At this point, more than one knows what it’s about Leaving the world behindthe latest apocalyptic movie Netflix, which premiered on Friday, December 8. The film starring Julia Roberts, Ethan Hawke and Mahershala Ali follows the story of an inexplicable global blackout that has caused all kinds of chaos in the world and everyone’s desire to get back to normal.

If you haven’t seen it yet, chances are you’ve come across the disturbing trailer You just open the Netflix app. The title has positioned itself as one of the most viewed titles on the platform Ecuador.

And if you’ve already seen it, you will have been left speechless by the open ending. That was the director’s intention, Sam Esmailrecognized as the creator of the series Mr. Robot (starring Rami Malek).

What ‘Leaving the World Behind’ is about, Netflix’s new apocalyptic film, starring Ethan Hawke and Julia Roberts

What happens at the end of Leaving the world behind? (spoilers)

GH (Mahershala Ali) takes Clay (Ethan Hawke) and his son Archie to Danny, a neighbor and survivor played by Kevin Bacon, to ask for medication because Archie has lost his teeth. The young man is believed to have been the target of a sonic attack.

In turn, Amanda (Julia Roberts), Clay’s wife, and Ruth, GH’s daughter, stay behind and watch in horror as things get worse and New York goes up in flames.

Meanwhile, Rose, Amanda and Clay’s youngest daughter, wanders around alone until she finds the bunker in which the two families want to take refuge. Only she doesn’t know. Ignoring the disaster around her, the girl enters the shelter and plays one of the site’s DVDs to watch the end of her favorite series (another spoiler: it’s about Friends). The screen goes dark and the credits roll.

Where does it end Leaving the world behind?

In an interview with Variety, author Rumaan Alam, who wrote the book of the same name on which the film is based, praised the film’s ending even though it is different from his work. “No one really knows what to do with the ending. They say, ‘Is this funny? Is it scary? Is it really over?’ And I think that’s great,” Alam said.

Director Esmail also commented on the ending. In an interview with Vulture He said, “The purpose of the end is to provoke a conversation; The intention is not to connect everything together. I don’t think the film succeeds in that. But I wanted to give something more, because I think in the cinematographic medium you can go too far with abstraction.”

What are they saying on social media about the end of Leave the world behind?

Certainly, more than an open ending, it is an ambiguous ending, with extremes for every viewer.

According to a report from CBC (Canadian radio), some viewers speculated that the ending is a reflection of today’s society and what Rose’s obsession is with Friendsto the point where she literally seems to leave her world behind (as the title says) symbolizing ours escapism through television and social mediato ignore the current devastating world events.

On social networks, where all users have a microphone to comment on everything, there are interesting theories about what the ending of the film represents. For many there is a hidden but very current political message.

Juan José Cruz, a political analyst and YouTuber who goes by the user @servimatoficial, suggests that Barack and Michelle Obama, producers of the title, want to use this story to paint what the end of the world would look like in the United States. “What will the apocalypse be like? What will happen in the coming years? The movie of Leaving the world behind try to resolve these doubts. A film that illustrates how a simple blackout can become our worst nightmare,” he explains in a YouTube video.

The user Veronica Carbayona (@cavronica) says the concept of “a technological blackout and a collapsing world” refers to the theories of Klaus Schwab, CEO of the World Economic Forum. “A cyber attack with the characteristics of the coronavirus would spread faster and further than any biological virus,” reflected the German economist and businessman in a video shared by Carbayona. “Is this a warning for 2024,” the tweeter asks.

For the user Leah Sclabos (@Leasclabos), the film wants to send a political message to the world, by extrapolating situations that would have occurred in the United States, France, Chile and even Ecuador. “The easiest way to destroy a country is to force its people not to regard their own countrymen as human beings… to take to the streets and destroy themselves.” (JO)