MovieChat Forums > Yossi & Jagger (2002) Discussion > The ending (SPOILER?)

The ending (SPOILER?)

posted 19 years ago by smoothhoney1265
3 replies | jump to latest

Hiya there!

First of all: I ADORED this movie and fell totally in love with it. But there was something that strucked me with the ending. Do you remember how Yossi sits together with this family and they listen to this wonderful song and remember Jagger? I don't know, the expression on Yossi's face, the looks of the other army guy who witnessed Jagger's death, the whole atmosphere - I could've sworn Yossi would come out in any way at the end.

Anyone else who thought the same?

Sweethearts? Did she tell you that we *beep* each other? - Nan in "Tipping the velvet"

[–] kittycity 19 years ago

I'm glad you love this movie too. It's become one of my favorites. I have to say that no, I did not think Yossi would come out in the end. That did not occur to me. I just felt so sad for him having to listen to Jagger's mother and Yaeli talk about how Yaeli loved jagger and she was his girlfriend. I didn't feel any anger toward the women they were both just clueless and didn't know. It pained me to see how Yossi would have to keep all his grief and pain inside and could not externally mourn. That just killed me.

I read in an interview with Eytan Fox that he purposely put this scene in the movie as many parents don't know their own children. Especially gay children. Remember when Jagger's mother said he never really told her anything and he was always discreet. Yossi was the one who really knew Jagger the best and yet he couldn't and wouldn't say a word, except about Jagger's favorite song. That is so very sad.

Even though Yossi knew that Jagger was going to come out to his parents it was only up to Jagger to do so. What we see of them, Jagger's parents seem like nice people but we don't know what their reaction would be. I was left with the feeling that their son was gone and they never really knew and would never really know him. That also left me with a very sad and empty feeling.

[–] Fredenomics59 19 years ago

I liked the movie too. Not as much as other gay themed movies (Beautiful Thing, Maurice, Edge of Seventeen, Big Eden), as broad as that spectrum can be, but still liked it. I'm sure I'll get some resistance for my peeves, but I'll throw them out anyway.

SPOILERS BELOW!

Foreshadowing.
If done properly, and subtly, foreshadowing works. You should see its use after the fact, IMO, not to telegraph/phone/fax/e-mail/instant message the ending so blatantly during the story. I saw the ending from 100 miles away with all the "What if I die" and "there's a bad aura at that table" kind of lines. Doesn't make the outcome any less sad, don't get me wrong, but I found myself dreading it and thinking to myself "just hurry up and get it out of the way" while watching it.

American media references.
This could be a very minor peeve, I agree, but a peeve just the same. The use of lines, verbatim or slightly altered, from American movies (like Apocalypse Now) bothered me. Some might even argue that Americans should feel flattered that their movies have proliferated the world so much, that they're incorporated into other cultures and their speech...but to be honest, I found these to be cliché. (And in all honesty, no other country spends, or wastes for that matter, as much money making as many movies as we do, so maybe it's inevidable that this would be a common side effect) Trust me, if it were an American movie doing it, I'd be even more irate. I just don't like movies quoting other movies. If it's a spoof or an hommage, then yeah, I could understand, but this good movie was neither. Other references in the film like listing actresses, The English Patient, Stand By Me, etc... fall into this category as well. I like watching foreign and indie films to get away from the American mainstream. But THE biggest peeve at references was near the end. When Jagger died, some of his last words were "Just like a *beep* American movie." That really bothered me. I mean, a BAD American movie, maybe, complete with deathbed speeches...but your dying words are a commentary on American movie formulas? Ugh.

I'm not going to leave on a negative note. I want to list some things I really liked, too.

Chemistry.
These guys were remarkable together. Their performances in their differences in the way they acted in public and in private were incredible. In public they were professional and discreet, and in private, they were exceptionally likeable and affectionate. These two guys really looked and acted very well together. I felt they portrayed the loving, playful, and intimate moments with great skill. And used just as much skill in the arguing and bickering moments, the tension was very good. The kissing after the snowball fight...brilliant. Yossi bringing desert to Jagger, and Jagger wanting to feed him, and Yossi swatting his arm away when someone was coming...brilliant. I could list many more, but I think I've made my point.

Cast.
I didn't really see any weakness in the cast. I thought all the actors did a very good job. Ever watch a bad movie where you feel different actors are playing the exact same character? I got the different personalities of the different characters very cleary, a testament to good acting, IMO. Because of the way Ofir was written, a less skilled actor could have pushed it over the top with the jealousy, but the actor did a very good job with the role. He could have gone even further over the top with the realization he made when Jagger died, but again, he handled it very organically and very well. The colonel was great at being gruff, Goldie at being sophistaced, and Yaeli at being doe-eyed and love-struck. Very well done, indeed.

Fred

[–] Rueiro 10 years ago

I too thought he was going to tell everything (for sure his comrades already knew by then), but then he probably had second thoughts in the last second because they were at a funeral after all and his confession might cause only more grief to Jagger's family.