Interpretation of the ending? *spoilers*

I posted this in another thread, but I figured it applies to this one as well. Let me know what you think of this take on Love...

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First of all, this was an amazing film. I have studied film, worked in the film industry... I am also a huge fan of Carl Sagan, Angles and Airwaves, and other sci-fi art house films like, Moon, Contact, 2001, Solaris, and Melancolia. I watched LOVE last night, and have gone back and taken a second look at several scenes. Through this deep dive into the film I think I have a clear perspective of this story, however, like all art-house films your individual interpretation is the most important part.

THE GENERAL IDEA:
So as we all know this film is built around the construct that humankind existis in a rather lonely corner of the great cosmic dark. As stated so eloquently by Carl Sagan "The Earth is a very small stage in a very vast arena." The Pale Blue Dot, does in fact discuss the fragility of Earth and humanities destructive nature. This film goes further by identifying the one thing that make our lonely and insignificant existence bearable and beautiful: Human connection... or LOVE.

MY TAKE ON "LOVE":
I will keep this simple and present it in chronological order to help tie together the film.

Lee Briggs, the Civil War soldier discovers a SHIP (as written in the N.O.A.H. book "History" section at the end of the film) in 1864. The ship, or space craft is examined by human scientists through the 19th and 20th centuries (Also noted in the book through the pictures of scientists from different eras).

In 2039 Captain Lee Miller is an astronaut who finds himself stranded on the International Space Station without any communication with Earth nor any understanding of the world ending events that took place. In a addition to the silence we are shown an image of the dark side of earth as explosions seem to cover the majority of the land mass.

He remains alone for six years, goes crazy in the absence of human interaction and starts hearing voices and interacting with figments of his imagination.
During this time he finds the journal of Lee Briggs, the 1864 Union soldier. We do not know how it got there, it might even be an implant in his imagination to facilitate his own journey to find the archive. The book tells of Brigg's life as a soldier and his journey and discovery of something unknown and remarkable; however Briggs does not finish the book (or it was removed from the record). After some time Lee Miller attempts suicide, but does not go through with it. He then spends an unspecified amount of time back in the ISS.

Throughout the movie we see interviews of different people describing their interpretation of Love and human connection. Obviously these clips are from the archival record that is stored in the SHIP as we will see later.

Suddenly, the computer kicks on and displays that it has received docking orders. Lee looks out the window and see's something. He then begins to prepare himself by cutting his hair. We are shown an image of an enormous space craft that resembles the craft that Lee Briggs discovered in 1864 (as seen in the NOAH book pictures at the end) I believe that this craft crash landed on earth likely long before it's discovery. Through the research and study by the scientists, the craft was realized to be a device to record human history. One might be inclined to think that living aliens assisted in this effort, however, there is no evidence in the film that living aliens were involved... but the ship itself might be capable of instruction, or it quite possibly crash landed with the intent of capturing a record of humanity. Some people on this thread say that it couldn't have been Aliens due to the NOAHs Ark reference. I believe that the craft is absolutely alien for two reasons... One, it is huge and obviously of unearthly technology. Two, later in the film the "voice" that he hears tells Lee that they were "Listening" and that they "Can't wait to meet him." It was likely the scientists who created an organization that they dubbed NOAH, for the obvious human relevance. Either way, I believe that the craft took off from Earth a few years after the "end-of -the-world" took place and shortly after, discovered Lee alone and alive on the ISS.

Lee opens the airlock and begins to crawl through it to an unknown destination.... Here is where the movie gets surreal and interpretation is wide open. I believe that he boards the alien space craft. But the inside of the craft does not look Alien. Why?.. The ship is "intelligent," (either piloted by advanced AI or some form of Alien consciousness) and it simulated a "familiar" world for Lee to enter as to not freak him out. The "voice" later remarks that they are "sorry for the projection" but it was the only way they could reach him. This would infer that the entire experience from the docking, to the end of the film is all played out within Lee's mind.

Through the corridors Lee continues on, eventually stumbling on the Archive room. A TV is plays the interview that he gave on a late night talk show prior to his launch. I believe that this is intended to show that the intelligent "whatever" is expecting him. He then notices the book. The book is titled: "A Love Story - A collection of Musings, Stories and Memoirs of the Human Condition, " by NOAH - the National Organization of Archival History, As Told By You. The book has two sections according to the TOC: History pg.3 and Index pg. 12. Obviously the book is mostly an Index of names. It is during this history that we learn about the discovery of the ship at Meteor Crater in 1864 and the following scientific studies.

Lee then finds his name in the Index with a number code (these codes are also seen in the archival footage of the interviews in the bottom corner). When Lee inputs his number code into the computer the reality disappears, or switches, and we find Lee in a hotel room. A voice comes through, as if he is hearing it in his head. This is what it says:

"How you doing Lee?.. Sorry about this projection, but it is the only way we should reach you. Can't tell you how relieved we are to have you here. Now... before we get ahead of our selves, we have to tell you something. You are the last one. It's all gone. We understand how you might feel. Connection is perhaps the most cherished thing any being can have. That's the thing, that's how we've been listening. The place you see here is a scrap book of sorts. A collection of memories and momentos of mankind's brief existence." "It's a good thing we found you, we look forward to meeting you Lee"

When Lee opens the door again the reality changes. We see Lee in his helmet going through a worm hole of some-sort. Possibly a reference to the film Contact which was written by Carl Sagan in which an astronaut travels great distances through space, not in body but in consciousness. Here, I take this as the moment Lee's consciousness is downloaded into the archive. Lee arrives in a darkened room which reveals itself as a visualization of the Universe. As he explores this environment a ball of fire crashes into him. As it envelopes him we see that the ball of fire is made up of little spheres, each encapsulating the memories, stories and possibly consciousness of individual people. In this moment Lee Miller smiles; he has come back home... and will no longer be alone for eternity. There is no certainty as to the involvement of his physical body, but it is not important because the movie makes the claim that all we are are our memories, connections and relationships.

A remaining questions: Who is controlling the ship? I postulate that 1: it could be controlled on it's own as some sort of pre-programmed ARK returning it's archive of humanity back to some undisclosed forum of other Universal species. 2: it is controlled by some form of alien consciousness that is there in mind but not body. or 3: it is controlled by the collective human consciousness of all the people archived. I like all these possibilities, but I do believe that the evidence shows that the ship is Alien in origin. It was not created by man, but it's efforts were likely assisted by man.

One thing that might fill in some blanks is the final line of the movie. A female computer voice says: "Tonight has been a wonderful experiment of human contact. A symbiotic relationship between man and machine and YOU. The human brain is capable of millions of connections. Each one is a memory, an event. Tonight you will be remembered not by one but by thousands of these relationshops..." It goes on ending with the tag line that you have collectively experienced LOVE. I believe that this dialog is intended to be addressed to the moviegoer audience, but it is a cue of the ideas and directive of the film.

The story is a success in depicting the importance of human connection. It is also visually striking, and an achievement of film making as it had an estimated 500K budget... very small considering the production value and VFX work involved. I believe that with a second and third watch any intelligent viewer will take away a sense of inspiration, and appreciation for the value of humanities connectedness. I hope you enjoyed my summary. Again, this is my interpretation, you are welcome you your own. If nothing else, the quotes that I have added should help guide your own theories.

"Also, Sagan was quite happy to countenance the notion of intelligent other-worldly beings in works such as 2001 and Contact, so perhaps this film represents more than just a few ideas from Pale Blue Dot. "

Ah but it was Sagan in Pale Blue Dot who specifically said that there will be no one to save us from ourselves in the near term (geological time spans, not dozens but millions of years)... Except ourselves. In the end, Sagan kept pointing out, all we have is each other.

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