MovieChat Forums > Private (2005) Discussion > Ending...

Ending...

posted 17 years ago by heeneemo
2 replies | jump to latest

Hey All, I was flippin through the premium channels and this was the only thing that interested me (aired on sundance channel). I didnt get the ending. Hopefully somone can clear it up for me.

Were those "new" occupying soldiers at the end? Were we led to believe that *SPOILER* that the grenade Jamal setup went off and killed 2 of the soldiers in the greeenhouse? I thought the movie should have ended with the Mohammed and his family getting his house back, but whatever...that would have been a "hollywood" ending and there are too many of those...I guess I just want insight as to what happened at the end.

Thanks.

[–] dacfrazer 17 years ago

Yes, I think that the house is re-occupied by a different squad during the night after the first squad has left.

Whether the grenade goes off is less deliberately unclear. Jamal might have got rid of the grenade, realising that he might not always have a chance to disable the grenade before his father goes down to work on the greenhouse. (Remember that when his father approaches the greenhouse, Jamal more or less completely freezes. Only a telephone call stops his father being killed.) Then again, he Jamal might not have removed the grenade, in which case it will explode and the rest of the soldiers will take revenge on the family.

[–] saighton 15 years ago

I know it's years after the above post, but I just finished watching this film.
RE: the grenade?

It's part of the blatant metaphor - do you give in to anger and frustration and try to fight the occupying force with inadequate weapons under pain of certain reprisal, or do you control yourself, remain patient but also remain frustrated?

The soldiers finally switching post to Rafa (Gaza Strip, a much more dangerous place than they have been accustomed to, I'm sure) is to show that it could be worse for them, and if all Palestinians were as civilised and patient as the family featured, people could relax and things would be better for all... but sometimes Israelis don't recognise this enough (that's what it said to me), and also there's the forces within the Palestinians who never allow a civilised attitude to dominate.

So, just when you think that the occupation is over, the new soldiers come in and are aggressive and paranoid again... and the cycle repeats - until the grenade at the greenhouse explodes or doesn't? Just like in real life, we can guess, we can predict, even, but we don't know...

But the point is clear, they have to find a solution because the current situation is not fair on the Palestinians (from the film's perspective) and no good for the Israelis either (from the perspective of paranoia, war and everything it engenders). It certainly makes a point about Israeli paranoia (not that it isn't historically justified... but...). Paranoia is the destroyer.