MovieChat Forums > La misma luna (2008) Discussion > Symbolism at end of movie (Spoilers)

Symbolism at end of movie (Spoilers)

posted 16 years ago by sryanvh
18 replies | jump to latest

I didn't notice the symbolism in the closing scene until about 5 minutes after the movie was over. I was thinking, "What a wierd way for the movie to end, with the mother on one side of the street and the son on the other, waiting for the light to change. And then the sign changes to the walk symbol. WHY?"

But then it hit me- the whole movie the two are separated by a border (US and Mexico) and can't get to eachother. The last scene, with them having to wait until they can finally cross (the street symbolizing the border) and see eachother was a creative way of summarizing that idea.

[–] 16 years ago

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[–] jet1985 16 years ago

You nailed it. My girlfriend felt that seeing them embrace would have been more powerful but this ending works well. Kate del Castillo is awesome! What a talent. I hope to see more of her work and her English barely has an accent. She will seamlessly cross over into American films. A great movie.

[–] 16 years ago

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[–] FilmPolice 16 years ago

I agree, I think all the actors in this were great! Even bit parts like the guy who played Carlitos' dad, and of course America Ferrera.
My first thought at the end was that it would have been cool to see them reach each other and hug, but then I realized that the filmmakers probably didn't want to end the movie in such a cliche manner -- the embrace at the end of a movie, whether between husband and wife, parent and child, or two devoted friends, has been done too many times to count!
I think when we see the light turn green we know they will reach each other safely. I really liked this, and plan to see it again!

http://hometown.aol.com/cabran6242/myhomepage/sanfrancisco.html/

[–] elrusodetapachula 16 years ago

and the danger of the steet and possibility of getting killed also symbolizes the border.....

[–] danny_b_va 16 years ago

I agree, that's probably why they showed the close up of the people crossing sign.
I thought he might have gotten run over also. I was thinking that Enrique would end up with Rosario, but I did like how he gave himself up for Carlos after being a jerk to him at first.

[–] bdeepe 16 years ago

Just a quick question..who played Mrs. Snyder...the blonde lady who receives the call from Mexico telling her Carlos is missing. She is not listed in the credits, although her husband is.

[–] tampaMr 16 years ago

"that's probably why they showed the close up of the people crossing sign. "

ese es el mismo que pense!

I thought I was the only one who noticed!

http://www.matchflick.com/member/3739

[–] scootercandy 11 years ago

she is in the credits under Sra. Snyder
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0809991/

[–] angel32 13 years ago

Yes Danny, that was very moving. For him to give himself up like that after all he'd/they'd been through just to get across was awesome. I'm glad they didn't give the cliche ending of him and Rosario getting together. This was much more real. Life is not just painted a pretty picture, you have to get through the ugly to get to the pretty.

[–] Strawberrry35 10 years ago

I just watched this for the second time (watched it when it came out) and was wondering why they didn't actually reach each other as the whole point of the movie was for them to come together, this thread cleared that up for me and I agree now that it was a perfect ending.
I loved that Enrique was selfless in that moment, the boy managed to touch his heart as much as his (boy) character did mine.

[–] Heidi_Smiles 15 years ago

I thought it was just a really cute way to end the movie, without the cliche. Instead of witnessing their happy reunion, we are left to imagine it.

I hadn't thought about the "crossing" symbolism before though. That's definitely an interesting point.

Tengo el presentimiento de que empieza la accion...

[–] saga_heart 15 years ago

I wanted to see the embrace; however the the smbolism of the "walk" light was used effectively, but not have the movie end there. I would have liked to have seen Carlitos and his mom bail Enrique out, after he could only be charged with assaulting 2 police officers with a deadly soda pop.

There were various plots intertwined and one of them was the relationship between Enrique and Carlitos. While Enrique was not related to Carlitos in any way and basically considered the child as "dead weight", at some times acting like a jerk, turned out to be the opposite of the father who was nicely dressed, with a decent job and was willing to take the fatherly role by accompanying Carlitos to L.A., but revealed who he really was when he did not show up at the restaurant. By the time the ending comes we see that Enrique has earned the right to be considered a "father" much more than the biological father. I believe the movie could have ended with Enrique's bailout, perhaps symbolizing a return for his kindness towards Carlitos.

Somehow, just thinking that the movie ends with Enrique locked up leaves out a certain closure that I believe would have rounded out the movie nicely.

[–] DanDV 13 years ago

Bailing Enrique out wouldn't work - he was an illegal and probably the police sent him back to Mexico after the arrest.

Also, Rosario was another illegal, and showing up at the police station to bail Enrique out wouldn't exactly be a smart idea. Assuming she had the money. Even if she got a legal to bail him out, that's still iffy - aiding illegal immigrants.

[–] maky_mouse 13 years ago

The police wouldn't have locked Enrique up, they would've deported him back to Mexico because he was an illegal immigrant. That is what makes that scene so POWERFUL, the fact that Enrique gives himself up, KNOWING that they'll send him back to Mexico, the very thing he fears he most (specially after he nearly got killed crossing the border in the first place), so Carlitos may have a shot at finding his mom. I cried so hard during this scene, because of Enrique's sacrifice. Beautiful scene.

[–] bluekarma06 11 years ago

Same here maky-mouse, that was by far the most touching scene in the movie(filled with so many great scenes) when Enrique had to make the decision to just "walk away" to avoid being captured by the police or doing what he ultimately did, and lose his chance to be in America and go to NY. The viewers all must of been wondering what he would do. It was the emotional apex of the movie to me, even more-so than the reunion scene of mother and child, because EVERYTHING that had happened up to that pint HINGED on Enrique's decision to create the diversion so Carlito could run free. Seeing Enrique look up from the ground and give Carlito the "it's okay kid" look, was as emotionally powerful a moment as you can ever hope for in a movie. It brings tears every-time I think of it. It is what every director of a dramatic human-drama movie hopes to achieve and this movie did it in spades with that scene. I will never forget it.

Overall, an excellent movie.

[–] ShimmeringTears 12 years ago

I agree that the the walk/don't walk sign was a great symbol of the whole struggle, but do you think it also has something to do with them still being subject to governmental hurdles to truly find their happiness. They are together now and it's happy, but they were only able to get to each other when the crosswalk (government control) allowed them to get there. Sure they are happy and together, but Rosario still doesn't have a job and will have challenges to face.

Also, I thought it was fitting that the movie ended there and did not show what happened with Paco and Enrique. The whole movie was centered around the mother/son relationship, and I think it would have been overdone and would have watered down the purity/power of their story to sum all of the minor plotlines up nicely.

[–] bluekarma06 11 years ago

My thoughts at the end was that it would all be ruined and one of them would be hit or both by accident(kind of an unexpected ending like No Country For Old Men)

Yes, the WALK sign to cross the street was kind of a symbolic border sign we see along in SoCal along the freeway. Their joy was so great I feared the boy or the mother might run out be hit by a car(symbolizing the guards, the INS). Not seeing them embrace wasn't even necessary but I am sure if they met in the middle of the street, the people in their cars might of wondered what was going on and even drawn a honk or two if they embraced too long!