lune7000
Junior Member
@lune7000
Posts: 1,091
Likes: 678
|
Post by lune7000 on Mar 20, 2021 15:23:57 GMT
I just saw The Heiress which is about an unappealing, plain rich women who is courted by a handsome but poor man. The question throughout the movie is whether he loves her or is just after her money. Surprisingly, this question is not really answered in a definitive manner at the end- leaving both possibilities to ponder. I was also surprised to find I liked this ending.
What are other movies like this? Thanks in advance.
|
|
|
|
Post by mattgarth on Mar 20, 2021 16:04:58 GMT
THEY WON'T FORGET (1937) -- did the young business school teacher who was accused of raping and murdering student Lana Turner and was prosecuted by Claude Rains only to be hanged by an out-of-control Redneck mob really guilty of the crime? (based on the actual notorious 1913 Leo Frank case)
|
|
spiderwort
Junior Member
@spiderwort
Posts: 2,073
Likes: 9,349
|
Post by spiderwort on Mar 20, 2021 17:21:24 GMT
THE 400 BLOWS, Truffaut's wonderful, moving story of a young boy's struggle to be visible and loved in his a difficult life. The final image is one of the few perfect "abrupt" endings to a story that's clearly not finished yet.  |
|
|
|
Post by london777 on Mar 20, 2021 17:47:36 GMT
THE 400 BLOWS, Truffaut's wonderful, moving story of a young boy's struggle to be visible and loved in his difficult life. The final image is one of the few perfect "abrupt" endings to a story that's clearly not finished yet. "Not finished yet" indeed. Although not Truffaut's intention at the time of making The 400 Blows, Antoine Doinel became his alter ego and Truffaut continued the saga in four further (largely autobiographical) features: Antoine and Colette which was part of the 1962 anthology film L'amour à vingt ans. Stolen Kisses (1968) Bed and Board (1970) Love on the Run (1979)
|
|
|
|
Post by mikef6 on Mar 20, 2021 18:10:10 GMT
I hope it is OK to bring in some modern era titles.
There are several recent films that can be take two ways: 1) they end abruptly but you can figure out what happens next, they just don’t show the wrap-up; 2) Yeah, we can make some assumptions but questions still remain.
The Dardenne Brothers have made a career of this: The Promise, Rosetta, The Son, The Kid With The Bike, for example.
In the U.S. there are the films of Kelly Reichardt: Old Joy, Meek’s Cutoff, Night Moves
In the Classic Era I see Billy Wilder’s “Ace In The Hole” and “Sunset Boulevard” to be forerunners of the Dardenne’s and Reichardt’s “blackout” endings. Maybe Wilder's "Witness For The Prosecution" could also be included.
|
|
|
|
Post by london777 on Mar 20, 2021 18:37:21 GMT
Limbo (1999) dir: John Sayles Sayles is one of my favorite US directors because of the genuine social consciousness which informs most of his movies, unlike the usual hypocritical virtue-signalling which has laughably earned Hollywood the moniker "liberal". Because of his insistence on retaining control over the final cut he has rarely worked with established studios, and chooses to raise funds himself. Sometimes these budget restrictions can make parts of his movies look a bit slipshod, but at other times the constraints give his flicks a tight construction and rigor. ****spoiler****Limbo is an oddity, unlike any of his other movies. It is like parts of two different films spliced together. The first part is a detailed look at an economically depressed Alaskan fishing port and certain of its inhabitants. The story unwinds at leisure and their background stories are told in detail. The second part becomes an adventure story as three characters (played by David Strathairn, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, and Vanessa Martinez) are stranded on a small island with no resources or means to escape. They are visited by the heavy, Kris Kristofferson, who bears a serious grudge against Strathairn. He explains that his radio is broken (clearly a lie) and that his float-plane is too small to rescue all three (probably true) but he will return for them soon. When his plane does reappear we do not know if he is coming back to rescue them or to kill them. The film ends with the three apprehensively watching the approaching aircraft. I was bitterly disappointed. It was like a shaggy dog story, but even those have a punchline of sorts. If that was to be the ending, why go into the back-stories of folk back in town who we do not hear from again? 
|
|
|
|
Post by mikef6 on Mar 20, 2021 18:40:44 GMT
On the Haley Mills thread, I mentioned the "open" ending of Disney's "Pollyanna" (1960).
|
|
|
|
Post by london777 on Mar 20, 2021 18:49:48 GMT
The Dardenne Brothers have made a career of this: The Promise, Rosetta, The Son, The Kid With The Bike, for example. In the U.S. ... Night Moves In the Classic Era I see Billy Wilder’s “Ace In The Hole” and “Sunset Boulevard” to be forerunners of the Dardenne’s and Reichardt’s “blackout” endings. I have not seen all the Dardenne films, but those I have seen qualify nicely for our "Slice of Life" thread. I do not think that is what the OP is looking for (otherwise all "Slice of Life" movie would qualify). I cannot agree with Ace in the Hole or Sunset Boulevard either. They both wrap up the story very conclusively. At first viewing I disliked Night Moves because it felt unfinished, but I understood better after later viewings that we have been shown all we need to see.
|
|
|
|
Post by marshamae on Mar 20, 2021 19:47:04 GMT
The Roman Spring of Mrs Stone.
It’s not clear whether the intruder at the end will murder her or bec9me her new paramour, though they are both a kind of death.
I don’t have many films with open endings because I am so CHARLES Dickens. I want to know who goes to Australia, who marries the cook, etc.
|
|
|
|
Post by london777 on Mar 20, 2021 20:26:45 GMT
At first viewing I disliked Night Moves because it felt unfinished, but I understood better after later viewings that we have been shown all we need to see. Some confusion here. Which is why I always suggest that films are always referred to by title (year released) dir: director's name. Some of us are just fledgling film buffs here. We are not all like you and mattgarth (to quote just two names) who have infallible rolodexes of movie data in your brains. I wrongly assumed you were referring to Night Moves (1975) dir: Arthur Penn, because this is a film notorious for its ambiguous ending. (I did wonder what Kelly Reichardt had to do with it, but thought maybe she had a hand in the script. I now realise she would have been eleven years old  ). Mind you, my proposal is not infallible. I ordered Elena (2011) dir: Andrey Zvyagintsev from my supplier a few weeks back but she sent me instead Elena (2012) dir: Petra Costa. It arrived on World Women's Day. Perhaps she was making a point?
|
|
|
|
Post by london777 on Mar 20, 2021 20:35:36 GMT
On further reflection, perhaps only mattgarth has met the OP's criteria. An unanswered question that has been inherent throughout the film.
|
|
|
|
Post by mikef6 on Mar 20, 2021 21:00:12 GMT
The Dardenne Brothers have made a career of this: The Promise, Rosetta, The Son, The Kid With The Bike, for example. In the U.S. ... Night Moves In the Classic Era I see Billy Wilder’s “Ace In The Hole” and “Sunset Boulevard” to be forerunners of the Dardenne’s and Reichardt’s “blackout” endings. I have not seen all the Dardenne films, but those I have seen qualify nicely for our "Slice of Life" thread. I do not think that is what the OP is looking for (otherwise all "Slice of Life" movie would qualify). I cannot agree with Ace in the Hole or Sunset Boulevard either. They both wrap up the story very conclusively. At first viewing I disliked Night Moves because it felt unfinished, but I understood better after later viewings that we have been shown all we need to see. That's about the best that can be done from the Classic Era. If "Sunset Boulevard" had been made today there would no doubt have been printed screens telling us what happened to Norma Desmond and Max after the close of the picture. That procedure is normal now in "based on a true story" movies but what started that trope was a fictional film "American Graffiti." EDIT: Oh, yeah. I forgot. "George Lucas, 1973."
|
|
|
|
Post by mikef6 on Mar 20, 2021 21:02:36 GMT
At first viewing I disliked Night Moves because it felt unfinished, but I understood better after later viewings that we have been shown all we need to see. Some confusion here. Which is why I always suggest that films are always referred to by title (year released) dir: director's name. Some of us are just fledgling film buffs here. We are not all like you and mattgarth (to quote just two names) who have infallible rolodexes of movie data in your brains. I wrongly assumed you were referring to Night Moves (1975) dir: Arthur Penn, because this is a film notorious for its ambiguous ending. (I did wonder what Kelly Reichardt had to do with it, but thought maybe she had a hand in the script. I now realise she would have been eleven years old ). Mind you, my proposal is not infallible. I ordered Elena (2011) dir: Andrey Zvyagintsev from my supplier a few weeks back but she sent me instead Elena (2012) dir: Petra Costa. It arrived on World Women's Day. Perhaps she was making a point? I usually include director and year as you suggest. Although, if you will check back, I included "Night Moves" in a list of Kelly Reichardt movies. I wrote: "In the U.S. there are the films of Kelly Reichardt: Old Joy, Meek’s Cutoff, Night Moves."
|
|
|
|
Post by bravomailer on Mar 20, 2021 21:30:06 GMT
It wasn't clear to me who if anyone was afraid of Virginia Woolf.
|
|
|
|
Post by OldAussie on Mar 20, 2021 21:33:10 GMT
|
|
).
