So, the very last scene. How do you make sense of it in comparison to the first scene (breaking and entering)? She/daughter is obviously entering the flat not already knowing that it is empty - she actually calls for the parents. Is it a dream? Father's? Or perhaps, was she so disconnected from her family that she totally missed the fact that they were long dead?
shareI'm so glad you brought this up. I came to check out the board just to see what people were making of the last scene.
There was no need for the scene with Isabelle Huppert coming into the house.
In the timeline it must have happened before the fire dpt because the door was still intact.
But wouldn't she notice the tape on a locked door of her mother's room?
I don't know what to make of that scene and where to place it in time, because it goes against the beginning with the fire dpt.
I don't think it's a dream, but it's possible. I wouldn't go as far with the 'being disconnected' theory.
Also do you remember her calling her parents? I think the scene was silent.
I liked the film, not as much as I anticipated though, but I found the last scene superfluous, it could have ended with the two of them leaving the house (the cleaning the dishes/coat scene).
She did not call for her parents. She was silent. And now she had the key to the apartment, which she did not have before. She had to wait for her father to open the door for her previously
I felt it was a way for Haneke to show her reflect on her parents, their lives and in the apartment she had probably grown up.
It is definitely after the fireman had broken into the apartment, most likely sometime after.
My guess on the climax:
- Georges kills Anne and lives in solitude for a while, boarding up the apartment so no one will be able to detect what's happened
- Overwhelmed with guilt over his actions, Georges sees Anne as she was alive and asking if he wants to go out; in actuality, he jumps out the window and ends his own life to be with Anne again, probably just around the time the fire department busts into the apartment.
- The fire department busts into the apartment, finds the open windows and Anne's made-up body
- Some time later, the apartment's been completely fixed up to the way it was, Eva comes to see it and reflects on her role as their daughter and her failures to "save" her parents.
All good theories here, I agree with what 'Aunt-Peg' wrote.
It has to be later on that Eva comes in, and it's shown as reflection of the daughter about her parents.
I had been considering the key vs knocking too. I don't think he jumped out of the window.
I heard another theory which I buy into that I'm gonna share:
He died when he awoke on the couch and saw her doing the dishes and then they both symbolically left as if their souls were reunited again.
Based on personal experience usually when a couple has a strong bond and they have been together for their whole life, when one passes away at old age, the other one follows within a year. Almost like life becomes unbearable without the partner
As the husband's body wasn't recovered by the fire department, I believe he really left the apartment losing his sanity.
I agree with marnoparast. I feel that like Anne's did, George's health eventually deteriorates and he begins to see her as if she is still alive.
Who Killed Laura Palmer?
yep, he lost it and left the house and vanished. the nightmare he saw earlier was a leitmotiv. he had difficulties standing up, his physical health was deteriorating as well as his mental health. he probably died somewhere on the street without an id. otherwise officials would open up his house much earlier. the corpse of anne looked a bit rotten to me. so some time must have passed before the housekeeper called in the firemen due to the foul stench.
shareThat was my take too--that when Georges was lying on the small bed in the study and heard dishes being washed in the sink, that was probably when he joined Anne in death--symbolized by his struggling to get to his feet, making it to the kitchen to find Anne there, finishing the dishes and telling him she's almost done, he can put his shoes on--and a minute later they leave the apartment together for the first time since Anne's stroke--first she goes out, then he follows after she reminds him to get his coat. My sense from that was that was the moment of his own deliverance from the prison of the apartment/the prison of dying and death to the liberation of leaving the physical world.
Eva entered the apartment after the bodies were found and removed. She probably arrived to begin the daunting task of cleaning out the apartment for eventual sale. I got the impression some time had passed. Her parents had been buried and the apartment had been aired and cleaned.
I don't think for a minute Georges had guilt over ending Anne's life. I think he didn't want to go on without her, and/or didn't want to meet her fate when the last of his own health failed and there was no one to deliver him from suffering and indignity, as he did for Anne.
I think MdmBadenov has it exactly right.
shareGood and sober. I agree with you.
shareI agree with most of what you said, and I know this thread is a bit old now, but one part: the only window open in the apartment was the one in Anne's room. the head official guy opened the other windows throughout after he entered. once the other men force way into the main bedroom, he actually asks if anyone had opened the window in anne's room with responses of no.
shareI agree with most of what you said, and I know this thread is a bit old now, but one part: the only window open in the apartment was the one in Anne's room. the head official guy opened the other windows throughout after he entered. once the other men force way into the main bedroom, he actually asks if anyone had opened the window in anne's room with responses of no.I cannot believe that I am still discovering details of the film months after my first viewing. He indeed asks if anyone opened the window. Even though it might not have been a window Georges could have used to kill himself (the bedroom doors were still taped shut), it directs our attention towards the window. Haneke does this throughout the film--focusing our attention on certain objects, without telling us why. The piano, the flowers, the paintings, etc. I always assumed Georges had left the window open for the smell not to be overwhelming for him, but I never gave any more thought to the window itself. But backtracking, I realized that the window the pigeon flew through was open when the firemen entered. I would have never realized this detail if a significance was not placed on the window in Anne's room (by Haneke first, then by jeff-starx above). It reminds me of the paintings. I only noticed that they were hanging throughout the house after they filled the screen during that sequence. It is also the only reason I noticed the painting of drought in the room Georges wakes up in, symbolizing his dehydration. This window theory is in serious competition with the dehydration theory. Perhaps his implied dehydration served to demonstrate his depression and affected mental state, before he leaves through the window where Anne attempted suicide herself. Again, I am thoroughly impressed with this level of detail and cannot believe that I am still mining the film.
Just wanted to add another puzzle piece to this whole thing, this one connecting George's story to his choice of suicide. Just as the investigator's question in Anne's room is a clue alluding to the "pigeon window", so is Georges's mention of a window being the barrier that separated him from his mother. This allusion to the significance of the window adds meaning to his leaving through the window, perhaps symbolically overcoming that barrier of isolation.
Also, in his story, he writes a letter to his mother before being isolated behind a window. Perhaps after writing his suicide letter, going through the window is his refusal to keep another window from keeping him from his loved one. The window is indeed open during the scene of Georges's and Anne's final departure.
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Good read, thanks.
I also think they were most likely called for the smell, particularly because they have masks on and Anne's window is open (letting the smell get out). But we don't know who called them. We know Georges hasn't checked his mail in a while, but we don't know if it is because he simply ceased daily routine then killed himself, or because he has been dead for a while. Perhaps the window is only open to provoke us. If his body had been down the light well for a while, wouldn't somebody notice it? Or if he jumped right as they were entering, wouldn't somebody hear the impact?
On the other hand, they could have been called because his body was discovered, then after asking around, were led to his apartment, where they found the strong smell. Emergency respondents are already equipped with face masks and the forced entry could have been used regardless of whether the call was for a smell or a body.
Either way, Haneke leaves it up in the air.
When Eva makes her final visit, she sits in her father's chair, facing the piano and the light. The light well by definition has a similar connotation.Expand on this please.
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I'll try to expand on the light well's similar connotation. It's really an intuitive thing, felt more than understood intellectually. I hesitate to be too fine about it, because I like that things can imply more than one meaning.No worries, this is implied. I too am in no way trying to definitely explain the film. I just enjoy reporting puzzle pieces on here to see if it fits with the perspectives of others.
It is the only place where we see the characters interact with the outdoor world, with nature.Love this. As their link to the outside world, it keeps them grounded... connected.
Later, Anne tries to cross this threshold to end her life, and when birds enter the apartment through it, my first impression was how shockingly foreign the outside, nature, seemed here - and how insistent! As if to say: "Pay heed to this window, to this light, to this threshold!" I don't think there's any question that Haneke, as you noted, wanted to draw our attention to it.Yes. And this unwelcome reaction would have been rendered trivial if not for the second encounter.
Another descriptor - not one I prefer because of its too-concrete, sci-fi connotation - is that this location is a subtly influential portal to something intangible, but no less true than physical reality - a different state of awareness. Again for lack of a better word, I choose to call it the spiritual. It's too limiting to call the birds "angels," but they do serve as kinds of messengers, wake-up callers. Again, the insistence of nature, of the light.This is actually my favorite significance of the window... the one I find the most poetic: that it serves as the barrier/gateway keeping Georges from his loved one (Anne currently; his mother in the story). The only problem that arises from this (which is actually only a religious technicality) is that Georges would not meet the same spiritual fate as Anne after murdering both her and himself. However, the window in his story and the reunited couple in the paintings both still reinforce this theory. Not to mention they literally depart together at the end.
Here is something else that struck me. The Superintendent's wife brings groceries, and in response to her asking after Anne, Georges says she's doing fine. She mentions the strawberries already being moldy, an image that suggested to me a subtle memento mori. George is then seen smoking in front of the light well window, one of the few moments in the story when he seems to be what we might describe as "at leisure." He's again facing the light, as he has in the living room, yet the mood seems softer now, as if here he's not subjected so much to the harsh truth of reality.Cigarettes = relaxation, which is why the ashtray full of used cigarettes is a solid indicator of his stress levels/state of mind after Anne passed.
And of course this also has the effect of recalling his prior pretence about Anne doing all right, which was a kind of denial of the subtle memento mori. So I found this moment of realizing the full context of Georges' "smoke break" quite jarring.I see the connection that he is snapping out of window/cigarette-induced relaxation, but I think what you are saying (correct me if I am wrong) is that his smoke break interruption actually snapped him out of the denial that stems all the way back to the neighbor. The problem I have with this is Anne is only calling to get help out of the bathroom, which is hardly something out of the ordinary at that point.
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Thanks for clearing that up- absolutely agreed. It is a punch to the gut when we realize he was never truly on a break in the first place. Good find!
As far as recent films, Amour reminds me of Götz Spielmann's Revanche (also an Austrian film). I'll have to revisit it soon, but on first viewing it had already become a top film of mine for its deep themes and strong use of metaphor. Curious if you've seen it. If not, I highly recommend it.
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Right outside their bedroom? I never made much of it. Haneke really hammers down a symbol when he wants to! Well, the weight of that hammer is either feathered or leaded, depending on how much the viewer is willing deconstruct the film.
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The daughter obviously already knew that her parents were dead. She did not call her father, and she had a key to the apartment (the last time she came, she didn't have a key, she knocked at the door). So at the end it's after their death.
shareI had the exact same reaction - wished that the film had ended with the main characters' exit.
shareI believe Georges committed suicide by leaving the gas on while fantasizing himself and Ann going out once again.
The last scene is clearly a cynical point of view on the way children deal with their parents' death. If you remember when Eva visited her mother she was telling her that they wanted to buy an apartment in Paris because it's a solid investment and how she now spends all her time looking through the paper in order to find a good deal. She also mentioned how expensive houses have become lately. So,now she inherited this high-priced apartment without any "trouble", without having to deal with her sick mother...
The last scene is clearly a cynical point of view
Agreeing largely with your assessment of the last scene but would argue the "cynical" part. Because that's what really is just happening in actual life. Finding closure and moving on.
The last scene seems to comprise both: her saying farewell and at the same time reflecting on the use she could make of the apartment.
If that's cynical - and maybe it is - it's rather the cynicism of life I guess.
The last scene is clearly a cynical point of view on the way children deal with their parents' death.I don't know if you have lived through the death of a parent from a chronic illness that slowly extracts all the life from their body but whatever feelings one has towards the parent by the end you long for their death as a reprieve for them and you. I found the treatment of the daughter Eva well handled and compassionate without being sympathetic (she's quite annoying to begin with) or sentimental. Her distress when she's trying to talk with her mother who's disorientated was real.
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I've replied to you on your thread; on the matter of feelings and emotional resolution you and I essentially disagree. There is not one behaviour suits all. For some to witness suffering may be too painful and for others it is necessary to their own way of healing. If Eva needed to see her mother to grieve then that's what matters and not Georges's feelings however hard it might be to see his daughter grieve.
Fatima had a fetish for a wiggle in her scootshare
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I agree that both responses are valid because people need to do whatever it is they do when a loved one is dying.
Fatima had a fetish for a wiggle in her scootshare
Hmmm... I think Anne inherited her Grandmother's house after her death and she sold it off and spent the money and that is what she was talking about when her daughter came. She was basically telling her daughter that she would eventually get the apartment like she got her grandmother's house.
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I think one must remember the dream scene where, in Georges' dream, the elevator is closed. In my interpretation, this means Georges will never get out of the appartment again.
Georges has already died when the firemen arrive in the first scene. He is not in the appartment; the firemen enter the appartment because Georges has committed suicide. Just before, he got out of the window and followed Anne.
This is also reminiscent of the two scenes with the pigeons. In the first scene, Georges has difficulty to get ride of the bird. In the second scene, he is able to capture it; symbolically the pigeon asks him to follow him and die, in the second scene Georges accepts his death. This is what he writes in his suicidal note ("I catched it, it was not difficult").
The water in Georges' dream is also reminiscent of the scene when Anne's health start to deteriorate (he let the water flow), and when he finally follow Anne just after she washes dishes.
I must confess I never thought of this suicidal-George-theory; if I remember right (and I'v seen this just once five months ago), he just leaves the apartment at one point.
Even at that time it seems I didn't remember the last scene correctly - several people have pointed out that she does not call for the parents. However, I was in fact correct! The trailer for the film actually contains parts of the last scene, and Isabelle Huppert clearly says "Mom?", she is calling for her. I think she does that for the father too, but I don't remember.
Now, because of this the scene does not make much sense... 1) she opens the door with the key; 2) the flat is obviously empty (she walks through all the important rooms); 3) she calls for her parents in a sincere enough way that I don't doubt that she doesn't know where they are.
That is why the disconnect (or dream) theory make most sense to me; although you could argue that she called for the parents instinctively.
Isabelle Hupert calls for her mom because she feels guilty. She didn't understand what happened, and didn't want to understand. The empty rooms and the fact that Georges followed Anne out, all indicates they're both dead.
shareShe doesn't call for them, it's obviously after they're dead and gone. I see no reason to assume it's a dream, it's her walking in after all the drama is finished, the place is clean and tidy again like nothing has happened. She's got the apartment, a fresh start, but at what cost?
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What I got from the ending was that he killed himself hence seeing Anne again. And then the daughter visits the apartment. As simple as that.
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I don't really see Georges taking his own life. To me, the most likely scenario is that he let himself die, slowly. In the scene where he tries to feed Anne he says to he : "if you won't drink, you're gonna die". So I can't help but wonder if it's not a coincidence that, in his last moments, we see an empty glass and bottle of water near the bed. Now it is debatable if Georges perishes there and is already dead by the time he sees Anne in the kitchen or if he's actually still alive, leaves the apartment in a confused state and goes to meet his doom somewhere else, like on a bench in the park. But he's definitely gone by the time Eva visits the apartment.
shareThose paintings we see near the end of the film seem to indicate that Georges and Anne are reunited in the end : in the first landscape we distinguish two figures very clearly , in the second they're much more dinstant , the next one is completely desert etc .. But in the final one they're back together , at the feet of the mountain .Very well observed. I knew they were significant but not how.
Fatima had a fetish for a wiggle in her scootshare
interestingly enough I read several critics claiming that the paintings (somehow) reflect the apartment?! have to see the film again soon
shareinterestingly enough I read several critics claiming that the paintings (somehow) reflect the apartment?! have to see the film again soon
good observations
sharei've just checked, the daughter enters the apartament and doesn't say anything. it's all empty and she's observing the place, like that void of the first time she saw the apartament without both of them. because they are both death now.
and i think the empty apartament may also represent her absence towards them. how she was a absent daughter.
Not only that, but she's wearing black, as well. She's mourning.
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I thought it was her returning to home a while after Georges and Anne were found. I saw it as a simple way of saying: they've both left, leaving Eva behind.
sharePersonally, I think many people are over-reading the scene with Anne and Georges going out of the house.
For me, it is just a poetic way to portray Georges' eventually death.
I saw it as George's moment of death, and his being reunited with Anne. She was as beautiful and elegant as she was at the start of the movie, and he was in his pj's and "staggering" out of the bed when he "hears" her and goes into the kitchen to find her washing the dishes before she tells him to get his coat and put on his shoes to leave..all that I believe was in his mind as he died. And interesting that she was wearing pants and a coat, when in reality he dressed her body in a black dress when she died. This movie gives me shivers. I'm going to have to torture myself and watch it again shortly.
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