The Third Man. Raiders of the Lost Ark gave us a victorious hero, then threw egg on his face with that unforgettable shot of the warehouse. My favorite John Sayles film, Lone Star , ends with a climactic scene that is absolutely perfect. I watched the movie again on video not long ago, and rewound that final scene two or three times. Endings are tricky business.
Happy ones tend to feel bland and even anti-climactic, especially in romantic comedies.
I might have been wrong. But before the ending, there must be a beginning. Limbo begins in the Alaskan capitol of Juneau, a town feeling the weight of financial depression and geographical isolation. The salmon canning plant is closing down, costing many people their jobs. Some have taken to fishing, others to flying.