Bel Canto (2018) Ending Explained
tl;dr: Bel Canto (2018), based on Ann Patchett's novel, concludes with a bittersweet resolution to a months-long hostage crisis where terrorists and hostages form unexpected bonds. The ending sees a violent military raid that kills most insurgents, including the revolutionary leader General Benjamin, while opera singer Roxane Coss survives. The final moments focus on the emotional aftermath, particularly the relationship between Roxane and translator Gen Watanabe, leaving viewers to ponder the fragile connections formed under extreme circumstances. The film's ambiguous ending emphasizes themes of love, art, and the futility of violence.
Unresolved Questions & Possible Answers:
1. What happens to Roxane and Gen after the raid?
- The film implies they part ways, as Gen returns to Japan while Roxane resumes her career, their bond forever marked by tragedy.
- Alternatively, their shared trauma might lead to a lasting, if distant, connection.
2. Did the terrorists' cause die with them?
- The film suggests their demands for political change were ignored, rendering their sacrifice futile.
- Alternatively, the hostages' testimonies could later bring attention to the insurgents' grievances.
3. Why does Roxane sing at the end?
- Her performance is a tribute to the dead, blending grief and catharsis.
- It could also symbolize art's power to transcend violence.
The Ending Explained:
The climax of Bel Canto unfolds when government forces storm the vice president's mansion, ending the prolonged standoff. The raid is chaotic and brutal, with most terrorists-including the idealistic General Benjamin and the young César-gunned down. This abrupt violence contrasts sharply with the film's earlier, quieter moments of camaraderie, where hostages and captors bonded over music, language, and shared humanity. Roxane's survival feels almost accidental, underscoring the randomness of tragedy. The final scene, where she performs an aria in an empty concert hall, is laden with melancholy. Her song, devoid of an audience, becomes a private requiem for those lost, particularly Katsumi Hosokawa, the Japanese businessman who loved her voice and died in the raid.
Gen's Role in the Ending:
Gen Watanabe, the polyglot translator, emerges as the emotional core of the finale. His unspoken love for Roxane and his guilt over César's death haunt the closing moments. While Roxane's grief is expressed through song, Gen's is silent-a reflection of his role as a mediator who could never fully bridge the divides around him. The film leaves his future ambiguous; he returns to Japan, but whether he finds peace is unclear. His final conversation with Roxane-a quiet acknowledgment of their shared loss-hints at a connection that transcends the crisis, yet remains unresolved. This ambiguity reinforces the film's theme of fleeting, imperfect connections in a fractured world.
Themes of Art and Violence:
The ending underscores the film's central tension between beauty and brutality. Roxane's opera, which initially served as a diversion, becomes a lifeline for both hostages and terrorists, suggesting art's power to humanize. Yet the raid's brutality negates this, revealing the limits of art in the face of political violence. The terrorists, who initially seem like faceless threats, are humanized-only to be slaughtered. The film doesn't justify their actions but mourns the cyclical nature of conflict. Roxane's final performance, devoid of context or audience, asks whether art can ever truly heal or if it merely dresses wounds that remain unclosed.
Personal Opinion:
Bel Canto's ending is poignant but flawed. The abrupt raid feels jarring after the slow-building intimacy of the hostage scenes, which might be intentional but risks undermining the emotional payoff. Julianne Moore's Roxane is compelling, though her character's passivity in the finale is frustrating. The film's strength lies in its quieter moments - Gen teaching César to type, Roxane singing to a room of captors-but the rushed climax leans too heavily on shock value. Still, the lingering questions about love and loss resonate. It's a film that lingers, not for its plot, but for its haunting suggestion that connection and cruelty are equally human.
Final Thoughts:
While Bel Canto stumbles in balancing its meditative and dramatic tones, its ending succeeds as a meditation on impermanence. The bonds formed in captivity are real but fragile, and the violence that shatters them feels both inevitable and senseless. Roxane's aria, sung to an empty hall, mirrors the film itself-a beautiful, lonely artifact of something that couldn't last. Whether this makes the film profound or pretentious will depend on the viewer, but its emotional weight is undeniable.