How did he get Tomas' mask? At first I thought it would have been in the basement, but why would it be there?
"This isn't TV, it's real life. Can't you tell the difference?"
"Sure - I just like TV better."
Because that was where Tomas lived? Why wouldn't it be there?
Let me add -- what I loved most about this film was the ending, that it (to my mind, very clearly) tied up every loose end and made you realize that this was not a ghost story at all, but that there was a natural, tragic explanation that at first appeared supernatural to a grief-stricken mother. That was the entire point of the ending, and I thought it was shot very well, in a way that made everything clear (or so I thought...) without beating you over the head.
Well, the other children had it when he died in the cave. I just don't see the point in throwing the mask back in the basement when they would have more likely thrown it out, or buried it with his body. But I suppose, this being a work of fiction, there doesn't have to be a logical explanation for everything.
"This isn't TV, it's real life. Can't you tell the difference?"
"Sure - I just like TV better."
Thomas probably had more than one mask...I'm sure that is something that would need to be washed once in awhile!
shareI think that was Tomas who pushed Laura in the bathroom. I think he hated her as a child because she was able to get adopted and live a better life. I think at the point when Laura was pushed in the tub, Simon was already gone into hiding.
shareSimon pushed Laura into the bathroom. It wasn't the ghost of Thomas. At that time Laura actually wasn't able to see or hear any ghosts. The only reason why Simon could see Thomas's ghost was because he himself was dying of HIV. In the movie it was mentioned that people who are nearing death can see the dead. Simon found Thomas's mask in the basement because that's where Beninga (Thomas's mother) had forced him to live so no one could see him because of his deformed face.
When Laura went looking for Simon and she opened the first door to the basement, a pile of iron bars fell down blocking the door. She picked them up and inadvertantly leaned them back up against the second door and left to go back outside. Simon at the time was in the basement, he walked up the stairs and tried to open the door but couldn't because the bars were leaning against it. He then must have lost his balance and fallen back down the stairs and ended up dying. His falling was the sound Laura heard while walking back down the corridor and she thought it was a ghost, not realising what had really happened.
Laura only started seeing ghosts at the end of the movie after she had taken the pills and was nearing death. That is when she finally found Simon in the basement. She saw him lying there (dead) and approached him. Then she saw his ghost (because she was nearing death) and thought he was alive. I don't think Laura ever knew that Simon had actually died. She took the pills to die because she realised that would be the only way she could contact the children and find out from them where Simon was. A tragic yet somehow happy ending.
I'm sorry but I'm going to have to disagree. I just watched the movie tonight and the person that pushed Laura was Tomas. The child was wearing the clothing of the orphanage and he was also having problems breathing. You could hear him sniffling, like a child would who had a deformed face.
shareI'm sorry but I'm going to have to disagree. I just watched the movie tonight and the person that pushed Laura was Tomas. The child was wearing the clothing of the orphanage and he was also having problems breathing. You could hear him sniffling, like a child would who had a deformed face.
*nitpicking* He didn't have AIDS. He had HIV.
shareRemember he had started to cry after Laura slapped him. Another poster mentioned that the breathing was probably caused by Simon still crying and being stuffed up. The breathing difficulty was made worse because of him having that restrictive mask on...And if the mask had gotten wet from his tears and nose running this would create an even less porous material and cause it hard to breath with the mask on. It's not surprising that Simon would have been making those sounds...This is what I believe...
I think some of your ideas are accurate...But I believe that Laura first started seeing ghosts when she saw that little boy in the cave at the beach when she ran off searching for Simon...Although Simon was already dead at this point so it was to no avail. He had fallen down the stairs in the little room. It was Simon's ghost that she saw at the front of the cave..We can discern this because the little boy was dressed up with a black vest and pants and white shirt that Simon had on when he and Laura had the argument when she slapped him.
You need to see the movie.
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