There were two endings to choose from: (1) Asia eventually died from her injuries, and we see that the mother's anguish over her daughter's lesbian relationship is nothing compared to her daughter's death, which in the end can be directly traced to the mother's actions. (2) Asia survives, rides off into the sunset with her true love.
I thought the ending was well done, and not at all like you interpreted. You missed the point entirely. The ending was in no way homophobic. In fact, quite the opposite. It was EXACTLY an indictment of those who are homophobic and who would rather seek to end someone's happiness for their own selfish comfort than to adjust and love them for who they are and for what their heart desires. The moral dilemma the movie poses is: Is it worth a potential tragedy for one to impose their morality onto another, or is it better to live, let live, and love people for who they are, especially when the choices of the one you wish to control are completely harmless and solely theirs to make?
Asia's mother was homophobic, and it was, in large part, Asia's discovery that her mother had just had an argument with her lover Eloise that caused her to run to catch Eloise. Perhaps the accident would not have happened if her mother hadn't been so pushy, forced the date, and confronted Eloise.
Homophobia was on trial here, not homosexuality.
reply
share
Dozhd
10 years ago
kalqlate is right. I do not know how anybody could possibly interpret this ending as being homophobic. The entire point of the Mother taking the picture of the whale jumping at the moon and giving it to Eloise was to show that she realized that love was more important than her bigoted beliefs. The Mother must feel incredibly guilty for Asia's death; after all, it was because of her threatening Eloise to stay away that caused Asia to chase after her. Only at the end, after it is too late, do we seem to understand—that would be the message of the film.
As for the alternate endings, I think the key is to be found in the mythology of the blue whale and his love for the moon. Eloise says that in the tale the whale's love is so powerful that it creates a replication of the moon. I may be interpreting it biased as a religious Roman Catholic, but it appears to me their love does indeed create some better future for themselves in Heaven, or whatever you want to call the place where they ride off into the sunset together. The ending felt like Lilja 4-Ever, where Lilja and Volodya dance on the rooftop with angelic wings.
reply
share