Throughout “A Serious Man,” stress and difficulties pile on Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg). By the end of the movie, he has finally built up peace – his son’s Bar Mitzvah goes well, he and his wife have rebuilt their relationship, and it looks like he’s moments from getting tenure. At the very end, not only does a doctor need to speak with him about an x-ray, but a tornado is headed right for his son’s school.
Is it an illness? Will his son be alright? The film ends right there. It’s a look at life in our modern world, with constant issues, but we aren’t given any conclusion to the new issues.
The Grey
Marketed as a “Taken” style film with Liam Neeson fighting against nature and wolves, “The Grey” actually turned out to be a thoughtful, almost poetic look into man against nature. In the final scene of the film, Neeson's character John Ottway prepares to fight the alpha wolf, armed with a knife and broken bottles.
We don't actually get to see the fight, and after the credits, we see Ottway's head lying prone on the wolf's body. Did he survive? Will he go on to reach safety after crashing in a frozen wilderness? Is the rest of the pack waiting to tear him to shreds? His fate is unclear, but he still fought.
Lost in Translation
While not mind-bending, “Lost in Translation” left viewers with one big question. After watching an aging movie star and a young college grad (Bill Murray and Scarlett Johannson, respectively) develop a friendship while stuck in Japan. Just before the end of the movie, in the final shot, Bill Murray whispers something into Johannson's ear. The film ends.
We don't get to learn what Murray said – in fact, it's been revealed that it was an improvised moment, which means even if we look at the script or talk to the writer, we won't learn a thing. The only one who knows is Bill Murray, and he isn't talking.
The Birds
Alfred Hitchcock's famous horror-thriller “The Birds” fills uncertainty with fear. After surviving a movie's worth of vicious bird attacks, Melanie (Tippi Hedren) is injured and nearly comatose. Mitch (Rod Taylor) has to drive her and a few children to San Francisco. As they drive, birds are everywhere, watching the car roll.
The radio tells them that the attacks are spreading, and the military is even getting involved. The movie comes to a close, and credits roll, leaving us to wonder if the characters will survive when the horror ends and why it started in the first place.
Perfect Blue
One of the most chilling anime movies ever, “Perfect Blue,” watches a young idol singer, Mima, try to make a name for herself in movies, dealing with a deadly stalker and a weakening mental state. Her manager wants to take her place, and Mima just barely survives. At the end of the film, the manager is recovering in an insane asylum, and Mima is finally sure of who she is.
However, the manager's voice actor has the final line, which we are led to believe is Mima speaking. Her hair might just be swept in the opposite direction...but she says, “No, I'm the real thing” at the end. But who is saying it?