Plot Explanation
The story of a romantic encounter between a spy (James) and a scientist (Danielle), which displays reasonable chemistry between the characters, is concluded a year later with him being held hostage and her heading out on a risky deep-sea excursion. The film gives no closure to either the characters or the audience and ends with James signaling to the Americans the location of the jihadist fighters, and presumably his death-by-missile while Danielle is left wondering.
Director: Wim Wenders
Cast: Alicia Vikander, James McAvoy, Alexander Siddig
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A note from Barry
I've always believed the best part of a movie isn't the ending—it's the discussion afterwards.
Every week I read theories that are completely different from my own, and that's my favourite part of running This Is Barry.
If you have your own interpretation—or you're simply curious to see how others understood the movie, I'd love to have you join the conversation.
Barry is a technologist who helps start-ups build successful products. His love for movies and production has led him to write his well-received film explanation and analysis articles to help everyone appreciate the films better. He’s regularly available for a chat conversation on his website and consults on storyboarding from time to time.
Click to browse all his film articles