That was the only part that went unexplained in the film. Why did he laugh to himself staring at his friend Viking when he finished the telephone call in the end ?
Please shed some light !
The Best is yet to Come
I'm not entirely certain myself, but I got the impression that he had been looking after his mother for 'x' amount of years and now these ladies were basically dropped on his doorstep at such short notice with a list of do's and dont's, even though he didn't even know them; he had already been busy with his own mother and was absolutely exhausted yet he continued to cook, clean, look after the women and their needs including remembering medications and dietary needs etc; then along comes Viking and he spends a couple of hours with Gianni looking for fish and making one meal and he's exhausted and fast asleep on the bed where I'm certain Gianni would a) have loved to have been to sleep and b) loved to have been because it was his bed!!
For me, it showed it took a special son and a special man (Gianni), to look after this eclectic group of women, keep them all happy, so much so that they actually paid him to let them stay longer! I think they really understood and appreciated what he'd done for them which I loved taking away from this movie. What began as a paid burden ended in almost guilty pleasure for Gianni.
As for the women; strangers at first and thanks to Gianni; friends!
As I said, that's how I saw it but I guess it's open for one's own interpretation. Hope that helps you somewhat.
What a thoroughly delightful movie!
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I think that badalnow is basically right. I interpreted the laugh as a simple, self-effacing laugh of resignation.
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Exactly. And now there's another person to look after besides the four women!
"And all the pieces matter"
I agree, I think that because he was in the 2nd half of it, he finally recognized the folly of the situation he was living through.
It's like Charlie Chaplin said, "Life is a tragedy when seen in close-up, but a comedy in long-shot". To me, this movie portrays this theme so well. I loved it!!