Maybe somehow she and Albert could have gotten together. It would have been a great ending to the film (and she'd be 4 years older than when we last see her).
To love another person is to see the face of God!
i think emilie is not dead..because grandfathers last words were "her name is emily" and uses "is" and has a smiling face
shareI agree with the OP. I would have expected Spielberg to have Emilie come to buy the horse, then realize after she had become the owner that Albert was the true master and given it back to him, which would have been the lead in for them to get together and live happily ever after. Terrible schmalz? Sure, but this is Spielberg, so might as well go whole hog.
share
I just watched the film last night and came onto today to read other comments movie goers had made. I too had reached the conclusion that Emilie had died, through her sickness.
"Look upward... and share the wonders I have seen" John Crichton, Farscape
Emilie died? then who was playing the horse??
free speech!!!
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005261/board/nest/153864713?d=153864713#153864713
It would have been an unbearably hokey ending to an already hokey film.
shareYou should not have spoiled the ending for me, and others. Jeeze, don't put it in the title of your post and note that it has "spoilers". This is a forum 101 "rule". It takes away some of the enjoyment, surprise and drama. Dang.
shareOnly idiots go to message boards before watching said movie. Going to the home page to see the rating is about it. If you scroll down too far on the home page, you will see the "Plot Keywords" section and that alone can include spoilers.
Example of senility.http://img638.imageshack.us/img638/2779/paintx.png
"Only idiots go to message boards before watching said movie."
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How about you respect IMDB rules.
I think so as well! I was hoping for a Albert/Emilie romance but it didn't happen.
"Don't they know they're making love to one already dead?!"
Love Les Miserables!!!
...to make the film more mysterious and open to discussion. It's a commonplace Hollywood device, but here it served its purpose well.
I think that Emilie's frailty and medicine bottle are shown as a red herring to foreshadow her possible future death. Another red herring is the "evil" German major's promise that the troop will return next season to ransack the house again (which would possibly leave Emilie undernourished and bring her closer to death).
Then granddad lies about her death (to make her happy by getting back the horse) which technically is a plot twist device.
Then he turns back and reveals in an ambiguous manner that Emilie IS alive. Another plot twist.
I think that it's clever. I also think she's alive at the end.
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"Don't just DO something, STAND there!"
Pastor Charlie Bing
She is most definitely not alive at the end. She's dead. It's so obvious that I'm surprised anyone could possibly come to the conclusion that she's alive.
It is hinted throughout the movie that she's very sick. And the old guy has absolutely no good reason to lie about her being dead. The horse was already legally his so he wouldn't have accomplished anything by lying. I also doubt that most people would lie about the death of a loved one, it's in really bad taste and out of character for the old guy.
She's dead.
There was no reason for the old man to lie. He bid 100 pounds and nobody there had the money to challenge that. The horse was his.
If she we're alive she would have come to the auction with the grand pa.
She either got sick and died or was killed by some rogue German soldiers. Remember when he vowed to kill any German solider who harmed her? It's basically implied that that was what happened and it was all the war's fault that she is dead.
Emilie died in the book. Her grandfather says after the auction, that she was a sick child and after the horses were taken, she gave up her will to live. She died when she was 15. Before she died, she made her grandfather promise to find the horses and take care of them. The grandfather says he has gone to many horse sales looking for them.
shareYes, that would have been wonderful. I love the scenes with her...If I ever have a daughter I will name her Emilie. This is such a wonderful movie. It never really got the accolades it deserved but in time it will be regarded as a classic.
shareThen it would be an awesome ending for housewives. Too cheesy if you ask me.
How about all the others who took care of those horses raising from their graves and live together on a farm happily ever after :)?
The way this movie ended was the best way.