Movie endings often remain a mystery to their viewers and cause a lot of arguments among them. We may have no idea what the director meant by the final scene or we may misunderstand the thought of the creator, especially if they used metaphors and allegories. And our final impression of the film is directly linked to how we understand the final scenes.

电影的结局对观众来说常常是一个谜,并且会因这些结局引起很多争论。我们可能不明白导演拍的最后一个场景是什么意思,或者我们可能误解了创作者的想法,特别是当他们使用隐喻和寓言的时候。我们对电影的最终印象与我们如何理解最后的场景直接相关。

 

《降临》

Arrival, 2016

While the story of Denis Villeneuve’s film is progressing, it gives the viewers a lot of hints, but the main idea isn’t described until the very end. This sci-fi drama completely consists of closed cycles, in other words the story ends where it begins and begins where it ends. 

虽然丹尼斯·维伦纽瓦的电影故事还在进行中,它给观众带来了很多暗示,但直到最后的最后才描述了主要的想法。这种科幻剧完全由封闭的圆圈组成,换句话说,故事在它开始的地方结束,并开始于它结束的地方。

The viewers might think that the film starts with the past of the main character, linguist Louise Banks, but in the end we realize that these episodes were from her future. After Amy Adams’s character learned to understand the non-linear language of heptapods, time became a circle for her.

观众可能会认为这部电影以主人公——语言学家露易丝·班克斯的过去开始,但最终我们意识到这些情节来自她的未来。在艾米·亚当斯饰演的角色学会了非线性的外星人语言后,时间对她来说变成了一个圆圈。

The flashbacks about her dead daughter and divorce with her husband that we saw in the beginning of the film haven’t happened to her yet. Louise got a glimpse of her future and even though she knew she was going to lose her child and her love, she decided to not change anything. 

我们在电影开头看到的关于她死去的女儿和与丈夫离婚的闪回还没有发生在她身上。露易丝知晓了她的未来,尽管她知道她将失去她的孩子和她的爱人,但她决定不做任何改变。

This is the main idea of the film: time is not just a straight line. If you see time the way heptapods do, it looks completely different. And every person defines their own destiny.

这是这部电影的主要思想:时间不是一条直线。如果你像外星人那样看时间,它看起来完全不同。每个人都决定了自己的命运。

 

《母亲!》

Mother!, 2017

“They are delighted. They understood everything but in different ways.” Javier Bardem’s character says about the reaction of readers to his book. The same could be said about the people who watched this film. 

“他们很高兴。他们什么都懂,只是方式不同。”哈维尔·巴登饰演的角色谈到了读者对他的书的反应。看过这部电影的人也是如此。在达伦·阿伦诺夫斯基的心理惊悚片上映后,互联网上充斥着对事件的不同看法和对这部电影结局的不同解读。

Almost all the films from this director are filled with symbolism and mother! is no exception. At the core of the story is the idea of how violent humanity is toward nature and the film itself is sort of a biblical fable.

这位导演的所有电影几乎都充满了象征主义,《母亲!》也不例外。故事的核心是人类对自然的暴力,而电影本身就是一个圣经寓言。

In his interview for Variety, Darren Aronofsky explained that Javier Bardem portrayed God in the film and Jennifer Lawrence is nature, and the house is Earth. Nature is tortured, it is used. And the apocalypse at the end of the film (when the house is burned) is the result of our violence toward our planet.

在接受《综艺》杂志采访时,达伦·阿伦诺夫斯基解释说,哈维尔·巴登在电影中扮演上帝,詹妮弗·劳伦斯是自然,房子是地球。大自然被折磨,被利用。而影片结尾的大灾变(当房子被烧毁时)是我们对地球暴力的结果。

 

《鸟人》

Birdman, 2014

The ending of Alejandro Iñárritu’s film, about an actor that lost his mind, is pretty difficult to understand. In the final scene, we see Riggan’s daughter coming into an empty hospital ward and seeing an open window with voices and sirens coming from the outside. 

亚利桑德罗·伊纳里图的这部电影讲述了一名失去理智的演员的故事,十分难以理解。在最后一幕中,我们看到瑞根的女儿走进了一间空无一人的病房,看着一扇开着的窗户,外面传来了说话声和警报声。

Emma Stone’s character looks down, slowly raises her head up and smiles. Some viewers must have thought that it was a happy ending and a hint that Riggan could actually fly. But most likely, the main character actually committed suicide and his daughter is just hallucinating.

艾玛·斯通饰演的角色低下头,慢慢抬起头,微笑着。一些观众肯定认为这是一个皆大欢喜的结局,同时也暗示了瑞根真的会飞。但更有可能的是,主角实际上自杀了,而他的女儿只是产生了幻觉。

Sam loses her connection with the real world and dives into a world of fantasy where her father is still alive. Riggan’s relationship with his daughter is the key to understanding this film.

萨姆失去了与现实世界的联系,一头扎进了她父亲还活着的幻想世界。瑞根和女儿的关系是理解这部电影的关键。

 

《蝙蝠侠:黑暗骑士崛起》

The Dark Knight Rises, 2012

At the end of the film, Bruce Wayne tries to save Gotham from a nuclear explosion. He loads the bomb on his plane and flies fast into the ocean where it explodes. The city is saved and the grateful inhabitants mourn their hero and erect a monument of Batman. Alfred goes to Venice where he meets Bruce who is perfectly healthy sitting at a table with Selina (Catwoman).

在电影的最后,Bruce Wayne试图从核爆炸中拯救Gotham。他把炸弹装上飞机,迅速飞向海洋,并在那里爆炸。城市得救了,心存感激的居民们悼念他们的英雄,并竖起了一座蝙蝠侠的纪念碑。Alfred去了威尼斯,在那里他遇到了Bruce,Bruce非常健康,和Selina(猫女)坐在一张桌子旁。

Many viewers thought this part was Alfred’s dream. But as you might remember, in Batman’s lab the character said that the plane was on autopilot. Most likely, Bruce programmed the plane to get the bomb as far from the city as possible and faked his own death. 

许多观众认为这是Alfred的梦。但你可能还记得,在蝙蝠侠的实验室里,角色说飞机是自动驾驶的。最有可能的是,Bruce用飞机将炸弹投放在尽可能地远离城市的地方,然后伪造了自己的死亡。

Besides, in the Venice scene, you can see a necklace on Selina that belonged to Wayne’s mother. She tried to steal it at the very beginning of the film. Alfred didn’t know about it, so this couldn’t be in his dream.

另外,在威尼斯的那场戏里,你可以看到Selina身上的一条项链,那是Wayne母亲的。电影一开始她就想偷走。Alfred不知道这件事,所以这不可能是他做的梦。

 

《星际探索》

Ad Astra, 2019

When Roy goes on a mission to find a spaceship that disappeared, he was also going to put an end to Project Lima and save his father. When they finally reunite, the young McBride realizes that his father is not the hero he thought he was. 

当Roy进行一项寻找一艘失踪的宇宙飞船的任务时,他也打算结束利马计划,拯救他的父亲。当他们终于团聚,年轻的McBride意识到,他的父亲不是他所认为的英雄。

Clifford escaped to the space abyss because he knew there was nothing left for him on Earth. The most symbolic scene happens when the cord that connects the father and the son is broken.

Clifford逃进了太空深渊,因为他知道世上没有留给他的东西。最具象征意义的一幕发生在连接父子的绳索断了的时候。

When Roy returned home, he finally understood and accepted his place in the universe. He gets rid of the emotional and physical loneliness, he doesn’t have the burden of finding his father anymore, and he is ready to reunite with his ex-wife. Ad Astra is a film about self-knowledge and the important changes of the human soul.

当Roy回到家,他终于明白并接受了他在宇宙中的位置。他摆脱了情感和身体上的孤独,他不再有找到父亲的负担,他准备与前妻团聚。《星际探索》是一部关于自我认识和人类灵魂的重要变化的电影。

 

《蒙上你的眼》

Bird Box, 2018

When the main character with 2 children finally reaches the sanctuary, it turns out to be a school for blind people. And this is very symbolic. It was this blind faith that Mallory had that made her travel through the river rapids totally blindfolded. The film makes you think about what a weakness is and what a strength is. In the real world, blindness is a limitation, but in the film, it was a protection against monsters.

当主角带着两个孩子最终到达避难所时,发现这原来是一所盲人学校。这是很有象征意义的。正是马洛里的这种盲目的信念使她完全蒙着眼睛在急流中穿行。这部电影让你思考什么是弱点,什么是优势。在现实世界中,失明是一种限制,但在电影中,它是一种对抗怪物的保护。

Mallory was able to save her children only when she opened herself to love. When in the final scene, the main character gives her son and daughter names and lets the birds out, she destroys the walls she had previously built around herself. The epilogue is the metaphor of hope and faith that it will all be alright and the bird box is the cage that Mallory kept her feelings in.

马洛里只有敞开心扉去爱,才能拯救她的孩子。在最后一幕中,主角给自己的儿子和女儿取了名字,然后把小鸟放了出来,她破坏了之前为自己筑起的围墙。尾声是希望和信念的隐喻,一切都会好起来的,而鸟箱是马洛里把她的感情关在里面的笼子。

 

《完美陌生人》

Perfect Strangers, 2016

In Paolo Genovese’s drama, a group of friends comes together to have dinner, enjoy the full moon eclipse, and just have a good time. When they start talking about mobile phones, one of the characters suggests they play a game: put all of their phones on the table and accept all the calls on speaker and read all their texts out loud. 

在保罗·格诺维瑟的这部剧里,一群朋友聚在一起吃晚餐,欣赏满月月食,大家玩得很开心。当他们开始谈论手机时,其中一个人建议他们玩一个游戏:把所有的手机都放在桌子上,接听所有的电话,并大声朗读所有的短信。

During this seemingly simple and funny game, the friends realize that they don’t know anything about each other. This is the main point of the film: all of us, just like the moon, have 2 sides: the brightly-lit one and the side that nobody sees.

在这个看似简单而有趣的游戏中,朋友们意识到他们对彼此一无所知。这是这部电影的主要观点:我们所有人,就像月亮一样,有两面:明亮的一面和没有人看到的一面。

But the ending of the film confused many people. The characters leave the house, laughing and holding hands, as if nothing had happened. This is how the evening would have ended if they hadn’t played the game. 

但是电影的结局让很多人困惑。主演们笑着,手牵着手离开了房子,好像什么事都没有发生过。如果他们不玩游戏,这个夜晚就会这样结束。

No disappointment, no resentment, no shame. All the problems are there, on the dark side of the Moon. You have the right to decide which is better — the bitter truth or ignorant bliss.

没有失望,没有怨恨,没有羞耻。所有的问题都在月球的黑暗面。你有权决定哪个更好——痛苦的真相还是无知的幸福。

 

《黑天鹅》

Black Swan, 2010

In the epilogue of the film, Nina (Natalie Portman) falls during the first act of the performance and while crying, leaves to change clothes for the second act. In the dressing room, she sees Lily (Mila Kunis) who is totally ready to replace her on the stage. The girls start to fight and Nina kills her competitor by piercing her with a piece of glass. She then hides her body in the bathroom and nails the second act.

在电影的尾声,Nina(娜塔莉·波特曼饰)在表演的第一幕中摔倒了,哭着离开去为第二幕换衣服。在更衣室里,她看到Lily(米拉·库尼斯饰)已经准备好要取代她在舞台上的位置。女孩们开始打斗,Nina用一块玻璃刺穿她的对手,并杀死了她。然后她把她的身体藏在浴室里,完成第二幕。

After that, in the dressing room, Lily, who is totally alive and well visits Nina and tells her that she did a great job. Natalie Portman’s character realizes that she had been fighting herself this whole time and has a bleeding wound in her stomach. At the end of the 3rd act, Nina falls into the hands of the director, bleeding to death and we realize that the dancer wounded herself by trying to become perfect.

之后,在更衣室里,完全活过来的Lily拜访了Nina,告诉她自己做得很好。娜塔莉·波特曼饰演的角色意识到她一直在与自己抗争,腹部有一个流血的伤口。在第三幕的结尾,Nina落入导演的手中,流血至死,我们意识到舞者会为了变得完美而不惜伤害自己。

 

你能理解这些电影的结局了吗?