>> Speaker 1: We did introductions, so it seems only fitting we follow it up with
departures, and holy [BLEEP], are there a lot.
Maybe too much for a top ten, but if we really think about it,
the only people telling us we have to do ten, is us.
So we're just gonna un-tell ourselves and do more, because we can.
>> [MUSIC]
>> Speaker 1: Like it or not, we all eventually come to know loss,
some greater, some lesser, but never none.
Great loss is something we all experience, but
grieving isn't something most of us are explicitly taught how to do.
We don't have a class, Bereavement 101, to give us lessons on what we'll feel and
how to handle it, and what's the right thing to do.
And loss certainly isn't the only thing like this.
There are lots of complicated emotional life events that are hard to talk about,
and even harder to teach, which is where movies come in.
If you ask Joseph Campbell, one of the forefathers of the study of mythology,
stories have four main functions in any society.
To evoke a sense of wonder in our world,
to present a conceptual model of that world, to establish a sense of right or
wrong within that model, and to teach individuals how to handle having a life.
And how to deal with all the major life events they'll experience in the meantime,
and it's this last function we wanna talk about today.
Because in looking at all the best cinematic departures, all the exits and
goodbyes, we were struck by an overarching sense of loss, but
also a sense of coping in each and every one of them.
So it seems to us, that the representation of departures in cinema,
are cultural, mythological lessons on dealing with loss.
These moments help us to build conceptual models of how to behave.
By showing us others deal with loss,
they give us permission to grieve in one manner, or cautions about another.
They warn us about the struggles we might have to through.
And provide us narrative schema for
how we should cope in this most universal of struggles, because that's what this is.
One of the hardest things we'll ever have to do, is experience loss.
So, let's take a look and reflect on all the different ways characters respond
when someone leaves a narrative.
And try to understand how those films are preparing us for
how to respond when someone leaves a life.
With longing and nostalgia in full view of the past,
>> Speaker 3: Last week,
he entered a fast food restaurant.
Just ahead of him, two men got into an argument, one of them pulled a knife.
Chris, who had always made the best peace, tried to break it up.
He was stabbed in the throat, he died almost instantly.
>> Speaker 1: Or melodramatically, with massive outpourings of emotion,
as if to say, it's all right to feel.
>> Dorothy: It's going to be so hard to say goodbye, I love you all too.
>> Speaker 1: Justifiably and righteously angry, with no remorse,
in exactly the right words.
>> Speaker 5: Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn.
>> Speaker 1: In order to make way for a better life, with pride and
self assuredness, in taking charge of the future.
>> Truman: In case I don't see you, good afternoon, good evening, and goodnight.
>> [LAUGH] >> Speaker 1: Or, in the form
of admission that we simply cannot stay, despite how much we wish we could.
>> Speaker 7: We set out to save the Shire, Sam.
>> [MUSIC]
>> Speaker 7: And it has been saved.
>> [MUSIC] >> Speaker 7: But not for me.
>> Speaker 1: By risking rejection, in order to avoid the loss.
>> Speaker 8: Listen, listen, you know all this bullshit we're talking about,
about not seeing each other again?
I don't wanna do that.
>> Speaker 9: Yeah, I don't wanna do that either.
>> Speaker 8: You don't either?
>> Speaker 9: I was waiting for you to say it.
[LAUGH] >> Speaker 8: [LAUGH] Why didn't you
say something?
>> Speaker 1: Or by ignoring it altogether.
>> [MUSIC]
>> Speaker 1: By taking pride in doing the right thing, despite how much it hurts.
>> Speaker 10: Ilsa, I'm no good at being noble, but
it doesn't take much to see that the problems of three little people
don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world.
Someday, you'll understand that.
>> [MUSIC]
>> Speaker 10: Now, now. >> [MUSIC]
>> Speaker 10: Here's looking at you kid.
>> Speaker 1: Or, as if we've just the right word or
gesture, we might find satisfying closure.
>> Speaker 11: Don't follow me.
>> Speaker 1: With cool, compassionate grace.
>> [INAUDIBLE] >> Speaker 1: Or, a lack thereof,
imperfectly, in order to let us know it's okay, we won't always get it right.
>> [MUSIC]
>> Speaker 2: [FOREIGN]
>> [MUSIC]
>> Speaker 1: In ways we never wanted, because we weren't in control.
>> Speaker 12: At the edge of the jungle he stopped.
I was certain he was going to look back at me,
flatten his ears to his head, growl,
that he would bring our relationship to an end in some way.
>> [MUSIC]
>> Speaker 12: But he just stared ahead into the jungle.
>> Speaker 1: Or by stoically denying any of our emotion's purchase.
>> [MUSIC]
>> Speaker 1: With a sense of humor about what might have been.
>> Speaker 13: Ice Land is, it's kind of like that point in a relationship,
where you suddenly realize it's not gonna to last forever.
>> Speaker 14: Yeah but, we're not even there yet.
>> [MUSIC]
>> Speaker 14: We're still at the good part.
>> Speaker 1: Or with gratitude, and hope for what's to come.
>> Speaker 15: I love you, I love you.
>> [SOUND] >> Speaker 16: Harold, that's wonderful.
Go and love some more.
>> Speaker 1: By replacing sad thoughts with happy memories.
>> [MUSIC]
>> Speaker 2: [LAUGH] >> Speaker 1: By reaffirming a common
bond, and shared past.
>> Speaker 17: Sammy, remember when we were kids,
do you remember what we always used to say to each other?
>> Sammy: Course I do.
>> Speaker 17: You remember when we were kids?
>> [MUSIC]
>> Speaker 1: By honoring those we love, as they leave.
>> [MUSIC]
>> Speaker 19: It's Hebrew, from the Talmud, that says whoever saves one life,
saves the world entire.
>> Speaker 1: Or with neither pomp, nor circumstance, nor much adieu at all.
>> Speaker 20: Well, take care man, gotta get back.
>> Speaker 21: Sure, take it easy dude.
>> Speaker 20: Yeah. >> Speaker 21: I know that you will.
>> Speaker 20: Yeah, well, the dude abides.
>> Speaker 1: There's the Irish goodbye, which is to say no goodbye at all.
>> [MUSIC]
>> Speaker 1: And the goodbye to no one but the audience itself, merely an exit
into the future, allowing us to form our own reaction to the departure.
>> [MUSIC]
>> Speaker 22: Go get them, champ.
[SOUND] Awesome, awesome, awesome, awesome, awesome.
>> Speaker 1: These aren't the only ways to deal with loss,
and they might not even be the healthiest.
But they're the models we're given, and
they speak to the acceptable modes of grief a culture permits its people.
And for that reason, they're worth bagging, tagging, and
displaying in one place, make of them what you will.
>> [MUSIC]
>> Speaker 1: So, what do you think, disagree with any of our picks?
Did we leave out any of your favorite departures?
Let us know in the comments below, and
come check out our bi-weekly movie list talk back on Facebook Live,
Thursday at 2PM Eastern, where we answer your questions from the comments.
And be sure to subscribe for more Cinefix movie lists.
>> [MUSIC]