double-o G what I adore about the Cohen brother's films is that they speak to the 'reality' of life with all of it's unpredictability chaos, and uncertainty. The lead in this Tommy Lee Jones, is no closer to finding the truth as when the film began. Fargo Blood simple, and this, best speak to the brother's ability to create real life scenarios, which however outlandish, still speak to a human truth. under duress and panic we make silly decisions. Plans go awry, and random violence is 'random.' For want of a better term. That for me is what makes most of, not all, the Cohen brother's films special. This soon to retire detective didn't even touch the sides of figuring out what was actually going on and is just living a mundane day drinking his coffee and pondering if there is any 'meaning' in his life, or meaning to life at all.
I feel this film has the most natural dialogue I've ever heard. That is actually how people speak. In most films people seem overly clever or witty but in this film they seem so natural.
Syed Arham Ali 8bp lol there isn’t a dumb character in this whole movie, just because they don’t use The Queen’s English doesn’t make them unintelligent
@Reunite The British Empire Holy shit. You guys are both morons. Getting into a bigoted argument over the OP's comment on the brilliant use of naturalistic language in the movie/novel. Reunite the British Empire: You're an ignorant racist. Ali: having a regional dialect or using improper grammar doesn't make you unintelligent or indicate a lack of education. Both of you are absolute idiots.
Reunite The British Empire mate you know the slave trade is over in America right it ended about 200 years ago but do you know were slavey is still takeing place some Muslim countrys are still doing it what about your book the Quran yea you love talking about morals so let’s go see the morals in you’re lovely book what about the one were you can and should marry a child when they turn 5 and you can have sex when she turns 9 or how if someone talks down to Islam they shal have there right hand and left foot cut of then walked out in to the dessert to die of how we should cut thieves hands of or how woman are gust men’s property and they should be covered up or how if someone is gay we should kill them or how we should kill infidels yea lovely morals that’s sarcasm
Joshua Sanders agreed but they both did make some points but one thing you can’t be racist to a religion a religion isn’t a race Muslims can be white black asian eny thing so there was no racism because Islam isn’t a race
@@iamevil8582 Reunite the British Empire said "You're an inbred and violent race" so I'm pretty sure he was talking about middle-eastern people and not the religion of Islam. Also Ali said he was an atheist.
“I knew that when I got there…he’d be there.” What a final line. Even through all the life he has lived and even being an old man now, he still yearns for the comfort his father once gave him. We are all eventually truly alone.
@@cdb5001 I don't think that at all. His father rode past him in the dream, which would explain that he may have been with him momentarily, but eventually left him alone once again. Compare this to his birth -- his father was there (presumably) when he was born, yet left him in death later in life. He comments that "...in a sense, he's the younger man..." His father may have died much younger than TLJ, allowing him to experience much more "life" than his father did, roughly 20 years more. However, when he begins the 2nd dream, his father still rides beside him, as if he were there before his son, providing fatherly assurance that he will be safe. Once TLJ can "stand on his own" so-to-speak, his father rides past him. He rode into the dark and cold long before TLJ can reach it so that he can pave the way with light and warmth, much like a father does for their sons/daughters. I think it shows that even in death, while TLJ may be older by 20 years, his father still has much more wisdom, and will always be wiser, seeing that he has been there far longer than TLJ. No matter how old you may get, you will always be your father's son.
It seems to me that his dreams are about resolving his father's life and eventual death, and how he is following in his father's footsteps. Growing old is often accompanied by a growing sense of one's own mortality. He sees his father's passing as a sacrifice he made so he could go and prepare a place of comfort in a cold, dark place for his son, who comes after him. It is a spark of hope in what was an otherwise hard life. He can make that sacrifice too because he understands it, and his own death becomes symbolic of something bigger. He is coming to terms with his own impending death.
Apparently it was common for elder Native Americans to ride ahead when travelling in the snow at night because they knew the land better. They would carry embers from the fire inside an animal horn with them. So he was taking comfort with the fact that he’ll be with his father again and will no longer have to try to make sense of a world he no longer understands. I read that on another comment so excuse the plagiarism lol
My father passed away 14 years ago. I only dreamed him once after he passed away. He was walking off into a snow flurry , eventually the snow became so thick, that I couldn't see him no longer. That was the only time I saw him in a dream. He was the best father anyone could ever ask for. Dreams are strange things.
That's beautiful. I dream of my late grandmother and grandfather often, unfortunately I can only remember very small bits and pieces of said dreams but they are happy ones and I always wake up feeling consoled.
It takes a dialogue like Tommy Lee Jones' at the end of this movie to really make us appreciate how movies can help us to understand our dreams a lot better. Especially dreams of our deceased loved ones, speaking from my own personal experience too.
In an earlier scene where Llewellyn is at the hotel hiding with the money there's a painting on the wall in his room of two horsemen in the mountains looking off into the distance.
cory arnold *Mise-en-scène* You do know there’s a difference between life and movies, right? I mean, you do understand these are actors, on a set, portraying fictional characters in a fictional story, correct? Everything is storyboarded, sets are scouted, props are chosen, actors audition, etc. I guess I should break you the good news: Josh Brolin is still alive, yay! Javier Bardem no longer dons a pageboy, yay! You can stop checking under your bed for Anton Chigurh as he’s a fictional character, yay! Now your up to speed with a 4 year old. Attaboy, better late than never!
When I was a younger man, and felt myself to be immortal, I probably wouldn't have understood. Now, in the eighth decade of my life, it's all too clear. Brilliant, compelling, earthy performances from both Jones and Harper. Her almost imperceptible indications of compassion and understanding are as good as Jones' struggle with the emotions inside himself. This is acting, in the best sense. Very special.
I notice almost imperceptible indications of irritation and disappointment. But perhaps my analysis is biased by my preconceived interpretation of the ending’s meaning. See, I take the dream to be a metaphor for ‘passing the torch’. The first dream is only to highlight that he fears his ability to handle responsibility- he lost the money. And so instead of meeting his father in the second dream, he hangs back for the cold to consume him. He fears the responsibility of carrying his father’s torch. Because, while an active relationship with the world (like Moss) might bring its benefits, it forces the world to respond to you, and so it might increase the likelihood that your life will be terminated. Bell knows this, which is why he doesn’t stir up a confrontation with Chigur in the hotel room. But, he feels latently guilty about his cowardice, and justifiably so. His failure to confront Chigur ultimately lead to the death of Moss’s wife, which could have been averted had he acted in that moment. In the end, everything comes down to a coin toss. And none of us have enough information to know which way it is going to go. We can either act, or not, and the outcome might be good or bad, and you just don’t know. But not only in retreating from the world do you not secure safety, you actively fail to decrease the probability of your demise-exemplified when Carla Jean refuses to call Chigur’s coin toss, and unknowingly guarantees her death in that moment. If you choose the path of inaction, your death will come when it comes, and you cannot run from it. Although Moss may have also died, he was the only one to influence the world around him for the better, by injuring Chigur. Ultimately it comes down to the choice of victim or predator. If you do nothing, you are a victim of fate. If you engage with the world, it can go either way, but it may very well go in your favour, and you have to take the gamble for that eventuality to actualise. Or you can end up like Bell, and be a tired, washed-up old man, ridden with guilt, and apologising to his irritated wife for his refusal to carry the torch. And he IS apologising, as much to himself and his father as he is her, whether he is consciously aware of it or not. But it’s okay I suppose, because he can live out the rest of his meaningless existence pontificating on his failure to adapt to and confront chaos, while desperately searching for something to consume the time he has left, which keeps ticking away until his inevitable end. Moss never did get the money, as Bell never did get Chigur, but only one of them affected the world around them, for better or worse; only one of them dared to gamble, and for that reason we see Moss in his last moment cheerily flirting with a poolside girl: the epitome of a man with a clear conscience and a positively charged state of being. Whereas Bell’s final note is a soliloque to his unconscious realisation that he will die a coward: a victim to both his fate and to the entropy which erodes us all. But his personal tragedy is that he didn’t even dare to try and fight it off.
One of my favorite scenes in a movie. It's so naturally delivered by Tommy, and so haunting. The abrupt ending after he finishes talking feels perfect to me. The Cohens are masterful storytellers.
I feel such a deep melancholy in this ending. It's beautiful, and it makes me sad how some people assume the ending is bad. The ending is exactly what it needed to be. Not full on despair, but not undeserved hope too. Straight down the middle, death holds a light for us and may be the only light we have to look forward to after this cold, miserable, vague life. But a light is a light, and it holds a fire to warm us if we make it there.
Agree so much. I try to realize not everyone has my background which obviously informs my present. But the emotional satisfaction of this ending is almost even too much for me. I am moved every time by its depth and brevity.
he refers to the universe - not just earth - but he loses is faith in life after death after he "woke up" . He is more stressed than ever - and worrying about dying and being gone forever
It probably went over most of the voters heads. I'll be honest, the first time i saw the ending, i was 14 at the time and i didnt understand the meaning of it either. So it was great when i saw it again a little later, and i absolutely loved his final speech
Nick Jasper It didn't help him that he was not the primary focus for most of the movie. And Javier Bardem's performance put the Best Supporting Actor category on lockdown. He should have been nominated alongside Bardem, but the committee hates to nominate two people from the same movie in the same category.
Thirunavukkarasu PB I’m pretty sure that the dream is about an afterlife, heaven, etc. and by saying he woke up, he’s realizing that the afterlife isn’t real. Or at least that’s what it seems like to me, he’s lost his religion
The book dives deeper into Sheriff Bell’s life. There’s a scene in the novel where Sheriff Bell tells a story to his uncle about the bronze star he received and how he was depicted as a war hero even though he knew he didn’t deserve it. He confesses to his uncle what actually happened during that battle and it’s haunted him his entire life. Sheriff Bell wants to do good. He wants to make up for what happened during that battle, so when he can’t save Moss and Chigurh gets away with it all, it’s devastating for Bell. It’s that feeling of not being enough and not being able to do good even though you’re desperately trying to. His life has past him by and it makes him think, “Did I do enough?” He doesn’t believe he has. It’s tragic. I 100% believe that reading the novel before watching the film made this scene much more gut wrenching. With that being said, I also believe that you don’t even need to see the rest of the film or read the novel to enjoy this scene. The pain, sadness, fear and regret in his face is enough for anyone to understand. Tommy Lee Jones killed this scene. I think about Sheriff Bell a lot.
Well that one scene puts a whole different spin on the film and this ending. Of course everyone has regrets in life but signalling that this guy has it worse than many adds a lot more weight to the ending. As is (from my memory of the film) the entire 'no country for old men' aspect of the film is a bit throwaway. It's juxtaposed with the mad goings on of the rest of the film but it's hardly the key thread of the piece and making it the grand ending just made the film feel rather flat to me.
Makes me think that there never were better or worse times in the past, nor there will be in the future. There's just times. This movie makes me realize about the realism and harshness of life on itself.
In the opening scene sheriff Bell reflects on his worldview. He mentions how the old-timers used to not wear guns, and how that is difficult to understand for many. He feels as if the times have changed. He longs for a time where morale and reason existed, a time where things made sense. He mentions the recent murder of a 14-year old girl, whom the murderer killed simply because he wanted to kill someone. Bell struggles to make sense of the rationality of it, there was no incentive to kill, like jealousy, money or even hate. Bell can't recognize this world represented by chaos and disorder, and he looks back in time with nostalgia, thinking of clear contradictions that made sense to him, like good and bad, right or wrong, and feels as though they can no longer apply to the world he has now grown old in. There is no salvation in getting old for him, as he can only see himself growing increasingly distant from the reality of the world he inhabits. The constantly sounded wind in the background represents the equally constant passing of time. The wind is always there, and Bell can't find shelter from it, he keeps growing older and he can't escape the reality that no salvation has occured to him, not in the form of God, and not in any other forms. The wind will "move him on", just like it did to his father and everyone else who has walked the earth. When Bell meets with Ellis, Ellis tells him the story of how Uncle Mac back in time was shot cold-blooded in his doorway in front of his wife, by a group of indians, seemingly for no reason. Bell hearing this, realizes that the "old times" he so glorifies, maybe never actually existed, since the senselessness of the killing corresponds with the senselessness that he now finds in the world. Now knowing that this world offers no redemption, Bell subconsciously realizes that his only chance of finding redemption is in death. That is exactly what Bell's second dream is about. He dreams that his father rides ahead of him (into death) with a light, a light representing the hope of a better world, and his dad representing the good old values, that Bell can no longer find in this world and that never really existed elsewhere than in his own mind, but which he can only hope will exist in the world where his dad is now waiting for him.
Thank you! You took my words from my mouth! This is exactly the way I interpreted. I always get a knot down my throat when watching this scene. Makes me wonder if I'm in the same train as Ed Tom here. All the things I "knew" for certain, the values , the "good" old times. Were they really there?
Excellent take. But, despite this hope of a world which makes sense to him, where his father is, he realizes that’s likely just a dream. Which is why the last words of the movie are “then I woke up”.
No country for old men implies that once old age hits, your surroundings become murky, things you thought you knew and understood well seem to change, but in reality it's the same as ever, it was always chaotic. The elderlies can't keep up with how the world around them is rotating, hence the movie title. Your take very much the same as my dad and I stand by it
@@explosion5022 I don't think we can't keep up, I think it's the realization that all that we were keeping up with was meaningless. The world is a broken place, and if a good man lives long enough he'll find himself looking at the world and wondering why he ever wasted that time on it.
Everyone thinks of the coin flip scene when they think of this movie, but this scene by far and away is not only my favourite scene, but one of my favourite endings ever. Sticks with me to this day.
ted the commenter i totally agree. Just like when people mention the curb scene from American history X each time the movie pops in a conversation...while the dinner scene is much more powerfull instead. This ending makes you think about life. Every time i watch this scene it seems like time is frozen...just listening to Tommy Lee Jones. Ed Tom doesnt know the exact meaning of the dream...we as a viewer also dont quite get it. But we do share the same feeling. A feeling of sadness but we cant really explain why. Beautiful film.
Chighur is described differently in the book physically and I can’t get past that. TL Jones was perfectly cast , the scene was perfect because of him and the McCarthy script.
The scene with Ellis is my favorite, with this one being a close second. Barry Corbin’s 5 minutes on screen was fantastic. The way he told the story of his uncle’s murder; masterful!
my father passed a few years before this came out, when i was still a boy. i think you're right in that that kind of loss helps you more clearly see the spiritual nature of what's being described here. time outlasts us all.
I saw it with my dad. 2 years ago, in january my son was born. In april my dad died. Cancer. Pancreas. Fought it for an exact year. He was the best proctologist in the caribbean. Patients even came from the mainland to see him. Puerto rico. He saved thousands of lives in his lifetime. Thousands. We had to hire a pro unit to shred all patient’s records-a room full of them. He was there when my son arrived and got to enjoy him a couple of months before he finally became too ill and weak. The worst experience in my life and one of the worst things any human can witness.
One of my favorite things about the Coen brothers is the way they conclude their movies...I'm always satisfied with the way they wrap things up. The endings always leave me with such a sobering feeling that lingers within me for at least the rest of the day.
Right?? Like True Grit "I suppose by now the cowlick is gone from his hair. I guess time just catches up with us". They always have super thought provoking finals lines.
Everyone talks about the significance of the cold weather dream, but I feel like most people miss the significance of the first dream, where he lost the money his dad gave him.
Its a movie about death. Notice all the different ways it depicts death. Shows it happen, or it alludes to it, or shows the aftermath...or even just a subtle indication that it happened. That last dream symbolized both he and his dad heading into the afterlife. Dad obviously went first. All that "dark and cold", this means death in the afterlife realm. And the fact that he knew his dad would be waiting there for him with the fire, it is something of comfort. So he was basically saying that his understanding of death is that he will reunite with his family in the hereafter and everything will be okay. It was the final character expressing death as something not having already happened or happening now, but something that he will experience in the future.
This ending is so clever, every time I see it I understand a little more about ed's feelings, about regret, about missing the old days, about feeling overmatched. This movie is truly a masterpiece.
I can relate to Ed Tom. My father passed away before i was born, and every time i look at his picture i still have the feeling that he is older then me...while i am 11 years older now then he ever was. A beautiful ending.
Love this ending. It's not about plot. It simply speaks to experience. Life, death, hope, sorrow, fear...none of this is neat or carefully constructed. You don't know when you'll be hit by the unexpected...that's why it's unexpected. But you try to deal with it all the same. Violence and justice...two sides of a coin. And enlightenment...something we might not even recognize. This film's style has more in common with 2001: A Space Odyssey than it does with most modern thrillers. It communicates it's meaning not by expositing it directly to you, but by letting you vicariously live through the experience. Bravo.
@@Johnnysmithy24 no kidding. With a guy like Tommy Lee Jones one would THINK he would have at least had SOME bearing on the plot but we didn't get that here. Here he's treated like some inconsequential extra when the first thirty minutes implied that he'd actually be doing shit in the movie.
@@jeremyallen492 Yeah this is why I didn’t have a very good response when I first saw the movie. I was upset that the main character was killed off camera, and having this be the ending scene felt weird cause I didn’t care about this sheriff, since he barely did anything
One of the most brilliantly understated performances ever. TLJ really captured the dark, melancholic yet beautiful poetry of Cormac Mcarthy’s words like no other actor has. Not to mention the amazing look of sadness that he’s able to convey just through his eyes throughout the film. One of the best performances I’ve ever seen.
@@plasticweapon I think she's just salty. Doesn't put up with any foolishness. I get what you mean but I think her and Ed Tom being antagonistic towards one another makes sense with the setting like theyre both both no bullshit type people
one of my all time favorite movie endings. no glory no music. just a downer of an ending. I get this feeling too when I sit and ponder on a dream I just had. too realistic and like life itself
Two words. Cormac McCarthy. His boss are great. And in each novel there is always a certain narrative or character that does this same reflection or yearning for nostalgia to try and find themselves and understand the world around them. They feel mortality for the first time and they discover it through different journeys. If you haven't already read the trilogy of Cormac McCarthy starting with All the Pretty Horses.
I always found this scene beautifully tragic, it may seem to have some kind of deep message, but to me the message is simple. In times of dire need we look towards the ones we love (the father) and when we slowly realize these people are no longer around (he rode ahead) some of us cannot cope ("I woke up"). The man misses his father......
To me, "I woke up" means he discovered the grim truth that the reason his father died at the age he did is because that's the implied limit set by the world he lives in. His father is young in his dreams because that's how he died, and he explains that he's 20 years past that age. He sees his father, young, riding forward on his horse. But him? All he can do now is stand still. Because of his age, he's "overmatched" as he explained earlier in the movie. Hence the title, "No Country For Old Men"
+Denis Kreynin Right, but I think what's also implied here is the endurance of the human spirit...This to me, is the other side of the coin. There's an old man who's living this "country" and he has sort of become a philosopher to it. There's also that human effect that McCarthy always puts into his books. Cormac is huge on the human spirit and his father was carrying that fire for both of them to be warm. There is no denial of what he is saying. He's saying that his father is waiting for him in the afterlife and that's what makes this touching. He may have been overmatched, as you put it, but he's looking forward to seeing his father more, and couldn't care less if he died tomorrow because of it.
The best stories linger. Not only in the world of the film after the camera has shut off, but in the mind of the viewer. In John Truby's novel, he encourages writers never to tie your narrative up in a neat little bow and call it a day when you type the end. Story is not a sequence of events that come and go but something that leaves an impact.
When I was younger and watching this scene, it made no sense to me whatsoever and now I’m 24, my dad passed away now and this scene holds so much meaning to me. I can’t wait to meet you at the campfire Dad I know you’ll be waiting to keep us warm ❤️
Most people remembered Javier Bardem performance and his acting from that movie, but when I first watched it, that ending scene kept in my head. I don't know why, but I find it relaxing and beautifully made.
First dream; the money represents the values his father taught him. At some point in time, TLJ loses those values. Second dream; the horn with the fire now represents the same values his father taught him, but this time, the father passes him without acknowledging him. In a sense, as if TLJ has lost belief of those values from what he's gone through (all that cold and dark). The cold and dark represents evil as he knows it, and the father building a fire is the hope and guidance that some evil can be contained, which in the dream, he believes is waiting for him with time. But then he wakes up, the reality that he's retired and has run out of time and Anton (all that cold and dark) has prevailed. This was a perfect ending to the film.
Great explanation, basically the same way that I interpret it. I also noticed the mesquite trees in the background. The one one the left reflects Ed Tom's (TLJ) father. Grew straight and tall but dead, whereas the tree on the right is Ed Tom, crooked and forked but still alive.
I honestly really doubt the book or movie is anywhere near as bleak as people are portraying it to be. To put it in a really simple way, I think the message of the story is that "evil is apart of human nature and can never be hoped to be completely eradicated, but so is good". Though there are many apathetic or selfish people in the story, there are also quite a few decent people. The guy who works at the clothing store who helps Moss no questions asked, the woman who works at the Motel that refuses to give up the info to Chigurh, Carla who didn't even really do anything wrong and even straight up tells Chigurh that his entire worldview is basically a delusional and pretentious half baked justification for the horrible things he does on a regular basis, hell even the kids who help Chigurh after the crash. The world is and has always been a very confusing, often awful and uncaring place, and there's nothing we can really do to ever destroy that evil - but there are still decent people, who do the best they can with what limited time they have in this existence, and eke out some sort of comfort from it. I think the ending is a realistic conclusion to the story and the themes it was trying to present and I think it even may be the ray of hope at the end of the story. I wish I could elaborate more but youtube comment limits prevent me from doing so
I love the detail of the clock continuing to tick even after the scene has seemed to have ended, and the screen fades to black. So many wonderful details. Love this movie.
One of the best emotional endings I’ve ever seen to a movie. Hits you with a feeling you can hardly describe but somehow remember fondly sort of like the feeling of describing a dream
When I saw this in the theater there were several gasps when the screen cut to black. Someone said "No!" I immediately walked one block from the theater on 14th street to The Strand. I picked up a copy of the book to see how it ended and it was exactly this way. What a novel. What a film.
I think an interesting addendum/context to the fire carried by the father is that it's a major theme McCarthy (who wrote the incredible novel) repeats throughout his entire body of work. In The Road, the boy is instructed to "carry the fire". I think it's very primordial in the ways of Prometheus himself. It isn't so much that the fire is impossible or not reachable but that we must carry it. It is a hope. It is something to strive towards even in the dark and cold. It is humanity's flame.
The Coens made a great decision in keeping the ending exactly the same as the book. Ed Tom talking about his dreams is the same verbatim as Cormac McCarthy's novel, and it's a fantastic and haunting conclusion.
Citizen Kane is the greatest American film ever made. This is the second. My wife and I walked from the theater, looked at each other, and said to one another a single word. Perfect. You don't even realize there's no sound track until after the film is over. It so holds your attention every second. It transfixes you. "It ain't all waiting on you. That's vanity."
Ahh the ening is beautiful. This man knows hes moving towards the end of his life. He keeps seeing evil stuff around him. Keeps wishing his golden past will come back. This dream is basically his heaven calling for him. G His father moving through the harsh reality of life, moving through cold, dark, snow. But he carries a fire with him. When his dad stops and makes a fire, tommy lee jones can sit down and join him.
This is some of the finest acting I have ever seen. Every subtle micro-movement gives you a window into the thoughts of the character. Unbelievable talent. In fact, I only just watched this film and was completely blown away that films like this are still being made- I gave up on movies a long time ago..
There's a lot of trash and hot woke garbage out there. Then we have masterpieces like this. Stanley Kubrick's entire catalog, but especially Barry Lyndon. Gems like Margin Call. Just about anything David Mamet does.
@WardDorrity A movie is never bad because its woke though. A movie is bad when it has bad writing or bad storytelling. Wokeness has nothing to do with the quality of a movie. Everything Everywhere All At Once is a great movie that, technically speaking, is "woke". It's about a middle-aged female Chinese immigrant with a lesbian daughter. So how come people don't call it woke? Because its a good movie. People just use woke nowadays because they don't know how to critique movies properly.
I loved this scene in both the book and movie since I first encountered them, but on this first Father’s Day after my dad passed away recently it just destroys me in a very beautiful way.
Lost my father in 2013, old man drunk himself to death. Watching this, first time ever in 2018. After this, I started tearing up, my wife asked what was wrong. I just told her, you still got your father, enjoy his time here. I miss my father so damn much.
I can't get over how well written and beautiful this dream sequence is. Part of it includes imagery that seems about dealing with death. He couldn't see his father's face as he disappeared in to the darkness. But it also expresses a certain father and son feeling, where both of them are in it together, both working hard. But also the dad is putting in the extra effort to make sure his son knows he is loved and protected and has something to look forward to. In the end, though, I think the most important part of it all is the last line, "And then I woke up." Has anyone ever felt older than when they wake up from a dream filled with young memories?
Probably the best ending scene there's ever been. So touching seeing an actor like TLJ reveal his vulnerability, conveying how he misses his Dad (or at least that's one of several potential interpretations of his dream). Beautiful stuff.
This ending really took a couple watches to understand the brilliance of it. I think it’s simply about the fact that we’re all slowly dying, and the fact that none of us are immortal and a happy life isn’t guaranteed, which is a big theme of the movie. In the end, we are all alone. It’s the deepest ending to a movie I’ve ever seen. The sudden cut to black with the clock still ticking, indicating time still moving along at a cruel pace, gives me chills.
I feel like the first dream is the most important. His father giving him "some money" he lost, could symbolize the old world he felt his father left for him, but just wasnt there
To me this comes back to the line where he said he always thought God would find him when he got old, but never did. He always thought that when he got there everything would be safe and fine but then he woke up and realized it never would be
Too bad this scene doesn't work for you. Some, many, of us posting here think it's terrific. Maybe try re-watching it someday -- it might work for you then.
The problem is that the ending treats you like you're intelligent and can think for yourself. Most people want everything to be spoon fed to them and for everything to be wrapped up prettily with a bow, because that's how most movies are made.
The father is the mythological symbol for Order, security, and comfort. Ed Tom, who has spent the film wading deeper into chaos and trying to escape with his soul intact, now yearns for the wisdom and company and security of his father. He dreams that his father will be with him throughout the dark chaos of these times and will help light his way through them-with a fire in the storm. “I knew that when I got there he’d be there. Then I woke up.” However, this hope was all a dream, ending as Ed Tom again woke up to the cold, arid, brutal reality of the world.
The dream of the fire dies for this man in the movie. The idea of fated occurrence as well, there is no hope in such a world, as there is no purpose. Jones' unsettled desperation in the face of this reality is perfect.
My own dad is still living, but he's suffering from Alzheimer's now. Here is this devoted husband and dad who sacrificed so much for us three boys and mom, now unable to even know our names, that we're even married, or that he was even married at all (mom died three years ago), so in a sense, he already has gone over to the other side described by Sheriff Bell in this scene.
The darkness = eternity/uncertainty surrounding death. The fire in the horn = hope, dwindling, yet still present, and the only thing that allows one to continue moving forward while engulfed in the confused darkness that we call life. Hope is the light. Keep the horn lit. One love.
For me. The 2nd dream, and emphasis that his father died younger, represents what would/could have happened if TLJ kept pursuing Anton (into all that cold and dark). His dad with the cloak, horn, and fire, represents a courageous and steadfast lifestyle in a fight against a hostile environment (life hardship). He ignores TLJ in the dream because TLJ chooses not to chase Anton and to retire. He chooses not to live that life. He knows once he goes after his dad and find him he will be there (death). But then he wakes up (showing he will life on). Amazing scene!!! :) And great on your own interpretation of it!
sammy That's a pretty good interpretation. I can't remember if it happens in the film, but in the book Bell talks about problems with living up to his father. In the film he tries to be a father figure, but ultimately he can't for a few reasons. He returns to being a son in this dream, even though he's older, which shows it's not just literally his father, it's ideas about the role of paternity.
Fan Made Videos I'm talking about Part 1 because you look up on the internet "best movie endings ever" and you see all these lists with Part 1 as number 1, and I am not bashing on Godfather at all, but No Country's ending has just so much more meaning and it so much more poetic. And just for sake of discussion, I'm the type of person that prefers Part 1 lol.
+Carlos Rivera Fernandez This ending is way more meaningful than The Godfather's. My three favorite films are this, Taxi Driver and Synecdoche, New York. And all three of those movies have endings that alter the overall interpretation of the film drastically.
The first dream is just brushed over but he's meeting his dad downtown to get some money which he lost. Isnt that a metaphor for the movie plot, its like his last case staying with him having a lasting impact, one he'd rather forget, like this dream.
His dream monologue is word for word from the book's final paragraph. Tommy Lee Jones delivered it 110%
The is is legit the most faithful book-to-movie adaptations ever made
Is the book a good read, is it better then the movie.
double-o G what I adore about the Cohen brother's films is that they speak to the 'reality' of life with all of it's unpredictability chaos, and uncertainty. The lead in this Tommy Lee Jones, is no closer to finding the truth as when the film began. Fargo Blood simple, and this, best speak to the brother's ability to create real life scenarios, which however outlandish, still speak to a human truth. under duress and panic we make silly decisions. Plans go awry, and random violence is 'random.' For want of a better term. That for me is what makes most of, not all, the Cohen brother's films special. This soon to retire detective didn't even touch the sides of figuring out what was actually going on and is just living a mundane day drinking his coffee and pondering if there is any 'meaning' in his life, or meaning to life at all.
@@patriceaqa288 A Serious Man is also great at addressing this as well. One of my favorites from the Coens
@@jacksonkirke7331 True that's a brilliant film
0:13 "maybe I'll go riding" He was still thinking of the dream with his father.
Beautiful and haunting little touch.
I would have never realized that. That's beautiful thank you for mentioning this.
Blessed are those that can consider the thought of going riding... they just go to the barn and saddle up
Indeed. And hoping he could relive it with his wife; even some sad memories are strangely satisfying.
Wow
I feel this film has the most natural dialogue I've ever heard. That is actually how people speak. In most films people seem overly clever or witty but in this film they seem so natural.
Syed Arham Ali 8bp lol there isn’t a dumb character in this whole movie, just because they don’t use The Queen’s English doesn’t make them unintelligent
@Reunite The British Empire Holy shit. You guys are both morons. Getting into a bigoted argument over the OP's comment on the brilliant use of naturalistic language in the movie/novel. Reunite the British Empire: You're an ignorant racist. Ali: having a regional dialect or using improper grammar doesn't make you unintelligent or indicate a lack of education. Both of you are absolute idiots.
Reunite The British Empire mate you know the slave trade is over in America right it ended about 200 years ago but do you know were slavey is still takeing place some Muslim countrys are still doing it what about your book the Quran yea you love talking about morals so let’s go see the morals in you’re lovely book what about the one were you can and should marry a child when they turn 5 and you can have sex when she turns 9 or how if someone talks down to Islam they shal have there right hand and left foot cut of then walked out in to the dessert to die of how we should cut thieves hands of or how woman are gust men’s property and they should be covered up or how if someone is gay we should kill them or how we should kill infidels yea lovely morals that’s sarcasm
Joshua Sanders agreed but they both did make some points but one thing you can’t be racist to a religion a religion isn’t a race Muslims can be white black asian eny thing so there was no racism because Islam isn’t a race
@@iamevil8582 Reunite the British Empire said "You're an inbred and violent race" so I'm pretty sure he was talking about middle-eastern people and not the religion of Islam. Also Ali said he was an atheist.
“I knew that when I got there…he’d be there.”
What a final line. Even through all the life he has lived and even being an old man now, he still yearns for the comfort his father once gave him. We are all eventually truly alone.
Agree to disagree. The dream seemed a message that his father is still with him, he even says "I know I'll see him again". Beautifully written.
@@cdb5001 I don't think that at all. His father rode past him in the dream, which would explain that he may have been with him momentarily, but eventually left him alone once again. Compare this to his birth -- his father was there (presumably) when he was born, yet left him in death later in life.
He comments that "...in a sense, he's the younger man..." His father may have died much younger than TLJ, allowing him to experience much more "life" than his father did, roughly 20 years more. However, when he begins the 2nd dream, his father still rides beside him, as if he were there before his son, providing fatherly assurance that he will be safe.
Once TLJ can "stand on his own" so-to-speak, his father rides past him. He rode into the dark and cold long before TLJ can reach it so that he can pave the way with light and warmth, much like a father does for their sons/daughters. I think it shows that even in death, while TLJ may be older by 20 years, his father still has much more wisdom, and will always be wiser, seeing that he has been there far longer than TLJ. No matter how old you may get, you will always be your father's son.
@@Psychy nice, I can get behind that too. I like both interpretations.
It seems to me that his dreams are about resolving his father's life and eventual death, and how he is following in his father's footsteps. Growing old is often accompanied by a growing sense of one's own mortality. He sees his father's passing as a sacrifice he made so he could go and prepare a place of comfort in a cold, dark place for his son, who comes after him. It is a spark of hope in what was an otherwise hard life. He can make that sacrifice too because he understands it, and his own death becomes symbolic of something bigger. He is coming to terms with his own impending death.
Apparently it was common for elder Native Americans to ride ahead when travelling in the snow at night because they knew the land better. They would carry embers from the fire inside an animal horn with them. So he was taking comfort with the fact that he’ll be with his father again and will no longer have to try to make sense of a world he no longer understands. I read that on another comment so excuse the plagiarism lol
My father passed away 14 years ago. I only dreamed him once after he passed away. He was walking off into a snow flurry , eventually the snow became so thick, that I couldn't see him no longer. That was the only time I saw him in a dream. He was the best father anyone could ever ask for. Dreams are strange things.
That's beautiful. I dream of my late grandmother and grandfather often, unfortunately I can only remember very small bits and pieces of said dreams but they are happy ones and I always wake up feeling consoled.
He is waiting on you to join him in the snow...trust me.
It takes a dialogue like Tommy Lee Jones' at the end of this movie to really make us appreciate how movies can help us to understand our dreams a lot better. Especially dreams of our deceased loved ones, speaking from my own personal experience too.
I used to have a recurring dream about my dad making me eat glass. I'm very jealous of people who have fathers that they love.
In an earlier scene where Llewellyn is at the hotel hiding with the money there's a painting on the wall in his room of two horsemen in the mountains looking off into the distance.
Yeah, like that meant anything.
@@coryarnold3369 It didn't AND it did. That's the brilliance of it.
cory arnold If it was described in Cormac’s book or was chosen by the Cohen bros it likely did have meaning.
@@StufiBuy If your home creaked or popped last night as you went to bed,it likely had GREAT meaning.
cory arnold *Mise-en-scène*
You do know there’s a difference between life and movies, right? I mean, you do understand these are actors, on a set, portraying fictional characters in a fictional story, correct? Everything is storyboarded, sets are scouted, props are chosen, actors audition, etc. I guess I should break you the good news: Josh Brolin is still alive, yay! Javier Bardem no longer dons a pageboy, yay! You can stop checking under your bed for Anton Chigurh as he’s a fictional character, yay!
Now your up to speed with a 4 year old. Attaboy, better late than never!
When I was a younger man, and felt myself to be immortal, I probably wouldn't have understood. Now, in the eighth decade of my life, it's all too clear. Brilliant, compelling, earthy performances from both Jones and Harper. Her almost imperceptible indications of compassion and understanding are as good as Jones' struggle with the emotions inside himself. This is acting, in the best sense. Very special.
Keith Higgins well said
I notice almost imperceptible indications of irritation and disappointment. But perhaps my analysis is biased by my preconceived interpretation of the ending’s meaning.
See, I take the dream to be a metaphor for ‘passing the torch’. The first dream is only to highlight that he fears his ability to handle responsibility- he lost the money. And so instead of meeting his father in the second dream, he hangs back for the cold to consume him. He fears the responsibility of carrying his father’s torch. Because, while an active relationship with the world (like Moss) might bring its benefits, it forces the world to respond to you, and so it might increase the likelihood that your life will be terminated. Bell knows this, which is why he doesn’t stir up a confrontation with Chigur in the hotel room. But, he feels latently guilty about his cowardice, and justifiably so. His failure to confront Chigur ultimately lead to the death of Moss’s wife, which could have been averted had he acted in that moment.
In the end, everything comes down to a coin toss. And none of us have enough information to know which way it is going to go. We can either act, or not, and the outcome might be good or bad, and you just don’t know. But not only in retreating from the world do you not secure safety, you actively fail to decrease the probability of your demise-exemplified when Carla Jean refuses to call Chigur’s coin toss, and unknowingly guarantees her death in that moment.
If you choose the path of inaction, your death will come when it comes, and you cannot run from it. Although Moss may have also died, he was the only one to influence the world around him for the better, by injuring Chigur.
Ultimately it comes down to the choice of victim or predator. If you do nothing, you are a victim of fate. If you engage with the world, it can go either way, but it may very well go in your favour, and you have to take the gamble for that eventuality to actualise.
Or you can end up like Bell, and be a tired, washed-up old man, ridden with guilt, and apologising to his irritated wife for his refusal to carry the torch. And he IS apologising, as much to himself and his father as he is her, whether he is consciously aware of it or not.
But it’s okay I suppose, because he can live out the rest of his meaningless existence pontificating on his failure to adapt to and confront chaos, while desperately searching for something to consume the time he has left, which keeps ticking away until his inevitable end.
Moss never did get the money, as Bell never did get Chigur, but only one of them affected the world around them, for better or worse; only one of them dared to gamble, and for that reason we see Moss in his last moment cheerily flirting with a poolside girl: the epitome of a man with a clear conscience and a positively charged state of being. Whereas Bell’s final note is a soliloque to his unconscious realisation that he will die a coward: a victim to both his fate and to the entropy which erodes us all. But his personal tragedy is that he didn’t even dare to try and fight it off.
Indeed
Brilliantly articulated by you, mate.
So are you still alive?
That ticking clock in the background is so eerie and brilliant
+matthew woodall Bergman
Eerie that you can't stop time.....no matter how you feel, where you are, or what you do.....Father Time is always counting the second to your demise.
Where is this clock?
+Popcorn Kernel probably out of frame
goldenboyx92 Thank you. That was the quickest reaction I have ever got on UA-cam. I didn't know what the hell they were talking about.
One of my favorite scenes in a movie. It's so naturally delivered by Tommy, and so haunting. The abrupt ending after he finishes talking feels perfect to me. The Cohens are masterful storytellers.
Right. Tick-tock...
*Cormac McCarthy
Yea. Its my fav too. "I woke up."
@lias902 You're right. The Cohen brothers did a masterful job of putting his story to screen, especially that final scene.
I feel such a deep melancholy in this ending. It's beautiful, and it makes me sad how some people assume the ending is bad. The ending is exactly what it needed to be. Not full on despair, but not undeserved hope too. Straight down the middle, death holds a light for us and may be the only light we have to look forward to after this cold, miserable, vague life. But a light is a light, and it holds a fire to warm us if we make it there.
Agree so much. I try to realize not everyone has my background which obviously informs my present. But the emotional satisfaction of this ending is almost even too much for me. I am moved every time by its depth and brevity.
"Then I woke up"
Perhaps the best final four lines of a film I've heard
an amazing ending for one of the best movies of the decade, it's kinda depressing too...
a
Clockwork Orange, American Psycho, There will be blood and Se7en. Very nice movie taste, man.
A favorite of mine is "Fuck."
@Prism Man: Eyes wide shut?
"in all that dark, and all that cold"
His story paints a beautiful picture
Thank Cormac McCarthy
That’s due to McCarthys literal poetic writing style
he refers to the universe - not just earth - but he loses is faith in life after death after he "woke up" . He is more stressed than ever - and worrying about dying and being gone forever
Right. You can actually vidualize his dream and then that last line is just crushing if you think about it.
"I could see the horn from the fire inside it, 'bout the color of the moon."
I thought this scene for sure would have gotten Tommy Lee Jones an Oscar nomination.
It probably went over most of the voters heads. I'll be honest, the first time i saw the ending, i was 14 at the time and i didnt understand the meaning of it either. So it was great when i saw it again a little later, and i absolutely loved his final speech
Nick Jasper It didn't help him that he was not the primary focus for most of the movie. And Javier Bardem's performance put the Best Supporting Actor category on lockdown. He should have been nominated alongside Bardem, but the committee hates to nominate two people from the same movie in the same category.
Nick Jasper can you explain what he is saying? please
Thirunavukkarasu PB I’m pretty sure that the dream is about an afterlife, heaven, etc. and by saying he woke up, he’s realizing that the afterlife isn’t real. Or at least that’s what it seems like to me, he’s lost his religion
You got to be kidding me
The book dives deeper into Sheriff Bell’s life. There’s a scene in the novel where Sheriff Bell tells a story to his uncle about the bronze star he received and how he was depicted as a war hero even though he knew he didn’t deserve it. He confesses to his uncle what actually happened during that battle and it’s haunted him his entire life. Sheriff Bell wants to do good. He wants to make up for what happened during that battle, so when he can’t save Moss and Chigurh gets away with it all, it’s devastating for Bell. It’s that feeling of not being enough and not being able to do good even though you’re desperately trying to. His life has past him by and it makes him think, “Did I do enough?” He doesn’t believe he has. It’s tragic.
I 100% believe that reading the novel before watching the film made this scene much more gut wrenching. With that being said, I also believe that you don’t even need to see the rest of the film or read the novel to enjoy this scene. The pain, sadness, fear and regret in his face is enough for anyone to understand. Tommy Lee Jones killed this scene. I think about Sheriff Bell a lot.
Of all the explanations this one has meant the most to me... this is my interpretation as well.
Well that one scene puts a whole different spin on the film and this ending. Of course everyone has regrets in life but signalling that this guy has it worse than many adds a lot more weight to the ending. As is (from my memory of the film) the entire 'no country for old men' aspect of the film is a bit throwaway. It's juxtaposed with the mad goings on of the rest of the film but it's hardly the key thread of the piece and making it the grand ending just made the film feel rather flat to me.
Makes me think that there never were better or worse times in the past, nor there will be in the future. There's just times. This movie makes me realize about the realism and harshness of life on itself.
I have thought about reading the book for years, but after reading your post I intend to do just that.
In the opening scene sheriff Bell reflects on his worldview. He mentions how the old-timers used to not wear guns, and how that is difficult to understand for many. He feels as if the times have changed. He longs for a time where morale and reason existed, a time where things made sense. He mentions the recent murder of a 14-year old girl, whom the murderer killed simply because he wanted to kill someone. Bell struggles to make sense of the rationality of it, there was no incentive to kill, like jealousy, money or even hate. Bell can't recognize this world represented by chaos and disorder, and he looks back in time with nostalgia, thinking of clear contradictions that made sense to him, like good and bad, right or wrong, and feels as though they can no longer apply to the world he has now grown old in. There is no salvation in getting old for him, as he can only see himself growing increasingly distant from the reality of the world he inhabits.
The constantly sounded wind in the background represents the equally constant passing of time. The wind is always there, and Bell can't find shelter from it, he keeps growing older and he can't escape the reality that no salvation has occured to him, not in the form of God, and not in any other forms. The wind will "move him on", just like it did to his father and everyone else who has walked the earth.
When Bell meets with Ellis, Ellis tells him the story of how Uncle Mac back in time was shot cold-blooded in his doorway in front of his wife, by a group of indians, seemingly for no reason. Bell hearing this, realizes that the "old times" he so glorifies, maybe never actually existed, since the senselessness of the killing corresponds with the senselessness that he now finds in the world.
Now knowing that this world offers no redemption, Bell subconsciously realizes that his only chance of finding redemption is in death.
That is exactly what Bell's second dream is about. He dreams that his father rides ahead of him (into death) with a light, a light representing the hope of a better world, and his dad representing the good old values, that Bell can no longer find in this world and that never really existed elsewhere than in his own mind, but which he can only hope will exist in the world where his dad is now waiting for him.
Thank you! You took my words from my mouth! This is exactly the way I interpreted. I always get a knot down my throat when watching this scene. Makes me wonder if I'm in the same train as Ed Tom here. All the things I "knew" for certain, the values , the "good" old times. Were they really there?
Excellent take. But, despite this hope of a world which makes sense to him, where his father is, he realizes that’s likely just a dream. Which is why the last words of the movie are “then I woke up”.
No country for old men implies that once old age hits, your surroundings become murky, things you thought you knew and understood well seem to change, but in reality it's the same as ever, it was always chaotic. The elderlies can't keep up with how the world around them is rotating, hence the movie title. Your take very much the same as my dad and I stand by it
@@explosion5022 I hope you get old enough to feel it.
@@explosion5022 I don't think we can't keep up, I think it's the realization that all that we were keeping up with was meaningless. The world is a broken place, and if a good man lives long enough he'll find himself looking at the world and wondering why he ever wasted that time on it.
Everyone thinks of the coin flip scene when they think of this movie, but this scene by far and away is not only my favourite scene, but one of my favourite endings ever. Sticks with me to this day.
ted the commenter i totally agree.
Just like when people mention the curb scene from American history X each time the movie pops in a conversation...while the dinner scene is much more powerfull instead.
This ending makes you think about life. Every time i watch this scene it seems like time is frozen...just listening to Tommy Lee Jones.
Ed Tom doesnt know the exact meaning of the dream...we as a viewer also dont quite get it. But we do share the same feeling. A feeling of sadness but we cant really explain why. Beautiful film.
Ditto, this is the scene I think about the most. As I get older, and people in my life pass me on the trail, I think about it more and more.
Chighur is described differently in the book physically and I can’t get past that. TL Jones was perfectly cast , the scene was perfect because of him and the McCarthy script.
The scene with Ellis is my favorite, with this one being a close second. Barry Corbin’s 5 minutes on screen was fantastic. The way he told the story of his uncle’s murder; masterful!
Try watching se7en. I think that was the greatest ending to any movie ever
this scene made absolutely no sense to me until my father died
Phillip D. Lee Yes, that changed it for me, too
I watched this movie for the first time only a week after my dad died.
my father passed a few years before this came out, when i was still a boy. i think you're right in that that kind of loss helps you more clearly see the spiritual nature of what's being described here. time outlasts us all.
Not having a father, this scene only made sense to me after having my son.
I saw it with my dad.
2 years ago, in january my son was born. In april my dad died. Cancer. Pancreas. Fought it for an exact year. He was the best proctologist in the caribbean. Patients even came from the mainland to see him. Puerto rico. He saved thousands of lives in his lifetime. Thousands. We had to hire a pro unit to shred all patient’s records-a room full of them. He was there when my son arrived and got to enjoy him a couple of months before he finally became too ill and weak. The worst experience in my life and one of the worst things any human can witness.
One of my favorite things about the Coen brothers is the way they conclude their movies...I'm always satisfied with the way they wrap things up. The endings always leave me with such a sobering feeling that lingers within me for at least the rest of the day.
tahwaggin Or their endings can be wide open and full of possibility...an age of enlightenment...like the one they had in France!
Right??
Like True Grit "I suppose by now the cowlick is gone from his hair. I guess time just catches up with us".
They always have super thought provoking finals lines.
Thank Cormac McCarthy for this ending, not the Coen brothers
Very late but I highly recommend a movie they actually star in called Brothers Nest, its ending is...wow. It’s an underrated gem.
Ending of true grit was masterful.
Everyone talks about the significance of the cold weather dream, but I feel like most people miss the significance of the first dream, where he lost the money his dad gave him.
Its a movie about death. Notice all the different ways it depicts death. Shows it happen, or it alludes to it, or shows the aftermath...or even just a subtle indication that it happened. That last dream symbolized both he and his dad heading into the afterlife. Dad obviously went first. All that "dark and cold", this means death in the afterlife realm. And the fact that he knew his dad would be waiting there for him with the fire, it is something of comfort. So he was basically saying that his understanding of death is that he will reunite with his family in the hereafter and everything will be okay. It was the final character expressing death as something not having already happened or happening now, but something that he will experience in the future.
This movie is basically about the meaninglessness of life and how immaterial values and sense of order actually is.
then i woke up
This ending is so clever, every time I see it I understand a little more about ed's feelings, about regret, about missing the old days, about feeling overmatched. This movie is truly a masterpiece.
This movie reverberates. The ending really adds the final impactful chord.
This comment respects vertebrates. Their entrails really want a trustful spinal cord.
@@lunakid12 Just wanted to let you know how fucking hilarious this comment is
I can relate to Ed Tom.
My father passed away before i was born, and every time i look at his picture i still have the feeling that he is older then me...while i am 11 years older now then he ever was.
A beautiful ending.
You're the old man now
The dreams he describes are exactly how mine go: images, impressions, no narrative, no logical sequence, but powerful emotions...brilliant.
He's so natural and believable in everything that he does, that people seem to forget that this is one of the finest actors who ever lived.
Love this ending. It's not about plot. It simply speaks to experience. Life, death, hope, sorrow, fear...none of this is neat or carefully constructed. You don't know when you'll be hit by the unexpected...that's why it's unexpected. But you try to deal with it all the same. Violence and justice...two sides of a coin. And enlightenment...something we might not even recognize.
This film's style has more in common with 2001: A Space Odyssey than it does with most modern thrillers. It communicates it's meaning not by expositing it directly to you, but by letting you vicariously live through the experience.
Bravo.
it does also sort of tie in to the plot hehe added bonus
If only they spent more time with this Sheriff so that I actually cared about any of this
@@Johnnysmithy24 no kidding. With a guy like Tommy Lee Jones one would THINK he would have at least had SOME bearing on the plot but we didn't get that here. Here he's treated like some inconsequential extra when the first thirty minutes implied that he'd actually be doing shit in the movie.
@@jeremyallen492 Yeah this is why I didn’t have a very good response when I first saw the movie. I was upset that the main character was killed off camera, and having this be the ending scene felt weird cause I didn’t care about this sheriff, since he barely did anything
"…and then I woke up." - Roll Credits
Goosebumps. All over.
One of the most brilliantly understated performances ever. TLJ really captured the dark, melancholic yet beautiful poetry of Cormac Mcarthy’s words like no other actor has. Not to mention the amazing look of sadness that he’s able to convey just through his eyes throughout the film. One of the best performances I’ve ever seen.
Agreed. Bardem got a lot of rightful attention. And TLJ was the same level of perfect even if it was a different type of perfect.
I think it is one of the saddest scenes ive seen of anything
The look on Tess Harper's face after, "Then I woke up", completes this magnificent scene.
That blank stare.
Not blank. There's wise compassion in her eyes
Yes it's a beautiful older woman's look. She's not sentimental or acting, just listening, because she knows her husband is suffering.
she has no clue what she just heard. she's shone throughout the movie to be a dull, unsympathetic person.
@@plasticweapon I think she's just salty. Doesn't put up with any foolishness. I get what you mean but I think her and Ed Tom being antagonistic towards one another makes sense with the setting like theyre both both no bullshit type people
One of the best endings in movie history.
Yes again
Whit Denton along with HEAT
Yes, but lets not forget Sixth Sense.
are you kidding me
One of the best troll comment in history xD
one of my all time favorite movie endings. no glory no music. just a downer of an ending. I get this feeling too when I sit and ponder on a dream I just had. too realistic and like life itself
If you want a downer of an ending to a movie then check out Henry Portrait of a Serial Killer. More grim than this by a mile. Bitter and ugly.
It seems like a neutral downer. Nothing to devastating, just life going on. Despite the sheriff's failure, he still has loved ones to depend on.
R.I.P. Cormac McCarthy (1933-2023)
Two words. Cormac McCarthy. His boss are great. And in each novel there is always a certain narrative or character that does this same reflection or yearning for nostalgia to try and find themselves and understand the world around them. They feel mortality for the first time and they discover it through different journeys. If you haven't already read the trilogy of Cormac McCarthy starting with All the Pretty Horses.
The Road was so fucked up but so good. That said I shouldn't have read it in middle school
She sitting their like "I don't understand how the seahawks didn't run the ball"
Same about the 49ers. No country for Colin Kapernick.
Dude this had me rolling.
😂😂😂😂
Shut up idiot
Like you in English class.
I still come back to this scene every few months. Unbelievably good movie.
As someone who just lost their Dad, this is beautiful.
I always found this scene beautifully tragic, it may seem to have some kind of deep message, but to me the message is simple. In times of dire need we look towards the ones we love (the father) and when we slowly realize these people are no longer around (he rode ahead) some of us cannot cope ("I woke up"). The man misses his father......
To me, "I woke up" means he discovered the grim truth that the reason his father died at the age he did is because that's the implied limit set by the world he lives in. His father is young in his dreams because that's how he died, and he explains that he's 20 years past that age. He sees his father, young, riding forward on his horse. But him? All he can do now is stand still. Because of his age, he's "overmatched" as he explained earlier in the movie. Hence the title, "No Country For Old Men"
+Jesus Christ where's your father by the way?
+Jesus Christ master Kenobi, is that you ?
+Matthew Williams He lived. Unless he's a shapeshifter he's semitic.
+Denis Kreynin Right, but I think what's also implied here is the endurance of the human spirit...This to me, is the other side of the coin. There's an old man who's living this "country" and he has sort of become a philosopher to it.
There's also that human effect that McCarthy always puts into his books. Cormac is huge on the human spirit and his father was carrying that fire for both of them to be warm. There is no denial of what he is saying. He's saying that his father is waiting for him in the afterlife and that's what makes this touching.
He may have been overmatched, as you put it, but he's looking forward to seeing his father more, and couldn't care less if he died tomorrow because of it.
The best stories linger. Not only in the world of the film after the camera has shut off, but in the mind of the viewer. In John Truby's novel, he encourages writers never to tie your narrative up in a neat little bow and call it a day when you type the end. Story is not a sequence of events that come and go but something that leaves an impact.
When I was younger and watching this scene, it made no sense to me whatsoever and now I’m 24, my dad passed away now and this scene holds so much meaning to me. I can’t wait to meet you at the campfire Dad I know you’ll be waiting to keep us warm ❤️
Best book adaption of all time. I can’t read the book without hearing his voice on that final monologue. Such a great movie
30 people aren't carrying the fire
We are the good guys still. We would never eat anyone. We carry the fire.
I see what you did there lol
I never made that connection before. "Carrying the fire" was a phrase used in Cormac Kccarthy's other novel, The Road
Ah a reference from The Road in another Cormac McCarthy story. Nice 🤘😎
The Road. Awesome comment
One of, if not the, best scenes ever
The way he just stumbles through this sentence at 1:36 always breaks my heart.
Recently watched this movie and the ending is a masterpiece.
Most people remembered Javier Bardem performance and his acting from that movie, but when I first watched it, that ending scene kept in my head.
I don't know why, but I find it relaxing and beautifully made.
First dream; the money represents the values his father taught him. At some point in time, TLJ loses those values. Second dream; the horn with the fire now represents the same values his father taught him, but this time, the father passes him without acknowledging him. In a sense, as if TLJ has lost belief of those values from what he's gone through (all that cold and dark). The cold and dark represents evil as he knows it, and the father building a fire is the hope and guidance that some evil can be contained, which in the dream, he believes is waiting for him with time. But then he wakes up, the reality that he's retired and has run out of time and Anton (all that cold and dark) has prevailed. This was a perfect ending to the film.
muham8 damn. It makes sense now. Thanks bro. I now realised it.
Great explanation, basically the same way that I interpret it. I also noticed the mesquite trees in the background. The one one the left reflects Ed Tom's (TLJ) father. Grew straight and tall but dead, whereas the tree on the right is Ed Tom, crooked and forked but still alive.
@@mrt1202 damn nice catch. Never noticed that.
I honestly really doubt the book or movie is anywhere near as bleak as people are portraying it to be. To put it in a really simple way, I think the message of the story is that "evil is apart of human nature and can never be hoped to be completely eradicated, but so is good". Though there are many apathetic or selfish people in the story, there are also quite a few decent people. The guy who works at the clothing store who helps Moss no questions asked, the woman who works at the Motel that refuses to give up the info to Chigurh, Carla who didn't even really do anything wrong and even straight up tells Chigurh that his entire worldview is basically a delusional and pretentious half baked justification for the horrible things he does on a regular basis, hell even the kids who help Chigurh after the crash. The world is and has always been a very confusing, often awful and uncaring place, and there's nothing we can really do to ever destroy that evil - but there are still decent people, who do the best they can with what limited time they have in this existence, and eke out some sort of comfort from it. I think the ending is a realistic conclusion to the story and the themes it was trying to present and I think it even may be the ray of hope at the end of the story. I wish I could elaborate more but youtube comment limits prevent me from doing so
I love the detail of the clock continuing to tick even after the scene has seemed to have ended, and the screen fades to black. So many wonderful details. Love this movie.
Genius acting, direction, ambience, script.... The finality of those few last words...haunting ...
Jesus Christ is there any scene in this doesn’t give me chills?! What a film
One of the best emotional endings I’ve ever seen to a movie. Hits you with a feeling you can hardly describe but somehow remember fondly sort of like the feeling of describing a dream
When I saw this in the theater there were several gasps when the screen cut to black. Someone said "No!" I immediately walked one block from the theater on 14th street to The Strand. I picked up a copy of the book to see how it ended and it was exactly this way. What a novel. What a film.
I think an interesting addendum/context to the fire carried by the father is that it's a major theme McCarthy (who wrote the incredible novel) repeats throughout his entire body of work. In The Road, the boy is instructed to "carry the fire". I think it's very primordial in the ways of Prometheus himself. It isn't so much that the fire is impossible or not reachable but that we must carry it. It is a hope. It is something to strive towards even in the dark and cold. It is humanity's flame.
The Coens made a great decision in keeping the ending exactly the same as the book. Ed Tom talking about his dreams is the same verbatim as Cormac McCarthy's novel, and it's a fantastic and haunting conclusion.
One of the finest monologues in cinema history.
It's really just crazy how good this movie is.
Citizen Kane is the greatest American film ever made. This is the second. My wife and I walked from the theater, looked at each other, and said to one another a single word. Perfect. You don't even realize there's no sound track until after the film is over. It so holds your attention every second. It transfixes you. "It ain't all waiting on you. That's vanity."
Ahh the ening is beautiful. This man knows hes moving towards the end of his life. He keeps seeing evil stuff around him. Keeps wishing his golden past will come back. This dream is basically his heaven calling for him. G
His father moving through the harsh reality of life, moving through cold, dark, snow. But he carries a fire with him. When his dad stops and makes a fire, tommy lee jones can sit down and join him.
RIP the Great American Author
One of the best movies I have ever seen. And this ending is spectacular. It couldn’t have finished any other way.
This is some of the finest acting I have ever seen. Every subtle micro-movement gives you a window into the thoughts of the character. Unbelievable talent. In fact, I only just watched this film and was completely blown away that films like this are still being made- I gave up on movies a long time ago..
There's a lot of trash and hot woke garbage out there. Then we have masterpieces like this. Stanley Kubrick's entire catalog, but especially Barry Lyndon. Gems like Margin Call. Just about anything David Mamet does.
@WardDorrity A movie is never bad because its woke though. A movie is bad when it has bad writing or bad storytelling. Wokeness has nothing to do with the quality of a movie.
Everything Everywhere All At Once is a great movie that, technically speaking, is "woke". It's about a middle-aged female Chinese immigrant with a lesbian daughter. So how come people don't call it woke? Because its a good movie.
People just use woke nowadays because they don't know how to critique movies properly.
Being older than your father, "In a sense", is such a strange thing to think about.
This is the greatest scene in cinema history.
I loved this scene in both the book and movie since I first encountered them, but on this first Father’s Day after my dad passed away recently it just destroys me in a very beautiful way.
boo hoo hoo
Tommy Lee Jones was perfect for this role
Bedspread twin bed and 3
I like how you can just hear the clock in the background in the end, and is the last thing you hear. time just marches on
Lost my father in 2013, old man drunk himself to death. Watching this, first time ever in 2018. After this, I started tearing up, my wife asked what was wrong. I just told her, you still got your father, enjoy his time here. I miss my father so damn much.
I can't get over how well written and beautiful this dream sequence is. Part of it includes imagery that seems about dealing with death. He couldn't see his father's face as he disappeared in to the darkness. But it also expresses a certain father and son feeling, where both of them are in it together, both working hard. But also the dad is putting in the extra effort to make sure his son knows he is loved and protected and has something to look forward to.
In the end, though, I think the most important part of it all is the last line, "And then I woke up." Has anyone ever felt older than when they wake up from a dream filled with young memories?
Probably the best ending scene there's ever been. So touching seeing an actor like TLJ reveal his vulnerability, conveying how he misses his Dad (or at least that's one of several potential interpretations of his dream). Beautiful stuff.
The dream ends before he finds his place in the chaos.
If the ticking of the clock at the end doesn't make your heart skip a beat, you simply don't understand the power of this monologue and this film.
This ending really took a couple watches to understand the brilliance of it. I think it’s simply about the fact that we’re all slowly dying, and the fact that none of us are immortal and a happy life isn’t guaranteed, which is a big theme of the movie. In the end, we are all alone. It’s the deepest ending to a movie I’ve ever seen. The sudden cut to black with the clock still ticking, indicating time still moving along at a cruel pace, gives me chills.
RIP Cormac McCarthy :(
I feel like the first dream is the most important. His father giving him "some money" he lost, could symbolize the old world he felt his father left for him, but just wasnt there
To me this comes back to the line where he said he always thought God would find him when he got old, but never did. He always thought that when he got there everything would be safe and fine but then he woke up and realized it never would be
how can any human being give that a thumbs down?
Amen brother.
Right
***** the ending sucks balls! Game over for Tommy Lee Jones!
Too bad this scene doesn't work for you. Some, many, of us posting here think it's terrific. Maybe try re-watching it someday -- it might work for you then.
The problem is that the ending treats you like you're intelligent and can think for yourself. Most people want everything to be spoon fed to them and for everything to be wrapped up prettily with a bow, because that's how most movies are made.
haunting and brilliant, subtle and profound.
The father is the mythological symbol for Order, security, and comfort. Ed Tom, who has spent the film wading deeper into chaos and trying to escape with his soul intact, now yearns for the wisdom and company and security of his father. He dreams that his father will be with him throughout the dark chaos of these times and will help light his way through them-with a fire in the storm.
“I knew that when I got there he’d be there. Then I woke up.”
However, this hope was all a dream, ending as Ed Tom again woke up to the cold, arid, brutal reality of the world.
"Fixing to make a fire in all that cold and dark" is the part that really sticks with me.
A lot of people don’t understand why this film was named “no country for old men” and it shows
The dream of the fire dies for this man in the movie. The idea of fated occurrence as well, there is no hope in such a world, as there is no purpose. Jones' unsettled desperation in the face of this reality is perfect.
This scene still brings to me tears every time
As a hunter, this scene hits home.
My own dad is still living, but he's suffering from Alzheimer's now.
Here is this devoted husband and dad who sacrificed so much for us three boys and mom, now unable to even know our names, that we're even married, or that he was even married at all (mom died three years ago), so in a sense, he already has gone over to the other side described by Sheriff Bell in this scene.
he woke up to a new age divorced from his father that he does not understand...
Chills every time... This film is a masterpiece and the performances astounding
The fact that, at the end, Ed Tom is subtly shaking like he's about to cry made me scream "this actor is a badass"
Respect to this ending from France.
The darkness = eternity/uncertainty surrounding death. The fire in the horn = hope, dwindling, yet still present, and the only thing that allows one to continue moving forward while engulfed in the confused darkness that we call life. Hope is the light. Keep the horn lit.
One love.
For me. The 2nd dream, and emphasis that his father died younger, represents what would/could have happened if TLJ kept pursuing Anton (into all that cold and dark). His dad with the cloak, horn, and fire, represents a courageous and steadfast lifestyle in a fight against a hostile environment (life hardship). He ignores TLJ in the dream because TLJ chooses not to chase Anton and to retire. He chooses not to live that life. He knows once he goes after his dad and find him he will be there (death). But then he wakes up (showing he will life on). Amazing scene!!! :)
And great on your own interpretation of it!
sammy That's a pretty good interpretation. I can't remember if it happens in the film, but in the book Bell talks about problems with living up to his father. In the film he tries to be a father figure, but ultimately he can't for a few reasons. He returns to being a son in this dream, even though he's older, which shows it's not just literally his father, it's ideas about the role of paternity.
Tommy Lee, man he's an amazing actor!
'And then I woke up'..What a writer, what an actor, what directors. We wake up to find that the Hero is us and the Father is within us.
When you're in that age group that clock ticking in the background is no longer subliminal. It just gets louder and louder.
A lot of people credit The Godfather with the greatest movie ending ever. I credit this with the best ending to anything.
+CD Rivera The Godfather Part 1 or Part 2? Part 2 is the better of the two imo, but I find NCFOM's ending more haunting.
Fan Made Videos I'm talking about Part 1 because you look up on the internet "best movie endings ever" and you see all these lists with Part 1 as number 1, and I am not bashing on Godfather at all, but No Country's ending has just so much more meaning and it so much more poetic. And just for sake of discussion, I'm the type of person that prefers Part 1 lol.
+Carlos Rivera Fernandez This ending is way more meaningful than The Godfather's.
My three favorite films are this, Taxi Driver and Synecdoche, New York. And all three of those movies have endings that alter the overall interpretation of the film drastically.
@Ken Reilly I prefer Once Upon a Time in America, The Wages of Fear 53, or The Searchers. John Wayne's best hip movements ever!!
This is one hell of an ending. Quiet but powerful. The older I get, the more it hits me...
CORMAC MCCARTHY
Is a genius.
I know exactly how he feels. Now that I am older I can really relate. He is dealing with his own mortality. Trust me, it's a bitch.
That lady's look after he says " then l woke up" just does it for me
That blank stare.
2:20 look at the worry, anxiety, fear in his eyes after he says
"...an' then i woke up..."
Brilliant characterisation from Tommy Lee Jones.
The first dream is just brushed over but he's meeting his dad downtown to get some money which he lost. Isnt that a metaphor for the movie plot, its like his last case staying with him having a lasting impact, one he'd rather forget, like this dream.
mrs pinkman has sure came a long way