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Author Topic: Phoenix  (Read 6299 times)

Bondo

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Phoenix
« on: January 07, 2016, 09:41:00 AM »
Apparently we have to have a discussion about the ending of this film. Admittedly I wasn't as into this film as many, so maybe that limited the payoff at the end for me (I did like the film).

So against her friend's caution she gets involved with her ex-husband who may have betrayed her, and her friend ends up killing herself...is it because she felt abandoned? Just general struggle to cope in post-war life? Anyway, Nelly goes ahead and does the meet-up with Johnny that had been planned to get Nelly's assets. Is the importance of the last scene where they sing is Johnny and company realize this is actually Nelly and not someone playing Nelly? I'm left to figure it out completely from facial expression. And she walks out...to leave them completely? It's all so underresolved.

oldkid

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Re: Phoenix
« Reply #1 on: January 07, 2016, 11:30:38 AM »
Although it's subtle, I thought it was clear.  Yes, Johnny didn't know who she was, and it became clear to her that Johnny really did betray her.  Her singing revealed that it really was her, and the tattoo confirmed that she had really spent time in the camps.  The look on Johnny's face revealed everything-- his realization, his betrayal, his shame.  And after seeing that look, that confirmation, she walked out on him.
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1SO

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Re: Phoenix
« Reply #2 on: January 07, 2016, 02:29:50 PM »
That was it. The look on his face playing with her song is what makes the moment so clear and powerful.

Junior

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Re: Phoenix
« Reply #3 on: January 07, 2016, 02:33:43 PM »
For sure. It also completes the light motif as she walks out into the bright light of day, which in this movie is more about harsh reality rather than dreamy hope. That is reserved for her dark visits to her friend (who might be more than a friend, or hoping to be so).
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Jeff Schroeck

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Re: Phoenix
« Reply #4 on: January 07, 2016, 05:03:19 PM »
The one thing she wants more than anything, even getting back together with her husband, is to be exactly like she was before. It's why she never says "Hey, stupid. I'M your wife!" She needs to be as recognizable as she was before the war. Since she can't do that with her appearance, she does it with her voice.

oldkid

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Re: Phoenix
« Reply #5 on: January 07, 2016, 06:14:43 PM »
she never says "Hey, stupid. I'M your wife!"

That would also have been a satisfying ending.
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Jeff Schroeck

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Re: Phoenix
« Reply #6 on: January 07, 2016, 06:20:43 PM »
Hahaha! "I definitely haven't been your wife this whole timePSYCH!!!"

chardy999

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Re: Phoenix
« Reply #7 on: January 28, 2016, 06:03:57 AM »
That is reserved for her dark visits to her friend (who might be more than a friend, or hoping to be so).

Yeah I definitely picked up on that too. Primal jealousy played (some) part in the suicide.
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DarkeningHumour

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Re: Phoenix
« Reply #8 on: March 22, 2016, 10:49:05 PM »
That was it. The look on his face playing with her song is what makes the moment so clear and powerful.
Although it's subtle, I thought it was clear.  Yes, Johnny didn't know who she was, and it became clear to her that Johnny really did betray her.  Her singing revealed that it really was her, and the tattoo confirmed that she had really spent time in the camps.  The look on Johnny's face revealed everything-- his realization, his betrayal, his shame.  And after seeing that look, that confirmation, she walked out on him.

It felt very resolved to me.

I think the friend's suicide is an interesting tidbit that does not get talked about much. I think her killing herself had something to do with Nelly's attempt to rebecome who she used to be. At first the friend is intent on leaving for Palestine, creating a new beginning for herself far from the war, escaping recent events. Maybe Nelly makes her recognize that is not as possible as she thought ; she cannot just leave aside everything that happened.
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philip918

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Re: Phoenix
« Reply #9 on: March 23, 2016, 10:17:47 AM »
I think the friend's suicide is an interesting tidbit that does not get talked about much. I think her killing herself had something to do with Nelly's attempt to rebecome who she used to be. At first the friend is intent on leaving for Palestine, creating a new beginning for herself far from the war, escaping recent events. Maybe Nelly makes her recognize that is not as possible as she thought ; she cannot just leave aside everything that happened.

On top of all this, it seemed like Lene had romantic feelings for Nelly. She wasn't simply looking to create a new beginning for herself in Palestine, but a new beginning for them.


 

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