunate, even though it is a hardship for her and Ali.

This is a simple film with complex and ambiguous ideas underlying it. It has a sweet, even sentimental surface, but it gives the viewer a lot to think about.

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Great observations!

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also, how interesting when they are looking for the gardening work, the father tells Ali, "now listen to me and learn how to do it." the father hems and haws and is tongue-tied at the intercom, then Ali "takes over" and speaks very coherently. HE in effect is the one who gets them the work! especially since he gets the attention of the lonely boy and his grandfather.

also, so intriguing to see the dichotomy between rich and poor -- in a way, just like the West, and this is _after_ the revolution -- the rich in their big homes, so isolated... and half are not even home.

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*spoilers here*




i saw the movie last night and really loved the closing image; it was beautiful. there is something ineffable about the ending, something that is meant to be seen and felt and not so much thought- something beautiful experienced.

perhaps it is tied to the boy's inner beauty- his wanting to make his sister happy. he gives her a new pencil, then his gold pen. he plans on coming in third and then there's his sadness when he faces her at the end, no words spoken. (didn't it break your heart when the photographer took his picture and he was sad bc he hadn't come in third?). and we see the punishment his feet took. but then we see the father has bought both children shoes, and we know they will be happy. and just seeing that he's bought the shoes is enough. we don't need to actually see the children put the shoes on, like a hollywood movie would have ended, so nice and neat and obvious. the goldfish "kissing" ali's feet is a unique ending image, specific to these characters and this movie- in a word, perfect. i'm thankful such films exist.

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I watched the movie yesterday and I loved every minute of it.

The ending was very unusual and simple and came quite unexpectedly. The big question is about the two pair of shoes that the father purchases and how did he arranged the money. I believe that this scene explains another major portion of the movie. The movie is through the eyes of the children. The director actually wants to show us the life and behavior of children in poor homes. What they think about their parents and how they are afraid of little things, of getting beaten for small mistakes. Moreover, the children in such homes "overestimate" the problems in their parent's life and do not want to increase them anymore, even if they suffer themselves. The last scene completely justifies my use of the word "overestimate" as they weren't in that bad condition as the children were contemplating.

I'll be glad to see the review of this concept.

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The movie is through the eyes of the children.


Exactly.
(Although there is the "omniscient" glimpse here and there, especially at the end.)

That should be kept in mind while watching this film.






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I disliked the ending too, but funny you should mention the family 'licking their wounds'--I saw the fish doing that to the boy's injured feet.

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Hmm, I had a hunch the goldfish were meant to signify something; there was just something about that scene that made you feel like everything was going to be alright. Not to mention the shot of the father coming home with 2 pairs of shoes..

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Yeah, but I love Hollywood endings, so I didn't like this one. I was so prepared to see them smiling (maybe because they were crying a lot) and lughing when their father comes...and then the camera goes up, catches their house and...the end. Cliche, but I would love this kind of ending. I felt it was suitable for this kind of movie.

Then again, of couse it was happy ending. You clearly see that their father brought them new pairs of shoes. In a couple of other threads I've read that goldfish represents rebirth, spring and good luck. I wonder if goldfish can really heal your wounds... I have no idea. Plus, somebody said that it has an epilogue which was later cut, and it says that Ali has become a successful runner. Does anyone know if anything else was said at the end?

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Not me. I just saw the goldfish ending. When I first saw the film, I was upset, at the end too.

I see these folks trying and having potential but, they have all these setbacks. Then, I think of the movie and watch it again; the ending is not sad after all. The children don't know it, right that second but, WE know things are going to turn out great.

I guess another lesson, in the film, is that there's always setbacks. That doesn't mean that that's the end of things. You never know what is going to come up next and don't let it get you down. You know the father is going to make better money and you know the kids are going to get the shoes. Plus, Ali will be going to holiday camp.

I love this film and my heart breaks, everytime one of theirs does...


http://www.cgonzales.net & http://www.drxcreatures.com

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******THIS CONTAINS SPOILER*******

Read this in chronological order.
1. Ali won the race unintentionally when he aimed for the third position. He wanted to give her sister the 3rd place prize, a pair of shoes. So winning becomes meaningless because the prize, although much more expensive than a pair of shoes, is not what he wanted.

2. next scene, his father just got out of a store with a lot of groceries, including NEW PAIRS OF SHOES for his beloved son and daughter.

3. next scene, ali looked sad because he cannot keep his promise to his sister. He cannot give a new pair of shoes for her.

4. next, Ali took off his broken shoes and nothing weird about goldfish eating peeled off foot skin from a scar.

5. next scene special for you: his father got home and gave Ali and Zahra a new pair of shoes for each! They were happy and dancing uncontrollably. Zahra got what she wanted, and so did Ali. plus, he did not have to give his pair of shoes to Zahra, he could keep it for himself. and suddenly being a winner of the race did not seem so bad anymore! He told his parents he won. Now it's his parents turn to dance uncontrollably.

6. next scene again for you: Ali and his family spent 2 weeks with his family at a holiday camp from the prize of winning the race. and he's wearing a set of sport suits, another prize for the winner.

7. His father got a semi-permanent job as a gardener of a rich old grandpa. and he recommended his father to his equally-rich old friends in the neighborhood. and ali's father finally could pay off his overdue rent that had been 5 months behind. and now they moved to rent bigger house.

so at the end, everybody won. got it? if you still dont get it, maybe you can switch 2 with 3 in chronological order.

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The fish are simply eating the dead skin from his blisters. I have seen this in several cities in Europe.

Schrodinger's cat walks into a bar, or doesn't.

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This summer minnows were nibbling on my blisters, which was fine with me. I was just sitting on a rock in the sun, Sunday River, Newry, Maine, USA.

Anyway, the boy got first place which actually had better prizes, just not the shoes. Dad got paid at the end of the month and bought both children a new pair of shoes. The bike accident wasn't too bad, which was fortunate. Dad can keep on spraying and maybe make some extra money. I hope mom's back gets better, I tend to agree that surgery is something to avoid, if possible.

I think that Iran has the most wonderful humanistic movies. I hope things get better for them in coming years.

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