Could anyone explain the ending to me? With our hero in the hospital with tubes coming out from everywhere, the poor blind girl is walking the streets and the friends are reading a trumped up letter to a tape machine. -- I am lost.
Dan
For me, the ending was very sad. Here is this 50 year old bachelor whose been looking for someone to love all his life and a blind girl whose been unloved for so long whose been dumped into his lap for him to care for. She leaves because she realises that her father is not coming back for her and she doesn't want to be a burden on the old man and his friends. The twist is that here are two people who wanted to be loved for so long develop this bond which will never be realized. The only way either he or she will know what they meant to each other is when the old man's friend reads his letter to her tape recording. It's quite sad.
shareZhang Yimou makes us draw our own conclusions as to the fate of the man and the girl. It seems rather hopeless at the end and I am not necessarily a believer that every film needs a happy ending but I felt in this case that these two people were meant to bring meaning into each other's lives and the ending ruins that. The scenes between the two were very heartwarming and in this case I believe that the ending should have been something in the order of; the man opens up a massage parlor for the girl and they help each other have a better life knowing that, at least, they have each other for support and love. I know that may be corny but that is how I wanted the film to end.
"If a king can't sing, it ain't worth being king."
This was not the original ending. Because audiences at the pre-release screenings did not care for ZY's original ending, his (Western) producers made him discard it and shoot a new one (the one now included). Ironically, the test audience liked the new ending even less -- but the producers decided to go with this.
MEK
Wanna talk about Ozu?
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ozu/messages
I wasn't very satisfied with the ending either, do you know what the original ending was?
share[deleted]
And nothing happens after that?
That would be a bad ending...
I would have loved to see a happy ending on this one...
It's just so sad...the girl is so vulnerable and beautiful...you can't help but feel sad.
I actually prefer the current ending then the one you describe above. It's terribly tragic but in the end, I think the movie's message is to never give up, to face the tragedies of life with all your strength.
I was close to tears when he started reading the letter to the tape recorder. That is just one of the great ironies of life...sometimes people with the most love for each other grow far apart or are taken far apart by life's circumstances and can never convey that love to the other..
If I remembered correctly, the original ending is after Zhao rewrites the letter from Wu's father, and reads it to her so that she will think her father will come back.
You asked about the ending everyone here is talking about:
Zhao is hit by a truck, his friends go to see him in the hospital (he's alive but still unconscious). While there they find the letter to Wu among his stuff. His friend tells Zhao he knows what to do with it and will read it to her, as though it was from her fater. The friend (and for some reason the whole gang, or maybe they come later) goes to Zhao's house bright and early the next day to read the letter to her. She's gone, but she's left a message on a tape recorder about how she knew it was a ruse all along but that this was the first time in her life that people cared and she was happy, and hadn't felt deceived. Her speech is moving; she says not to try to find her, that Zhao shouldn't worry, she won't give up on life, and that she'll no doubt have more hardship but keep going. At the end, Zhao's friend re-starts the tape and reads Zhao's letter to it, while we see Wu walking along a street somewhere, looking forward. The credits roll for a while over this scene.
We must see the glass as half-full in this story. The transformation of the child when the gentleman retiree seeking only a fat babe to keep him warm the rest of his life, became focused on the needs of the child and raised his expectations to her welfare. His efforts to deceive her were humorous yet the relationship with the tubby lady deteriorated and became less important. I was delighted that she realized, though blind, the kindness of the man and his friends as they participated in the fallacy to her benefit, they thought.
The end was very sad, yet the girl had a new sense of herself and could face the future with a realization that nice people do exist. A very positive end to a sad tragicomic tale.
al castro
Perhaps stories of this sort work best w/ endings that don't seek to resolve everything. This movie reminds me of Chaplin's *City Lighs* in which Chaplin, the "little tramp" takes a blind flower girl under his protection letting her believe that he's some sort of wealthy dandy. He manages to secure the money for an operation to restore her sight and disappears. When her sight is restored and she now either owns or works in an upscale flower shop she spots the Chaplin character without knowing who he is. Touched by his wistful expression, she hands him a flower and on touching his hand recognizes him. There's an exchange of glances. She says something like "It's you!" and he replies, "Yes, it's me." After a bit of awkward pause he continues "You can see now?" and she replies, "Yes I can see now." And so the film ends.
As in *Happy Times* the ending is not fully resolved. We don't know how the tramp and the former flower girl will work out their relationship now that circumstances have changed so much. Similarly, in *Happy Times*, Zhao may recover. (After all he *is* in the "recovery room*.) He may find Little Wu. What would happen next is left for the viewer to speculate on.
(For a brief moment I thought that Zhao would win a big settlement from the truck company w/ which, as in *City Lights* he could pay for Little Wu's eye operation!)
wmeyer
Yes, a sad ending. This is to the credit of Benshan Zhou and Jie Dong for turning in some very good performances and , of course, to Zhang Yimou for a fine job as well. We are gratified by the chance meeting of two people in need of nurturing who manage to find one another. Zhao, in search of a wife finds a daughter instead. Young Wu for the first time in her life finds an adult who cares about her. Whether the quick intecession of chance again, the second time for tragic consequences, is justified in this plot is a moot point. It is enough to see that Zhou, formerly a loser, finally does something for someone and expects nothing in return--a true act of affection. And that Wu Ying is sufficiently strengthened by their relationship to strike out independently in life, despite its seemingly unjust hardships. Both are transformed by the relationship and their lives are improved, even if their happiness is short-lived. While Wu Ying's obstacles are formidible, she has mustered the will to endure. A bittersweet movie indeed.
shareWell, I'm really not sure what to take from this movie.
Here's what I've got so far:
Basically life sucks and the happy times are all a charade.
I understand how the ending can be viewed as bittersweet, but is it really important that Wu Ying has a renewed faith in the kindness of others? The hard truth is that she is alone, homeless, and wandering the streets blind with a pocket full of brown strips of paper. Is it really important that Zhao bonds with his ex-girlfriend's daughter? He's lying unconscious on a hospital bed and Wu has run away. That's a lot of bitter, and not much sweet.
I really liked this movie, but I'm with those of you who wanted to see a happy ending.
The happy times wasn't a charade. Wu and Zhao develop genuine feelings for one another despite all the lies. The way I see it, I don't think they were meant to live happily ever after with each other. It's more like they were meant to meet and enrich each other's lives and then continue on their own path as enlightened individuals. Zhao was a pretty shallow and pathetic guy in the beginning. By the end, he learned to value another human being, to be compassionate and understanding. Wu didn't need to have faith in others. She needed to have faith in herself and to realize that she was not useless and a burden. Zhao gave her back a sense of self-worth and hope, and the courage to go out into the world and stand on her own two feet which was what she was doing at the end (not running away). In return, she made his life meaningful and she taught him to be selfless.
I think the whole point of the missed messages at the end was not simply for effect (to make us sad), but to show that Zhao and Wu came to the same conclusion separately. Without wanting anything from each other, or intending for anything to happen, they both received a little peace and comfort and the short time they shared together might have been one moment in their lives, but it was a very important moment that won't be forgotten.
i wound up seeing this film last nite, and was completely taken with it, especially the last shot- its hard to shake that image of her walking the street, and maybe its an image i dont want to shake. of course I would never desire an ending like that, but when it happened, it struck me as true and sincere, and the only right one for it. I'm not a parent, but I wondered if thats what it felt like when you let go of your kid, that they were stepping out, boldly and blindly, and that there was nothing much more you could do than wish them luck.
I would like to know more about the characters after this, but what Zhang has done is to make a very open-ended ending. Yes, I agree, the end is very haunting. Yet the more you think about it, the more suitable it is. A simple ending, but not at all cliched.
shareLets be honest here people. If this happy ending did happen in the movie, we wouldnt be here talking about it. For me the ending made the movie. I love movies that make you think and use your emotions and a Hollywood ending would have done neither for me.
shareThis movie seems absolutely ripe for a sequel. I too thought the ending was bittersweet, with little sweetness. I didn't watch the ending with any real hope for the girl's future as she wanders down the street.
share
I am kind of with you. The instant message I got after watching the film is: the happy time in life and the unconditional kindness of human being are all illusions. In fact, I was so deeply saddened by the ending (especially the image of Zhao lying in the hospital) that I cannot bear watching it again. But my wife, a genuine Chinese (I am from Taiwan), felt that it is not a really sad ending. She said this is the way life is in China (massive number of workers are being laid off/severe social injustice, etc), and there is nothing sad about the fact. This is an excellent film, but it is somewhat too powerful to me. (another example is "Hotel Rwanda")
I think they should have got together...in the unseen ending in my head that's what happens.
I agree - in my own ending, they are together. "Deeply saddened" perfectly describes how I felt too. It's a great movie. Having the power to create that kind of emotional response to fictional characters is quite a feat.
sharethe ending was beautifuly shot, her finding the strength to keep on walking after she wipes away her tears with the inspiring words of her father to stay strong. plus it is like real life there are ususally no happy endings and conclusions are uncertain.
Depressing as hell,good movie though,sign...
shareI Loved this movie, even the ending. It was sad, but wow was it powerful. It is based on a short story which I have not read but would love it. I wonder how the short story ends.
share