Unresolved Stories and Open-Ended Narratives

[oscar jubis]

I need your help.

I have started doing research for a book on films which have open endings or fail to clearly answer a major question elicited by the plot. Consequently, these films deny the viewer narrative closure. Some examples of what I have in mind...You know how by the end of L'avventura we still don't know what happened to the socialite who got lost island-hopping and became the subject of a search, and how there's no way of knowing if the man and the woman actually met Last Year at Marienbad, and whether or not Vero ran over the boy found dead on the side of the road in The Headless Woman? This type of narrative characteristic can be found, to varying degrees, in the works of these directors: Hitchcock (Suspicion,Vertigo, Psycho, The Birds), Antonioni, Resnais, Haneke (as of late), Kiarostami, Lynch, Duras, and a few others.

Please share your thoughts and/or nominate any films you can think of that "fit the bill". Thanks!
*If you cannot post, e-mail me at o.jubis@miami.edu

[Chris Knipp]

Very large topic, Oscar. I think it best to take a few examples and analyze rather than try to make a comprehensive list. Unresolved plots in movies include a lot of bad movies as well as the artistic and famous ones you mention; keep that in mind and note the difference.

[oscar jubis]

The book will closely consider a relatively small number of films. However, I am beginning the exploration/research of the topic, a phase that will last about 15 months. It serves me well to be as inclusive as possible. A small sample can lead to problematic, narrow conclusions. Would you provide examples of these "bad movies with unresolved plots", please. Are these as common as you say? Notice that what I have in mind are movies that fail to answer major questions elicited by the plot. Thanks.

[Chris Knipp]

I see your point. I'll keep that in mind and let you know if I come up with new examples.

[oscar jubis]

Thanks. Please do.

[Chris Knipp]

I think it is a good idea for you to list bad movies that have unresolved plots just because they're bad, while the great directors you list such as Haneke, Antonioni, Resnais, et al. use the unresolved quality intentionally. However I doubt that i can come up with more examples than you can, and I'm not much of an expert on bad movies. It's just my feeling that bad movies often have plots that don't quite make sense.