MovieChat Forums > Toni Erdmann (2016) Discussion > The ending...? (SPOILERS)

The ending...? (SPOILERS)

posted 7 years ago by oliverhollander
2 replies | jump to latest

I liked this film a lot, it gets the balance between surreal humour and naturalistic family relationship scenes just right. Here's a review I published:

https://oliverstwist2016.wordpress.com/2017/02/06/film-review-toni-erdmann-2016/

I'm interested in what people think about the ending though? It seems quite ambiguous to me. Ines seems to have learned her lesson about taking life and her job less seriously, as shown by the naked party and her putting on the 'Toni Erdmann' teeth after the funeral. But then she's also apparently leaving for Singapore to start a similar line of work as before - has she really learnt anything about life and its 'meaning', as her father talks about? About letting loose and having fun, enjoying the moment? Or is she just going to get caught up in the same old depressing line of work again, and is deliberately moving far away from her father so he can't get in the way of her career?

I'd be interested to know basically if people think it's a happy or unhappy ending for Ines, as corny as that sounds, and as much as I know it can't really fit neatly into either box.

Thoughts?

[–] dlynch843 7 years ago

you can read some interesting comments in the 'that last scene' subject on this board. I thought the father going away to get his camera seemed out of character-up to that point, he seemed the type to NOT get a camera but to enjoy this special moment with his daughter--Ines putting in the teeth and wearing her mother's hat was a great thing. I loved her for that. Then the father slowly goes off in search of a camera. I can see why Ines was saddened.

[–] [email protected] (1288) 7 years ago

I believe he didnt return after he left to get a camera. That was his point. He talked of memories when she was a child, how fast life goes..The only redeemable part of this otherwise annoying film. The daughter was excellent in her acting, but I didnt care for this film at all. Just the last 5 minutes of it.