I just watched this film again and I still don't get the ending. When she opens her eyes, what or who does she see in the boat coming down the river? Is it another couple about to start the same horror all over again, or is she mad and seeing herself? Thanks ;)
shareI did not understand the ending either and why didn't she tell the men the money was promised to her and some of it was their orginal money, that was stolen.
shareI think the plot line as stated here tells us it's maddness. I too have trouble with these types of endings. I guess the boat never comes, or comes to late for these characters...after the maddness has taken hold.
shareI am confused about the ending too. Did Hamish disappear while she had her eyes closed while waiting for the boat? Otherwise I thought it a remarkable movie. It reminded me a bit of "The Piano" in regard to the scenery and the muddyness. And the cast was amazing. Definitely will watch it again when it shows up on IFC.
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Ah f++k it dude, let's go bowlin'.
Just finished watching this film on IFC. As someone mentioned earlier, it was as slow as molasses, but an interesting peek at life in the jungle circa 1927.
I'm not sure what the meaning of the ending was, either. Unless it was a thought that with the return of the boat, they could finally leave and hopefully start over again. But unfortunately, that would be the optimistic point of view. There was another couple sitting at the very front of the vessel, apparently the next victims.
Of course telling her to "shut her eyes" was the same thing William had told her as he "eased off her knickers"... (That sly dog. At least he'd washed his hair.)
It's worth watching, that's for sure. Just don't expect any car chases. :)
In the beginning of the movie as the Surveyer and his Intended are aproaching the camp, she tells him to close his eyes. She says she wants to remember the moment for the rest of her life. My take on the ending was that he wanted her to close her eyes until the boat came around the bend so she would remember the moment the boat came for the rest of her life (because they both wanted very badly to leave and boats only come every 6 months).
It is true that William told her to close her eye before he performed oral sex on her, but I think that was because he wanted her to enjoy it. William was actually a much more sensitive lover than her man (who entered her without regard for her readyness -- apparently the same thing her ex husband did). William, as repulsive as he seemed at first, was actually a thoughtful lover and the only man with which she acheived climax. Of course that confused her because she felt guilt over the experience.
As far as the idea of another couple coming... I really don't think so. After all, the business was in ruin, all but one family member was dead, and the natives refused to trade ivory... so I don't think there was going to be much work going on there anytime soon.
A good film... a little sick, but good just the same.
I saw the movie in the early middle, towards the end. Why was she with William if he was seen as so strange? and having a "personal experience" with him a couple of times confused me. she did not want to do this, or did she. did she end up liking william? Thanks for anyones help. please respond if you can.
It was discovered that the trading post had no money, which meant that the young surveyor would not be paid for his work. This meant the couple from England was now broke and stranded. William's aunt knew William had led an asexual life so she told Sarah that she would give her her own personal savings if Sarah would lay with William. Sarah, being broke and desperate, eventually agreed to this paid arrangement.
Sarah hadn't enjoyed relations with her fiance but she found to her horror that she really responded to William's lovemaking. Afterward, she told him that what they'd done wasn't "love", it was "sick". Then she rejoined her fiance. (Poor William, I really felt for him.)
Hope this helps.
Poor William!!! Did you miss the part where he tied his mum to an ant hill, poured a sweet substance all over her, and gagged her?
shareNo, I didn't miss that part. I didn't miss her constant tormenting and denigrating of him, either, which we were given to understand had gone on all his life. She enjoyed being horrible. He was only horrible when driven to it.
Then, too, people always seem to act up when stuck in humid climates.
I agree with your first paragraph. The ending "close your eyes" was said by her at the beginning. When she opened them she saw dock with the "welcoming committee".
2nd paragraph: I don't think she climaxed with William. I think the alcohol was wearing off and it dawned on her as to what she was doing. William a thoughtful lover? Egads! It was like molestation.
I agree with your final paragraph. There was no family business left and the natives were not going to help. I didn't know who was in the boat, but I wondered how the couple explained all the happenin's that had occured in 5-6 months!
Mother tied up and the bugs devoured her
The Priest ran off naked in the jungle
Erina dies in a chair tending a sick man with teeny bottles of alcohol in her lap
William shot himself in the head
Sarah has all kinds of cuts on her face
" Wow! What a fun summer vacation that was! Let me tell you all about it."
The way I saw it, "Close your eyes" at the end of the film was his way of letting her know that things were OK between the two of them. It's what she told him when they were starting their jungle adventure, full of hope and promise. the chapter of their lives together in Borneo was ending and a new one beginning.
shareI think we're meant to think what we like about the last scene. Whether there is another couple at the prow of the boat or not is not really important, I guess. My feelings at the end, for what it's worth, is that the story for these two has come full circle, but in the darkest possible way: they leave without any of the money they came to get, they now have a damaged relationship, we don't know that there is any future for them. The repetition of the scenes from the beginning suggests that they will continue to drift, that they have gained nothing positive from this experience. The only positive aspect is hinted at through the way the river is filmed, it is bright and looks cool, as opposed to the muggy, overcast jungle they've been inhabiting... This is just my perception, feel free to disagree!
Also, was anyone struck by the mother/lover-son/lover theme in this film? Sarah and Hamish, Erina (the nanny) and William?
Listen to the silence at night
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Of course these two were back together they never even split up. This could have been a great love story. On viewing this i did not realize how much they loved each other. I did not see as much strife between them as some are suggesting he seemed to start forgiving her when he told her to close her eyes so they could remember what they went thru and how there love grew from it. watch his face in the ending scene he seemed happy after she closed her eyes as if she knew and realized why he asked her. He was very hurt and despite her having an orgasm she din not enjoy it mentally. As she said it was not love but sex and I don't think that was said out of guilt she despised having and orgasm with him even though she let her guard down. One last point she was older than him and you would think she would teach him or tell him what turns her on.
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