It would have been nice to see that he bought an airplane ticket to go to Syria. I'm not saying that we should actually see him go to syria and have some cheesy reunion, but it would have satisfying to see him subtely glance at the airline ticket before he starts playing the drum at the end. Thoughts?
We can become cops, or criminals. But when you're facing a loaded gun, what's the difference?
The plane ticket idea would have been too cliche and would have out of place is a quite superb piece of work.
For a guy taking a break from work to be with people who make him feel alive, to go to syria to be with them, not much of a stretch.
I personally feel that "cold endings" like these are a cliche in itself, often used by directors trying too hard to be artsy.
Ghosthunter,
This ending was anything but"cold." By playing those drums in the subway station, the character was expressing a rejunevation of his life. He was alive again for the first time in quite a while, it seemed, due to his being touched by new relationships he formed with the other characters. For the character, it was clearly an emotional and life-affirming ending.
As for cold endings being "cliche," no, I think the standard cliche is to patch on a happy ending. If this film had ended with some deus ex machina that saved Tarek (?) from being deported, it would have completely undermined the real world naturalism of the film, as well as undercut the political dimension to the film about post-9-11 immigration policy. That's not being artsy, that's being a really bad call for the film, in order to gratify those who insist on some crappy artifical happy ending.
I know it has been over a year with your post, but you are the first IMDP person to say exactly what i have been saying for some time now.
shareNo. He was not meant to go with her....he was meant to discover that he could be different himself in his own life.
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@smidget28 I agree with you. Walter wanted to reconnect with his life and found it on the music. I wanted him to go to Syria with her but this ending made the films perspective.
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He emerged as a reborn person, that was the point. I loved this movie, it still stays with me!
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I think that eventually he would go to Syria....but not just right now.
shareYes, I'd like to reiterate magictiger3's point. I don't think we should assume neccesarily that's he's never going to see them again. It may work out that way, as in life it sometimes does. However, he just as well may take a trip or work tirelessly to get Tarek (?), and perhaps his mother as well, back in the country. I think the ending leaves it wide open, really. It was a beautiful ending to the film. Bittersweet in the separation of the characters, but hopeful for the future and life-affirming in the reawakened passion of the main character.
shareI think he should have married her to help her get U.S. citizenship (green card marriage that could be emotional as well, but wouldn't have to be; it would still be a very easy thing he could do for them and they would be providing him with the companionship he desires), thereby increasing her son's chances of coming back to NY. I would have done that in his situation, or at least offered it. Him playing the drums alone was still an affirmation of his solitary life, though of course it leaves the epilogue open to everyone's interpretation. The problem is I don't buy that he can be happy alone because we are social creatures and we know for a fact that he was UNhappy alone. Offering a green card marriage would have simultaneously been 1. the best way to use what little power he has as a U.S. citizen to help some specific illegal immigrants stay in the country and 2. the most convenient way to satisfy his need of social company. They don't have to be in love, they just want companionship.
share[deleted]
Tarik and his mother I believe were a way for Walter to transition to a new life and not necessarily to remain a part of his life. Sometimes people or situations help us to segue to the next stage of our lives and that is what I think they were for him. Thus I did not expect Walter and Moona to remain together since that wasn't the point of the story.
shareWhen I've introduced this film people who find Tariks deportation to be really upsetting, I remind them that Walter has a son who lives in London; I like to think that all the main characters end up living there eventually. It's not suggested in the film at all, but it softens the blow a bit...
shareI HATED the ending, but the ending I think the film, and its audience, deserves is just what you've proposed. In the absence of that, there's no rationale guarantee that he's going to take affirmative action. Drumming in the subway doesn't get it done. And the film presents strong evidence that he could, as he has in the past, just sink back into total passivity.
I know, what about a sequel to tie up loose ends and conjecture?