The Pope’s Exorcist ^ Ending Explained

Publicado el por Carlos Mario Castro

Have you ever heard or prayed the Apostles’ Creed? Yes, the one who affirms that you believe in God, Almighty Father, Creator of Heaven and Earth and in Jesus Christ, his only son? And have you ever thought that making that acknowledgment, believing in God and his son Jesus Christ is also, in fact, acknowledging the existence of the devil itself? And what would you do if you are forced into the dilemma of whether to believe in the existence of the devil or lose the person you love most on Planet Earth? What would you do?

The above are the questions with which the director Julius Avery ( Overlord , The Samaritan) shapes The Pope’s Exorcist, a breath of fresh into the church against demons cinema, a long-time-stuck genre with little hope to survive in the 21st Century. The Pope’s Exorcist approaches the theme of the fight against demons from a perspective much more focused on the characters, than on the twisted theological plots, mixed with disgusting and perverted images. In fact, this is a movie that even a kid could enjoy without being traumatized for the rest of his life, like those of us who had the «privilege» of seeing The Exorcist as kids.

But hey, if in the midst of the abandoned abbeys, the traumatized children, the secrets of the Vatican, the sins of the priests, and the demonic princes, you have been left with one or two doubts about this film, don’t worry, because below and without further ado we begin the Analysis and Explanation of The Pope’s Exorcist.

1 ^ Is The Pope’s Exorcist a sequel to The Exorcist?

Thank God, no. The Pope’s Exorcist is not a sequel to The Exorcist, and has a very different story, mythology, and above all, a very different tone than the 1973 film.

2 ^ Is The Pope’s Exorcist a true story?

Short answer: No, The Pope’s Exorcist is not a true story. Long answer: The Pope’s Exorcist is actually a fictional recapitulation of the notes of the Vatican’s former Chief Exorcist, Father Gabriele Amorth. Now, these notes are for the most part, detailed explanations of the exorcism processes, with theological justifications, not exhaustive reports of individual cases.

The film as such, like The Conjuring saga, takes pieces of reality in which Father Gabriel Amorth was involved and expands them into a fantasy universe, clearly for entertainment purposes.

3 ^ Where is the Abbey of San Sebastian? Does it exist?

The Abbey of San Sebastian is located in the region of Castilla, in the Autonomous Community of Castilla y León in Spain, but this is within the universe of the film. There is a site with a similar name, called the Monastery of San Sebastián de Silos, a Benedictine abbey in the Province of Burgos, also in the region of Old Castilla, but the Monastery differs greatly from the Gothic structure of the Abbey in the film. Also it has the classic plan of a catholic cloister with an extensive central courtyard.

Now, the Abbey of San Sebastian that appears in the movie The Pope’s Exorcist, is actually Dromore Castle, located in County Limerick, in the southwest of Ireland.

4 ^ Who is the demon in the movie The Pope’s Exorcist?

The demon and main antagonist of the film The Pope’s Exorcist is named Asmodeus. Now, if you are Catholic, it is likely that you have never heard of Asmodeus, since it is a name that does not appear in the official Catholic Bible. However, it is a widely known name within Judaism, and it also appears in the book of Tobit or Tobias.

According to these theological sources, Asmodeus is a demon with enormous power within the hierarchy of rebellious angels, being considered «prince of demons», above regular demons. Asmodeus have the power not only to perceive and analyze the mistakes and sins of the people who come close to him, but also the power to possess multiple bodies at the same time.

5 ^ What happened in the Abbey of San Sebastian in the Middle Ages?

In the universe of the film, the site where the Abbey of San Sebastian would later be built, was the place where Asmodeus, one of the 200 angels expelled from the Kingdom of Heaven, fell to Earth.

Everything seems to indicate that when the area was populated, a cult of Asmodeus was organized, who was the one who built the blasphemous temple that we see at the end of the film. When the Catholic Church received reports from the Crown of Castile of the strange events that occurred at that site, they sent a group of exorcist priests who managed to ward off the evil power of Asmodeus by sealing his temple, consecrating the land and building the abbey on top of it.

However, some time later, abbey staff reported a multiple possession, so Friar Alonso de Ojeda, a powerful exorcist of the time, took charge of the process. However, the evidence later found by Father Amorth (Russell Crowe) and Father Esquibel (Daniel Zovatto), indicates that Fray de Ojeda’s exorcism failed and that Asmodeus managed to possess him.

The consequences Friar of Ojeda’s possession were disastrous, since it was he who convinced Isabel of Castilla, around 1478, to start the Spanish Inquisition, murdering thousands of people accused of witchcraft, and pacts with the devil. When the Pope and the cardinals of Rome realized what was happening, they sent a new exorcist, this time on a suicide mission. The new exorcist locked the Friar in a cell and conducted his exorcism locked in a cage, unable to get out, having swallowed the key. After that, the abbey was quickly abandoned and its property turned over to civilians, which is how it ended up in the possession of the Vasquez family.

The exorcism worked, until the Vasquezes, Julia (Alex Essoe), Amy (Laurel Marsden) and Henry (Peter DeSouza-Feighoney) arrived on the scene, and began to disturb the integrity of the abbey, with the purpose of remodeling it.

6 ^ Who is Rosaria? What sins are Asmodeus using against Father Amorth?

One of the rules of exorcism is that the exorcist and all his assistants must be confessed, since the devil can use non-absolved sins to distract them. Asmodeus uses two specific moments of Father Amorth to attack him: the first, the moment in which he pretended to be dead to evade the fascist army that murdered his platoon, and second, the episode with Rosaria (Bianca Bardoe), a woman with a serious mental illness.

Father Amorth had attended Rosaria’s case, as suspected of demonic possession, but he soon realized that what she needed was a psychiatrist, not a priest, and the father ignored the case, until it was reported that the woman had committed suicide. Father Amorth’s guilt followed him, even after he had confessed. That is why Asmodeus was able to use the image of him to distract him from the exorcism.

7 ^ What are the sins of Father Esquibel?

Now, Asmodeo not only attacked Father Amorth, but also launched serious accusations against his assistant, Father Esquibel, stating that from his position of power he had sexually abused his parishioners.

Later, in confession, Esquibel affirms that he did indeed fall in love with one of his parishioners named Adella (Carrie Munro), and that he was about to leave the priesthood to start a relationship with her, however he reaffirmed his priestly work, and allowed Adella to get on with her life. According to what is understood, Esquibel, despite having lustful thoughts with Adella, never had sexual intercourse with her.

8 ^ Why did Asmodeus possess Henry Vasquez?

Henry had seen his father Roberto (Santi Bayón) die in a car accident, in which he ended up impaled by a tree. The trauma of the event left Henry speechless, and his weak relationship with his mother and his sister made him the perfect victim for possession. It should be remembered that Asmodeus was only able to possess someone, after some of the walls of the abbey were broken, for the purpose of remodeling, and even so he was relatively weak after centuries of confinement, that is why he chose the kid.

9 ^ What was Asmodeus’ plan?

Let us remember that Asmodeus, even after being exiled from the earthly realm, was still active in the spiritual realm and therefore had first-hand information about his former executioners, in the Vatican. His plan, at this time, was to infiltrate the very Catholic Church and destroy it from its origin in Rome, which is why he demonstrated his power with Henry, but he did not assassinate him, nor did he transfer his power to another body, to wait for the Vatican to send someone mighty to destroy it.

Asmodeus intended to possess the body of the exorcist, return to Rome and from there use his power to destroy the Pope and the Church.

10 ^ Why did the Pope vomit blood and Cardinal Sullivan saw the vision of the Bloody Christ?

Once Asmodeus managed to possess Father Amorth, he had achieved his purpose of infiltrating the Vatican. Being the Pope (Franco Nero), and Cardinal Sullivan (Ryan O’Grady) an integral part of the Vatican, they were now exposed to the influence of the devil, even from a distance, so the Pope vomited blood and his illness worsened, and Cardinal Sullivan saw the vision of the Bloody Christ. It is likely that other members of the Vatican, with physical problems (like the Pope) and faith problems (like Sullivan) have experienced similar symptoms.

11 ^ Could the demon take physical form?

In the final confrontation, in which – with the help of Esquibel- Amorth manages to expel Asmodeus from his body, he appears in two physical forms: as Adella and as Rosaria. Now, if the demon could take physical form, why bother taking human beings?

The truth is that the physical forms of Adella and Rosaria are only possible there in the temple of Asmodeus, which is where he has his greatest strength, being the place of his fall. However, outside of the temple, he would not have any power to acquire those forms, which were in fact removed with some ease by the two priests.

12 ^ What does the end of The Pope’s Exorcist mean?

At the end of the film it is understood that the Vasquezes returned to the United States, after the Vatican bought the abbey, consecrated it, and sealed it again. What the Pope asks Father Amorth is to look for the other blasphemous and cursed places where the other 199 demonic angels fell, and with the resources of the church to finish that work.

This only indicates that Sony intends to make The Pope’s Exorcist a franchise just as lucrative as The Conjuring. So to the question of whether there will be a sequel to The Exorcist of the Pope, the answer is, you bet.

Questions? Annotations? More doubts? The comments section is open just below this post so feel free to use it. See you in the next installment of Ending Explained here at El Sabanero X.

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The Kings of the World | Ending Explained

Publicado el por Carlos Mario Castro

Los Reyes del Mundo (International Title: The Kings of the World ), is a dense and heartbreaking portray of marginality and exclusion within the Latin American context, which can easily be extrapolated to any place in the world, but what is The Kings of the World about? 5 homeless boys from the streets of Medellin see a brighter future when one of them receives a letter stating that his property rights to a piece of land in a rural sector of Colombia have been restored. However as the film progresses it becomes clear that this dream could well turn into a nightmare, or even not be happening at all.

Now, if you really want to understand the end of the movie, if you want to know if the boys are alive or not, don’t worry, because now and without further ado, we we’ll take a closer look into The Kings of the World – specially the ending. Let’s start now!

1 ^ Who are the main characters in the film The Kings of the World?

The 5 boys who leave Medellín (Colombia) heading to Nechí to claim ownership of a piece of land are: Brayan (Carlos Andrés Castañeda), whom his friends call Rá (yes, like the Egyptian God); Winny (Brahian Estiven Acevedo), the youngest of the group who has great loyalty to Rá; Sere (Davinson Andrés Florez), also very close to Rá, although we rarely hear him speak. Nano (Cristian David Campaña), a young Afro-Colombian who is under the protection of Rá. And finally Culebro (Cristian Camilo David Mora), who is the least attached to the group, and therefore the most likely to betray them. The 5 guys in the lead of the movie are natural actors, not professional actors.

2 ^ What is the historical context of the film?

Since 1995, getting so much worse in 1998, Colombia suffered one of the most serious waves of violence in its entire history. The guerrillas armed and strengthened themselves using the peace processes and guarantees offered by the governments of Ernesto Samper and Andrés Pastrana as an excuse, and in order to cover more territory they expelled hundreds of thousands of peasants from their lands. The owners of extensions of land, and in general a part of the private sector grouped together and armed so-called self-defense groups, in response to the total lack of response from the State to the guerrilla takeover of the country. Of course, a war without norms or rules, where the purpose is to make the other disappear, led to a confrontation that left thousands dead, and civilians in the middle of the war,

Of course, many took advantage of the fact that thousands of acres of land were open to claim ownership. In the context of the film Gilma, Rá’s grandmother, left her land in the Nechí – Colombian Bajo Cauca – fleeing from the war and arrived in Medellín, with her grandson. Like many of those displaced by this conflict, Gilma and her grandson went from being peasants to joining the shantytowns of the large Colombian cities.

Now, in 2012, the Land Restitution Unit came into operation, a public entity that assessed the claims of the owners of these lands abandoned by the war exodus and presented the request before the courts of justice to repeal titles obtained fraudulently and deliver the lands to their rightful owners. Mrs. Gilma claimed her land in Nechí, but died before the court decision. Therefore her grandson Brayan (Rá) is the only one who can claim the land. And that’s why he prepares to travel with his 4 friends. That is the journey.

From Medellín to Nechí there are 346 kilometers (215 miles) of narrow road, which even by car can take between 8 and 15 hours, depending on traffic. The path basically consists of going up to the top of the western mountain range, and then going down to the valley of the Cauca river in Nechí. This area is widely known in Colombia for being a territory of permanent social disputes and criminal acts that almost always go unpunished.

The area of ​​Bajo Cauca Antioqueño, where Nechí is located, was a zone of wide control of the self-defense groups, which are known colloquially as paramilitares.

3 ^ Why couldn’t Rá get his land?

Because even land restitution processes can be appealed to a higher court, if any claimant feels that their rights have been violated. In fact, in Colombia is not uncommon that people who have sold their lands within all legal terms, and after a few years, they appear claiming the land that they themselves sold under no pressure. And furthermore, lawyers have been known to build artificial communities, to fabricate a fictitious narrative and thus claim extensive land holdings, under shared testimony. For this reason, even when the Land Restitution Unit has handed over land to a citizen, it may be the case that there are lawsuits over these rulings.

In Rá’s case, her grandmother’s land was returned to her, but the ruling was challenged by another claimant, who appealed to a higher court for a new ruling.

4 ^ Are the boys at the end alive or are they dead?

Short answer : Everyone is dead in the end. And now in the long answer we explain why.

Long answer : 1) Nano was killed by the guys who kidnapped them at one of the stops on the road, and in fact the scene where we see Nano, along with other people walking through the jungle, is a representation of all the people who have been murdered in that area of ​​the country, which is a great many. 2) Culebro, who had already betrayed the boys, stealing their food, tried to steal the land papers from Rá, and in the confrontation suffered a wound with his own knife, which caused his death.

Now as for Rá, Winny and Sera, the three of them stole their belongings and money from some boys who were having a party near a circus, and then they went to spend the money in a bar, where everyone in town found out. There, in that scene, where Sera and Rá appear on the pavement, we hear some sounds, but we don’t see anything. There, at the hands of the villagers, at least Sera and Rá died. From then on all we see seems to be a supernatural vision of the souls of the dead boys (probably only Rá), to reach the peace they did not find in life.

Two facts support this theory: in the first place, the elderly who give him the information on the ground, are in a house where they cannot actually be living since it is abandoned. They are ghosts. And then, on the ground, a series of children appear, the same ones we have seen in other visions, as well as Nano and Culebro. The subject who is throwing them out is another soul in pain, who does not let the children he murdered rest. In addition, there it is clear that the subject defends the lands of his employer, but clearly the mine is a different enterprise. In the end, in the confrontation between the children and the subject, they all manage to get out of the land that binds them by the desire to possess it, which exceeds death, and finally finds the way, just as the old man said.

They say that water is the blood of the world, now it rains and with its tears, it cleans the earth. And with my blood I clean the earth. The flow that has formed floods this valley, taking with it the memory of my grandparents, theirs, theirs, ours, and the anxious sea awaits. The anxious sea awaits me. There is no longer any port.

The final scene where we see the five boys on a kind of island, in the flow of the river, has taken them with their death and with it their memory. There is no longer any port, because nobody will remember them.

5 ^ What does the horse that Rá sees mean?

The horse is simply the supernatural guide of the path that Rá must travel to reach the sea, to finish his stage on earth and finally rest in peace. The film itself is perhaps how Rá sees his time in the world and how his last days led to his death and he was never able to achieve the dream of recovering his land, but at least he was able to do his best to be with his friends. Now, the Horse wants Rá to rest in peace, but his earthly desire binds him to earthly existence, to seek revenge against the people who killed him, and to find his grandmother’s land. But he finally manages to overcome those desires and transcend, although no one on earth remembers it.

6 ^ What is the message of the film?

The film is a strong criticism of the marginalization of certain segments of the population in Colombia, and yet within its criticism it manages to see that the victimization of individuals and their deep self-pity may weigh more heavily on them than the infractions and crimes of the past. Rá is very explicit in saying that he wants to recover the land to «fight for what’s his».

It is very frequent in Colombia, especially in these segments of the population, to look for external culprits to their economic situation, their social situation, or the frustrations they have above them, however, very few take a step forward to overcome their problems and get ahead. In Colombia, minors can seek to remain in the custody of the State, which guarantees their basic education, and even higher education in some cases. However, guys like the ones in the movie are not looking to improve their quality of life, have a job, a place to live, or food, but are simply looking for a way to have more money to reign on the street, which is the only thing they need or even know.

The sequence with the mountain prostitutes confirms this. Winny, who is the youngest, tells them that they could stay there, perhaps working and have food and shelter, however, they cannot conceive that they have to work to get their things. Rá and her friends see the land as a lottery prize to which they are entitled, but if indeed Rá had obtained the land, he had not the remotest idea of ​​how to make it productive, he would end up selling it and return to Medellín to continue taking drugs, fighting and when the money finally ran out, he would go back to where he started. That is the sad story of hundreds of people who have had their land reintegrated and end up selling it at any price, to buy a motorcycle and hallucinogenic drugs, without worrying about anything else.

If there is any message in this film, it is that magical solutions do not exist, a piece of paper, whether it is from a lottery, or from a land, is not going to solve your life, if you have not first structured your mind, to stop feeling self-pity and keep going strong. That is the only way that your life is not simply a flow towards the sea of ​​oblivion, where no one ever thinks of you again.

Questions? Annotations? More doubts? The comments section is open just below this post so feel free to use it. See you in the next installment of Ending Explained here at El Sabanero X.

The Pale Blue Eye | Ending Explained

Publicado el por Carlos Mario Castro

One of the cadets of the most prestigious military academy in the early years of the United States is found hanged and his heart has been removed from his body. A renown detective is asked to investigate the case and searching for clues, he finds a young cadet named Edgar Allan Poe who has his own theories about the murder. Who is the killer? Are more murders on the way? What would Edgar Allan Poe would find at the end? Who are the victims and who are the victimizers?

Netflix new original movie The Pale Blue Eye is a slow-burning thriller mixing drama, family secrets, macabre murders and of course, Christian Bale. But, without further ado, we we’ll take a closer look into The Pale Blue Eye – specially the ending. Let’s start now!

1 ^ Is the Academy Crimes based on a true story?

Although the story takes place in a real place, such as the West Point Military Academy, in New York, and includes the presence of cadet Edgar Allan Poe in 1830, which was also a checked fact, The Pale Blue Eye is not based on a true story. In fact, detective Augustus Landor (Christian Bale) is a totally fictional character invented by writer Louis Bayard.

Of course, the film is based on the homonymous book by Louis Bayard that makes a fictitious recapitulation of the permanence of the famous American writer Edgar Allan Poe in the military academy, incorporating an invented explanation of some of his poems and stories. Including the writer’s thematic relationship with death.

2 ^ Who is killed in The Pale Blue Eye?

During the film, two cadets are assassinated: the first, cadet Leroy Fry, who appears hanged, and heartless. And later, cadet Randolph Ballinger appears, under the same circumstances. The mystery of the first part of the film revolves around the death of Leroy Fry, and why he was killed. And in the second part the mystery is further developed, when a second cadet appears dead.

3 ^ Why was Augustus Landor hired to investigate the murders? What does Edgar Allan Poe have to do with these murders?

Augustus Landor (Christian Bale) was a renowned detective, famed for solving several high-profile murders in the East Coast area of ​​the United States. Now, when a cadet from the United States’ most prestigious military academy is found dead, the heads of the Academy turned to Landor in hopes that he could quickly solve the mystery and restore the institution’s pristine prestige.

Now, when Landor began to investigate the academy, he found that Edgar Allan Poe (Harry Melling), one of his cadets, had a privileged position: 1) he had known the victim, 2) he knew the main suspects, his classmates in the academy, and 3) he was an intelligent and insightful subject, but at the same time innocent and impressionable. So Landor decided to bring him in as an assistant in his research.

4 ^ Who is the killer in The Pale Blue Eye? Who killed Leroy Fry and Randolph Ballinger?

The killer in The Academy Murders is Augustus Landor himself. The point is that Mattie – Landor’s teenage daughter – had committed suicide months before, unable to live with the shame and stain of having been raped by three guys, one night on the way back to her house. Although Mattie could see that there were three men, she could not identify them, except for a medal that she managed to wrest from one of the rapists.

To avoid embarrassment over the memory of his deceased daughter, Landor went for the first rapist he had identified: Leroy Fry. Landor faked a scene of an alleged suicide, to avoid suspicion, and attacked Fry, unable to extract the names of the other two rapists. For Landor it would have been the end of his plan, except for the fact that someone later ripped out the heart of Fry’s corpse and sought him out to investigate the murder he himself committed.

From there, Landor not only revealed the details that verified that Fry had been murdered, but also sought to identify the people who stole the heart, to blame them for the fact. With the investigation ongoing, Landor obtained Fry’s journal, which helped him identify the second rapist: Randolph Ballinger. To associate the deaths with a satanic cult, Landor slaughtered several animals and removed their hearts; later doing the same job with Ballinger, from whom he extracted the name of the third rapist: Cadet Stoddard.

5 ^ Did Landor kill Stoddard?

Although Landor told Edgar that he had not killed Stoddard, and that he only expected him to run for the rest of his life, it is most likely that he did indeed kill him. The person who claimed that Stoddard had fled, since he did not find his clothes in his room, was Landor himself, and we already know that he has the ample capacity to lie without any problem, specially related to the rapists of his daughter. Landor simply lied to Edgar because he wanted to prevent the young man from accusing him and ending up in jail.

6 ^ What’s the meaning of the final scene of the movie? Did Landor commit suicide?

The strongest evidence that Landor did murder Stoddard is that at the end, on the precipice where his daughter committed suicide, he let go of the lace on her dress, ending his revenge. And the fact that he didn’t confess to Edgar, and that he had occasional relationships with Patsy, indicates that although he was hurt, he wasn’t affected to the level of wanting to end his life. He wanted justice and he got it, now it was time to move on. It would be interesting to see a sequel to this movie, with Landor investigating new murders.

7 ^ And what did the Marquis Family – Lea, Artemus, Daniel and Julia – have to do with these murders?

Oddly enough, the Marquis did not murder anyone during the course of the movie. If they are guilty of anything, it is desecration of corpses and the attempted murder of Edgar Allan Poe.

Lea (Lucy Boynton) was pursued by several of her brother’s friends, including Fry and Ballinger. In fact, it was Fry’s interest in Lea that Landor took advantage of to lure him to the place where he murdered him, forging a note on her part. Upon seeing Fry’s hanged corpse, Artemus (Harry Lawtey) and Lea, with the help of Julia (Gillian Anderson), removed the cadet’s heart and saved it for a specific ritual, in order to cure Lea’s epilepsy.

In fact, Doctor Marquis (Toby Jones), had diagnosed his daughter, and had tried every possible treatment to cure her, without any success. So when Lea claimed to have contacted Henri Leclerc, her great-great-grandfather, and pointed out the existence of the Discours du Diable, a treatise on demonic rites, and actually began to feel better by sacrificing animals, he decided to just turn a blind eye. and let his wife and kids do whatever to help her.

With Fry’s heart, the only thing missing was a human sacrifice, someone who sincerely loved Lea, and the one was Edgar Allan Poe. Had it not been for Landor’s intervention, the Marquis would have murdered Edgar.

8 ^ What happened to the Marquis Family?

Lea and Artemus died in the fire that Lea accidentally started when the ritual was interrupted by Landor. Justice determined that Julia and Daniel had enough punishment with the death of their two children and that public ridicule would be enough for them. In the end, the murders of Fry and Ballinger ended up being charged to Lea and Artemus, who, being dead, could not refute any of the above. And finally Julia was unaware of everything that her two children had done in their entirety to achieve her purpose, so she couldn’t refute either.

9 ^ What does the original title of the film mean? What is the message of The Pale Blue Eye?

Down, Down, Down

Came the hot threshing flurry

Ill at heart, I beseeched to hurry

«Lenore» She forebore the reply

Endless night caught her then in its slurry

Shrouding all, but her pale blue eye

Darkest night, black with hell

Charneled fury

Leaving only that deathly blue eye

The title of the film refers to this poem, which is completely fictional, and which appears in the book as well. The pale blue eye, in the poem, refers to the moon, the only flimsy hope in the midst of a fierce storm. Edgar assumed that Lea needed help, and that he could be that pale blue eye. And Lea took it literally, choosing Edgar as her final sacrifice.

In the book, Landor is depicted as a man with cold, piercing blue eyes, but in the movie that is not the case, as Christian Bale has hazel brown eyes. Now, if there is any message that this film has, it is that having the willingness to go to the last consequences to achieve a goal has precisely that: consequences. Landor risked his career, and his reputation, on the will of Edgar Allan Poe, to get revenge on the rapists of his daughter. The Marquis Family lost everything, wanting to pact with the devil for Lea’s health. And Edgar was about to lose his life, for trying to get Lea’s love.

Although having an objective and a goal in life is important, obsession, not leaving the past behind, and wanting to go against what logic indicates, always brings disastrous consequences, which even lead to losing control of your own destiny.

Questions? Annotations? More doubts? The comments section is open just below this post so feel free to use it. See you in the next installment of Ending Explained here at El Sabanero X.

7 Women and a Murder | Ending Explained

Publicado el por Carlos Mario Castro

After all the buzz around Glass Onion – Knives Out 2 – suddenly Murder Misteries are definitely trending, and Netflix is more that eager to monetize on that. So, just a week after the second Benoit Blanc’s adventure, another mistery is new on Netflix, this time coming from Italy. And the name cannot be more descriptive: 7 Women and Mistery.

But now, if in the middle of the seven women, the faceless dead body, the numerous secrets, and the not that surprising twist you got kind of confused, do not worry. Without further ado, we we’ll take a closer look into 7 Women and Mistery – specially the ending. Let’s start now!

1 ^ Who are the seven women? What are their names? How are they connected to each other?

The seven women are all connected through their relationship with Marcello, the head of the family, and owner of the beautiful italian mannor where all the action takes place. Now, let’s see who the women are.

Margherita (Margherita Buy): Margherita is Marcello’s wife and mother to Sussana and Caterina. She’s also Agostina’s sister and Rachele’s daughter.

Rachele (Ornella Vanoni): Rachele is Marcello’s mother-in-law. She’s mother to Margherita and Agostina. Also, she’s Susanna and Caterina’s grandmother.

Maria (Luisa Ranieri): Maria is the housemaid and later revealed to be Marcello’s secret lover.

Susanna (Diana del Buffalo): Susanna is Marcello and Margherita’s oldest daughter. She’s Caterina’s sister and Rachele’s granddaughter. She is single.

Agostina (Sabrina Impracciatore): Agostina is Marcello’s sister-in-law. She’s Rachele’s daughter, Margherita’s sister and aunt to Susanna and Caterina.

Caterina (Benedetta Porcaroli): Caterina is Marcello and Margherita’s youngest daughter. She’s Susanna’s sister and Rachele’s granddaughter. She’s single too.

Veronica (Micaela Ramazzoti): Veronica is Marcello’s friend. Veronica’s grandmother sold the house where Marcello raised his family.

2 ^ Who killed Marcello?

None killed Marcello, he was pretending to be dead so he could actually see how the women in his life would react to the news of his passing. Thing is, Marcello was about to change his will, and he needed to be sure how to distribute his money and goods fairly. That’s why he conviced Caterina to help him to fake his death, so he could hear what the women were saying.

3 ^ What were the secrets of the 7 women? What were the reasons to kill him?

Margherita‘s secret is that she was leaving the house and his husband to find a happier life with her lover. Since she wanted to be free, she was a suspect of his husband’s death, but later it was revealed that she did not want Marcello’s money.

Rachele‘s secrets were two actually. 1) She could actually walk, and 2) She refused to give up her business shares to Marcello. She was a suspect precisely because Marcello wanted those shares, and Rachele could react badly to this.

Maria‘s secret was that she was Marcello’s secret lover. She was a suspect because she was the new person in the house and later, because of his clandestine relationship with Marcello, and that maybe she was not taking well the fact Marcello did not included her name in his will.

Susanna‘s secret is that she was pregnant an since she was single. She was a suspect because maybe she wanted a bigger cut of his father wealth, because there was no man to support her. And that’s the same reason why she would want him alive.

Agostina‘s secret and main reason to be a suspect of Marcello’s death was the nature of her feelings towards tha man. Agostina was in love with Marcello, and since he was always pushing her away, that might have caused to feel angry enough to kill him.

Caterina‘s secret was that she was actually helping Marcello to fake his death. Caterina was the most obvious suspect of his father’s murder, because she might have felt pushed back in the will intentions of his father by literally everyone. For instance, she would have lose a nice cut because of Susanna’s baby, and because of Veronica and Maria’s influence on him.

Veronica‘s secret was that she needed money to come back to Paris, and that she actually have asked Marcello this money. She was a clear suspect, because she was the last one to show up in the house, and later because her interest in Marcello’s money.

4 ^ What happened to Marcello at the end of the film? Did he kill himself?

At the end of the film, Marcello was found dead outside, under the balcony of his bedroom. And no, none killed him, he killed himself. To summarize, Maria have taken a look at Marcello in his bedroom when they were outside trying to leave the state. When they all got inside, Margherita and Veronica were making out, and the other women were gathering. Now, you might think Maria could actually, very quickly, go upstairs and kill Marcello, but we have to remember Caterina had the only key with her.

Two things could happen at the end, Marcello could slip when he was taking some fresh air. Or he simply couldn’t stand his financial failure while so many people, the seven women, were depending on him.

What do you think about Marcello’s real death? Accidental or Perpetrated?

Questions? Annotations? More doubts? The comments section is open just below this post so feel free to use it. See you in the next installment of Ending Explained here at El Sabanero X.

The Lost Patient ^ 10 Clues Anna Kieffer is the Real Killer

Publicado el por Carlos Mario Castro

You just watched The Lost Patient and you have already made up your mind about who the killer is? Not so fast, baby. Yes, this french movie is pretty straightforward about the identity of the killer of the Grimauds (Betty, Marc and Dylan), thing is that it’s maybe pretty crystal clear from a story seen from the perspective of a mentally disturbed man.

By the time we see the credits rolling, it seems to be quite clear that Thomas Grimaud is the killer. He murdered his parents and his cousin in a psychotic break, after his parents decided to move Dylan to Laura’s bedroom. A bedroom that was off-limits for Thomas, who was sent to sleep in the basement since he was a baby. But all this is a very elaborated hoax: Thomas did not kill his family. Anna Kieffer did. And here are all the clues we missed.

1 ^ The Hood in the Shadows

First things first. The first hallucination Thomas got to see was the Hood in the Shadows, it’s a reaction of his self-preservation instinct. It was a red flag that this person was dangerous. In fact, one of the first connections Thomas made was that the Hood in the Shadows was in fact his mother’s lover, the one who used to stalk the house and call several times a day.

The fisr clue that something off is going on, is that after pointing that this person was really dangerous, the story was dropped, once Anna started to work on Thomas’ mind.

2 ^ «Don’t try to force your memory»

When Anna was about to leave the first we see her, she insists that Thomas should not try to remember anything, unless she’s there. Even when you see this as a nice advice to recover better, at the end of the movie, Anna herself decides now it’s a good time to force Thomas memory, just before the police decides it’s time for him to talk about what happened the night of the murders. Funny, huh.

3 ^ Dad was killed first

Taking a look at the crime scene, it is clear that Marc, Thomas’ father was killed first. He was just staying in the couch, watching TV, and then Betty and Dylan were close to Marc’s father. If Thomas was so angry, the priority list is wrong. According to broken memories of Thomas, it was his mother, Betty the one that used to be really cold and distant with him, to the point to trash every single gift from him. Then it’s Dylan was was getting everything Thomas was denied to, including his sister’s bedroom. Marc was the only one who seemed to feel some kind of respect towards Thomas, so it wouldn’t be a logic first choice to kill.

But, on the other hand, Marc would have been the first choice of Betty’s lover, the one Thomas remembered stalking the house and calling all day long, in an obsessive and dangerous behaviour. And going on with this, Marc’s killer had to kill Betty and Dylan because they saw who was responsible.

4 ^ Baby’s Memories

Now, one of the weirdest scenes in the movie is when Thomas could actually see his parents ignoring him as a baby. I don’t have to be a genius to notice that it was impossible for Thomas to remember that episode, because in fact he was a baby. So, this is proof that not everything that Thomas remember is true, and that someone is actually manipulating his memories. In fact, the whole «Your parents were assholes» storyline, may just be a very calculated attempt to neutralize Thomas, by breaking his psyche.

5 ^ Why did he come back?

And to add to the mountain of plot holes in the «My parents hated me» story is how is Thomas connected to the hood figure. I mean, Thomas killed three people and he just decides to wear a raincoat, and leave the house, just to come back later and stabbing a knife in his belly. This feels more like a desperate attempt of Anna to convince Thomas he was the hooded shadow and not her.

6 «Pardon him while you’re at it»

When Anna was talking to the nurse close to the end of the movie, he mentions that Anna needs to pardon him, why would she do that? What did Thomas did to Anna for the nurse to mention that. It seems the nurse and Anna actually know each other, enough for the nurse to be the eyes and ears in the hospital. The only thing that Thomas have done to hurt anyone, according to the nurse, is killing three people, and the only people that could be in need to pardon him are Dylan’s mother and Betty’s lover.

Anna is not Dylan’s mother, so we can actually conclude that Anna was in fact Betty’s lover.

7 ^ «I’m sorry, Thomas»

At the end of the movie, we see Thomas has fallen in a catatonic state after realizing that he was the killer of his parents and his own cousin. We see Anna reaching his bed and she tells him that she’s sorry. If Anna was actually just there to help Thomas, she would have realized that he just was crushed by the weight of his guilt, but it seems that she’s sorry she had to break his mind in order to save herself

8 ^ What is Anna doing to Thomas?

Thomas mind is really fragile after three years in comma. But he seems to remembers key things of his past, specially the hood figure, and the stalking. But once he gets his sessions with Anna, all of this disappears and the storyline about how cruel his parents were to him takes over.

Also, the way Thomas remembers doesn’t feel natural at all, in fact is like Anna is hypnotizing, to the point even Thomas suspects she’s just getting things in his mind. We already talked about the memory of him being rejected by his parents when he was a baby, but another interesting scene is when he sees the hood shadow from the window, and he’s taken out of that memory to another. Just like if Anna was not interested in Thomas to remember the hood shadow just yet.

9 ^ The Rings

And the proof that Anna is actually guilty is her rings. Yes ringssss, Anna wears two rings. And it’s funny that Thomas remembers his mother’s ring when he sees Anna’s. It’s not like the rings were special or anything, because they seem quite unremarkable, but it’s interesting he connects the memory. If you ask me, the night of the murders, Anna took Betty’s ring as a way to remember her. If one of Anna’s rings happen to be Betty’s, that’s the unrefutable proof she is the real killer.

10 ^ What really happen the night of the Grimaud’s murders?

This is my theory: Anna Kieffer and Betty Grimaud were having an affair that Betty decided to drop to save her marriage. Anna become obsessed with the idea of getting Betty back and she started to stalk the house. When Betty stopped answering her calls, she decided it was time to take action and kill Marc, thing is Betty actually saw her doing it and she had to kill her, here Anna lose focus and she takes the ring to remember her, but Dylan sees her, Anna misses the shot and she has to strangle Dylan, but now has no bullets.

When Thomas saw what was going on, Anna could not kill him because her gun was empty, Thomas actually used a knife and he got to hurt Anna in her leg (that’s why she has a limp), and proceeded to strangle her, but Anna could reach the knife and could stab him in the belly and leave the house, asking for help.

Anna thought everyone in the house was dead, until she found out later that Thomas was in a comma, maybe she didn’t see a reason to finish the job, but she asked the nurse to inform her if Thomas got to wake up. The nurse probably demanded to know the reason, and here is when she confesses she was Betty’s lover.

Once Thomas is out comma, Anna immediatly gets to the hospital and uses hypnosis to break Thomas mind, preventing from remembering what really happened the night of the murders, and creating new memories, to render him catatonic at the end, so there was no way to connect her to the murders. The new memories she created were that in fact Thomas was the one to kill Betty, Marc and Dylan, fabricating a story of abandonment, joulousy and violence. Probably using information she got from Betty herself.

At the end she wins, but still feels responsible for Thomas’ care. After all it was his broken mind that allowed her to get away with murder.