MovieChat Forums > Biutiful (2011) Discussion > Question about the ending

Question about the ending

posted 10 years ago by hafaball-1
9 replies | jump to latest

Obviously spoilers...

I was watching the ending and of course realized it was the beginning, but as it panned out, you see him dead while still talking to his daughter. Did that mean she has the power as well? And when he "moves on" to meet his father, she begins to say "Papa?" as if not understanding he was dead for the few moments they still talked.

Can anyone clarify this?

"The only thing I'll be waving is your decapitated head on a stick in front of your weeping mother"

[–] brouwne 10 years ago

Never thought of it that way, very interesting point of view....I thought that the son had it, because of what he said about the owls. It was the same thing the grandpa said, so I think the son would wet himself because maybe he saw his grandpa.... Idk

[–] MiroOz7 9 years ago

I'm interested to know this too, i was wondering also if Mateo is going to die as the dream Uxbal's wife spoke of..

[–] law-turley 9 years ago

I thought the same thing, that Ana had "the sight" too - partly because she knew without his saying that Uxbal was going to die and partly because she continued to hear him talk after he had passed. Traditionally the gift if second sight is passed on, so I would be interested to know if that's what was intended by Inarritu in this scene.

[–] TTboy-33 9 years ago

Yes.

the soul apparition near the end of the movie when Uxbal is leaving the restroom is actually that of Uxbal himself. The video clearly shows a facial similarity to Uxbal, and it was meant to indicate Uxbal's detachment from his human vessel and his afterlife unrest to be inevitable as it appeared to him while he was still alive.

The young man in the snow forest is actually Mateo. The picture of Uxbal's father shows similarities to a grown-up Mateo, but it is actually Mateo putting his father's soul to rest. When Mateo speaks to his father about the "wind" and the "sea", it proves to Uxbal that his belief of Mateo forgetting him did not become a true reality as Ana more than likely spoke to Mateo later of their father's dying words. Yes, Uxbal's mouth never did move as he was speaking in his death bed, but it was obvious that the children were blessed with the same psychic power as Uxbal had. Ana was obviously speaking to Uxbal's sprit in the final scenes.

Also, the young man in the forest could also be considered to be Mateo when he is seen smoking a cigarette as Mateo had been said to have begun doing since he was 7 (as stated by his mother when explaining the burnt mattress situation to Uxbal). The beginning and the ending scene of the snow forest could also be considered to be that of the Pyrenees mountain range where Ana had been taken for her 10th birthday by her mom. Mateo was there to put his father's soul to rest and visit the area along with his father as he did not have the chance to when he was younger.

As to Ige's return, if you believe in what I have said about Mateo being the young man in the forest, Ige's return would be considered to have been real when we see Mateo now as a grown young man in the snow forest.

The beginning and the ending scene are clearly indicative of the name of the movie. How? In a scene during the movie, Uxbal saw Ana's drawn picture of the Pyrenees being described as "biutiful". The movie began and ended in the Biutiful mountain range of the Pyrenees.

Also, It clearly is Mateo as indicative of Uxbal's facial expressions when being described the sounds of the "winds" and the "sea"; Uxbal showed great happiness.

When Uxbal asks "what's over there?" at the end of the movie, it was him moving on from his unrest and finally setting aside his worries for his children to grow up properly and finally getting the chance to take in the "biutiful" views of the Pyrenees. This is proven by how Uxbal was forced to cancel his trip to the Pyrenees the first time because of his situation with the deceased Chinese.

[–] stonekeeper_ever 9 years ago

Wow!

[–] Asmawon94 8 years ago

I thought it was Mateo, too because he handed his father a cigarette. I believe the wife said Mateo was smoking cigarettes.

[–] truditty 8 years ago

This is very thought provoking . I hadn't thought about this as the ending at all...thinking it was clearly his father greeting him on the other side...but perhaps you are correct....who really knows how the afterworld/spiritworld operates. I will have to watch the film again...I was wanting to anyway....so much detail in it, I fear I missed.

So, according to this theory...Uxbal's spirit hung around for all that time? To see the children finally grown up and well??? Wow..that's a long time to be a ghost, no?

[–] elnano-1 8 years ago

This movie left me thinking and while trying to get a more deep understanding of if I entered this board and read you response. It is very interesting and I thank you for the contribution. But I differ in one thing that undermines some of your theories: the young man in the forest at the beginning and end of the film is not Mateo (Uxbal' son) but his father (at least in my view). Remember two key scenes, when Uxbal and his daughter look at his father papers, including the last picture taken of him....in a snowy forest (probably in the Pyrenees, the route of escape for many dissidents). See the resemblance ? In the same scene Mateo speaks of owls spitting fur when dying. Also the scene at the morgue, after Uxbal father's exhumation and before cremation, it is the same character. We can only speculate about Mateo's looks at a older age, but we are shown Uxbal father face, so I stick to my theory.

I agree with the other things you said: Uxbal sees his souls after going to the bathroom. Then when lying on bed and dying he keeps talking to his daughter who apparently inherited his abilities. A hint about inheritance of qualities is given when Uxbal talks to the old woman (a mentor or spiritual guide ?) about the beauty , which cost nothing or something like that, unlike the "burden" of be able to see dead people (something Uxbal uses for profit but doesn't seem to enjoy very much). The passing of the ring and the rocks perhaps are symbols to reinforce this too.

Nonetheless I believe that despite our different approaches, we arrive at similar conclusions. Uxbal meets finally meets his father in the afterlife and finds peace. The mere certainty of the existence of it and being able to meet the loved ones is enough reason to find peace.

Regarding the death of the chinese workers. Who was to blame ? Uxbal decision to save money with the cheap heaters was unfortunate and the first step in a chain of events that ended tragically. But at least he cared about their confort and bought them. And he got them at a store, not a junkyard. More blame is on the manufacturer (huge lawsuit if it happened in the US) and above all the chinese slave trader who exploit the people and put them to live in terrible conditions.

Anyway this is the kind of movies where a lot is left to the viewer interpretation, despite all the symbolisms. So trying to find a correct answer is futile although interesting at times.

[–] mormor_Did_it 8 years ago

What about the stones that were given to the children?