Why I don't care much for happy endings (in movies)

[prashanthchengi]

My cousin lilbirdietales wrote a post called 'Care for happy endings?' in which she wrote about how she feels cheated by movies which don't end on a happy note.  While I love happy endings as much as any other person, I'm of the opinion that the ending of a movie has to be one that does justice to the story, one that adds substance to the movie and not one that

Comments

Endings

[mitalee_verma]

I did not refer to Anand, as for my generation it was sacrosanct. It could not HAVE another ending even hypothetically. Such is the power of tragedy.
Another one is Sholay. It would never have become a cult classic that it is, if Amitabh Bachchan would've settled down to tend goats and grains with Jaya Bhadhuri instead of dying on that bridge and leaving us gasping for breath and wanting to cradle his head in our laps. And Jaya widowed all over again, even if only emotionally was almost too much to bear.
Indeed, stories have a life of their own and they must draw to their natural conclusion, whether happy or not. You rest your case well.

Re: Endings

[prashanthchengi]

"...Sholay. It would never have become a cult classic that it is, if Amitabh Bachchan would've settled down to tend goats and grains with Jaya Bhadhuri instead of dying on that bridge and leaving us gasping for breath and wanting to cradle his head in our laps."

My thoughts, exactly!

[killjoy_20]

I feel really happy when some movies end. Does that count? :P

[prashanthchengi]

Oh yeah! That certainly counts! Like the time I was forced to sit through Pyaar Ka Punchnama!

[lilbirdietales]

Pyar ka Punchnama!!!! AAAAAA PC poor you, and Don't forget you also sat thru Don 2:) Great feat!!

[deponti]

I used two other examples in my comment on Divya's post..."Tale of Two Cities" (Charles Dickens) and "Gone With The Wind" (Margaret Mitchell. Both, I think were made into movies. Some of the best closing lines (definitely, "'Tis a far, far better thing that I do...." from the first one, and "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn" from the second)that stay long in memory don't come from "ATLHEA" (And They Lived Happily Ever After) scenarios.

[deponti]

But I DO like happy endings, too, I must clarify.

[suddenlynita]

When it comes to literary fictions, I like stories with no obvious endings. I like the endings to be as vague as possible and completely left to the imagination and the attitude of the reader. In life there are no definite endings and unless the author nukes every character in the story, I would prefer the story to be ever flowing. Something as simple as a leaf falling from a tree at the end of a story is more powerful than a beaten out ending from one of the characters.

A perfect ending for me would be a character leading the next day of his life after experiencing a life altering incident. How he plans to live his life should be left to the reader’s imagination. And yeah, it wouldn’t hurt if the story ends with ellipsis :P