MovieChat Forums > Don Juan DeMarco (1995) Discussion > You ALL missed the point - MAJOR SPOILER

You ALL missed the point - MAJOR SPOILER

posted 20 years ago by stainless_steel_rat1
71 replies | jump to latest

I've read all of the notes on this board, and I'm afraid to say that every single person here missed the point of the movie. This is not attacking anybody's intelligence, it's just that I haven't read a single post that has come close to discovering the true subtlety at the end of the movie.

I notice in the comments section of IMDB that many people expressed their dissappointment about the ambigious ending... was he, or was he not Don Juan? Many people said the movie sucked because they didn't want to decide for themselves. Ok, valid opinion. However this proves that the film-maker has gone right over their heads - for he HAS provided a definite ending. They just didn't recognise it. I'll ellaborate...

Many people here have theorised that Depp is, and many people that he isn't, the real Don Juan. Actually, this debate ALSO has nothing to do with the point of the movie.

Our first clue is given in the "grey husk" speech. Don Juan says "It is only in my world that you can breathe", to which the reply is "You are right. My world is not perfect". This clearly demonstrates that Jack finally ADMITS that the magic has left his life. It also demonstrates that Jack needs the dreamworld of Don Juan; he is captivated by the love and he realises that it is irrelevant whether Don Juan's reality is factual or not... he realises that the world is actually a better place with Don Juan off medication.

Ok, now skip forward to the "Why not?" comment. Many people like it because it provides an ambigious ending. It illustrates the point that it is irrelevant whether Don Juan is the REAL Don Juan... it is enough that the possibilities exists.

This is good, but it's only half of the answer.

People have been captivated by Don Juan's dream world and some say it's real, and other's just fantasy. But to date, all the of the fantasy elements in the movie have been supplied by Don Juan. He has been the dreamer and Jack has followed along. But think about what is going on when Jack says "Why not?". For the first time, JACK is determining the course of DON JUAN'S fantasy, is he not? It is NOT Don Juan that determines if he meets his lover; it is JACK who determines for us whether the lover is waiting on the beach or not. This indicates a subtle shift that we have left Don Juan's fantasy and entered Jack's. The "Why not?" comment at the end is NOT designed to resolve Don Juan's fantasy. No, it is there to demonstrate that the viewer is now in JACK's fantasty. HE alone now has complete control over what we, the audience, believe.
So you see, the "Why not?" comment DOES provide a definite ending, but not in the way that you first realise. It is NOT an abiguous ending. The "Why not?" comment can never be replaced because it completely makes the movie. It demonstrates the full transition of the viewer from Don Juan's fantasy to Jack's "dreaming" power.

It is COMPLETELY irrelevant whether Don Juan's fantasy is true or not... it is now relevant that we the audience like Don Juan's world so much that when he leaves our focus (as the camera pulls back), we are now WILLING to let somebody ELSE dictate how the story goes.

The point of the movie is NOT to get you thinking about whether Don Juan's world is real or not. The point of the movie is that ANYBODY has the power to create such a world. Even an ordinary schmuck like Jack... and hence by association even us, the audience.

This shift is so subtle, and it is cleverly disguised behind the OTHER meaning of the words "Why not?". I take my hat off to Jeremy Levon.

[–] purplepersia 20 years ago

I would just like to say that I think the crossing over point from the story being Don Juan's fantasy to becoming Jack's is when Don Juan's mother visits Jack. She says that he was born in a small village in Mexico but later on when Don Juan is talking to the judge he says he lived in Phoenix and not Mexico.
So I think this is just Jack's fantasy that Don Juan's story is true because he wants it to be true. I think it is only Jack who sees Don Juan's mother walking across the lawn.

[–] J_D_fan 20 years ago

Okay this is getting really deep now! Don't have a go at me for this, it's only my opinion:

I think Johnny Depp (and his mother) was a personification of passion, in it's purest form.... almost like an angel in a way. Johnny Depp consciously made the decision to become Don Juan, so that he could help others by bringing passion back into their life. Like you have all said, it does not matter at all what his real identity was, all that matters is that he brought life to an ageing couple's relationship and rekindled their love. That was what he was there to do - not to prove that he was or was not the real Don Juan - it was not by coincidence that the two characters met, John/Don Juan's purpose in this section of his life was not to confuse physchiatrists, but to bring them to life.

Up until he met Don Octavio his purpose was to bring happiness and love to all the women he did sleep with (maybe not the 1500, but he certainly slept with a few - the woman in the hotel at the start for instance). That is the real purpose of this film - to show that it's not about who you are or what you believe, but what you can do for others and what a great thing it is to love and be loved in return.

----------------
You know some guys just can't hold their arsenic...
PMOTJDC est 03

[–] aragornelessar 20 years ago

my personal opinion, guys, is that while he WASNT Don Juan, he BECAME him, through a choice.

There's a couple things that may or may not have been mentioned (i havent read the whole thread) i want to say this:

there's differnt ways to look at it.

One: he wasnt don juan but eventually deluded himself into thinking he was and thats why the pills appear to work

Two: he wasnt don juan and never truly believed it, was acting the entire time like he was. For instance, when he yells "SHUT UP!" thats not 16th century vocabulary, adn he says he knew it was a mental hospital. plus, he knew how to take the pills, and what they did. how would he know all that if he was ACTUALLY don juan? and of course the accent- the one that was questionable according to all his stories and that he lost at the hearing.

but neither of these are definitive, b/c if either one or the other was true, then how/why was dona ana waiting for him on the island of eros? and we do have evidence that he's the greatest lover who ever lived, the lady he meets at the restaraunt in the beginning certainly thinks so, as do the nurses-- even Rocco.

this sounds like a school essay, but... in conclusion, while there is evidence that the ending is not ambiguous, i wont deny it, stainless_steel_rat1, there is certainly an open window to decide how much of his stories are true, and how true his claims are.

[[ i saw this with my mom, and we were talking about this subject last night. something she said was that, going with the first possibility for a sec, maybe he was delusional, and became that way b/c his life had sucked so bad and he didnt want to believe that his mother had been having affairs. then the pills in combination with the treatment with jack allowed him to look at it differently once the delusions were gone and he could decide that life doesn't have to be so bad and that he could live with his past. (and that suicide wasn't necessary) ]]

--
So we’re all men of our word really; except for Elizabeth who is in fact a woman.

[–] 20 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Princess_Whovian 20 years ago

I LIKE the ending!

[–] YoU_MuSt_NeVeR_MoVe_ThE_BoDy 20 years ago

Wow, stainless steel, you are a very intelligent person. I totally agree with your theory. I ruined this movie for myself because the first time I watched this movie was a few weeks before Christmas and I was busy doing the tree and I watched some of the beginning and the end. I wish I hadn't done that. Actually, I've never watched this whole movie in one sitting. Damn. Still a good movie. I'm gonna go out and rent it now and watch it all in one sitting this time.

What are we doing all this running for? Arent we all gonna be in cars? -Kuffs

[–] Smiles1121 20 years ago

It's kinda funny, I think. I don't go quite as far as John DeMarco when it comes to fantasies, but I do have a vivid fantasy life lol. I love imagining things. My parents always thought I was delusional and too out of touch with reality. Like Don Juan I just didn't think the real world was interesting enough so I imagined things.

"We had the world by the short and curlies"- George Jung "BLOW"

[–] La_Petite_Singe 20 years ago

Everyone has their own opinion and all, but I will say that Johnny said on Inside the Actors' Studio that he made the decision that the character was totally sane.

Average everyday sane PSYCHO

[–] everysingledream 20 years ago

I watched this movie for the first time ever last night, and again just now. I'm not sure whether he's Don Juan or not, but I'd like to believe he is. It seems to make him (Don Juan) happy, so that's what I think would be more, ummm... pleasing(??) to think.

Whatever is true, the ending is great. I loved it.

"It is truth,
but truth is not always apperance..."

Constable Ichabod Crane

[–] holbiejazz 20 years ago

no but i dont think it does make him happy.

I mean, really, this is not a happy person because he is trying to escape all the time with this character of Don Juan. Wouldnt you prefer it that the real boy behind Don Juan were happy? That he could live his life as himself and not as a fictional character. Why was he threatening to kill himself at the beginning? That is not the behaviour of a happy person.

In a way i think the ending is quite sad because they both just go one escaping reality. jack living in some fantastical world of "why not" isn't going to re kindle the magic between him and his wife. Its just running away, and by doing so - he is also letting Depp's character run away too. He cant help him, maybe he knows this and this adds to reason as to why Jack lets everything go. Maybe he doesnt want the guilt of knowing he couldnt help this boy and to have that hanging over his retirement.
i think Depp's character wanted help really. But it was just so much easier to go back to being Don Juan.

Sure it might bring a little surface happiness - living in fantasy. But there's nothing like true happiness is there. Or at least being happy enough with your life to not have to pretend to be someone else.
And the sadness is that the closest he came to getting help, was ruined by the person helping him, doing exactly the same.
i see that as a very sad ending.

"At the centre of the universe there is an eye..... and it watches us all!!!!"

[–] samantha-stevenson 20 years ago

Stainless-steel-rat (Love the name btw, I'm a BIG Harrison fan!), you have said EXACTLY what I was thinking!

It is completely IRRELEVANT whether or not he was Don Juan or not!

but even if I HAD to answer, I would say he both is and isn't, depending on how you look at it.

his name might not have been Don Juan, but hey, what's a name? You are who you are, your name has nothing to do with it.
And any man who can talk about women the way he did, must be the greatest lover in the world .

A shame really, that this was a movie... I wonder if johnny is anything like Don Juan in real life . ok, ignore me...

Sam

adapt and overcome ~ Viggo

[–] its_paint 20 years ago

hi folks! i havent read every single thing mentioned above (ran outta time) and some of this might have already been discussed but i just wanted to say that i truly believe that he is Don Juan DeMarco. in case yall havent noticed, his grandmother said his name was Johnny DeMarco, si? well Juan is Spanish for John. hence his name would be Juan DeMarco. and Don in just a name used for higher class respected men. all this said, his name is Don Juan DeMarco. and because of his views on women, how all are beautiful and how he searches out the beauty in every woman, i believe this makes him the world's greatest lover. agreed?

But Mr. Harris, we couldn't come to class, we was in jail! ~Tommy 'McQuaid'

[–] ABadSeed 20 years ago

I thought he was schizophrenic with delusions of grandeur.

Personally, I would've enjoyed seeing "Don Juan" placed on medication, "cured," and wonder whether he was better off living in his fantasy world or in supposed reality.

"I like weird. I like weird a lot."- Jeremy Sisto, "May"

[–] kurdtkobain 20 years ago

So many of you are saying "it doesn't matter if he's Don Juan, you've missed the point"...if that's what people want to know about the movie, tell them. Everyone can find their own stories in movies, perhaps people just want to know this particular fact.

[–] bhaktigirl 20 years ago

Thanks SSRat for starting this thread! I recently got the dvd and as much as I remembered loving the film, I loved it even more seeing it again. But the ending did always kinda stick for me- I just wasn't sure, outside of the doctor letting "Don Juan" have his fantasy. I didn't think of it in terms of the film becoming the doctor's fantasy, and that totally works for me! A wonderful film. The great thing about Depp being so popular now is that people are going back and enjoying little gems like this.....

[–] lauracvetkovski 19 years ago

I have been thinking...

I think the fantasy changed over before the "why not?"... I think the fantasy change over begins when Don Juan is on the plane with Mickler and his wife. I don't actually believe they took him to the island, rather it is Mickler imagining what it would've been like to take him back there...

if that makes any sense.

[i}"You're Chaser Block! Ladies man, Man's man, Man about town!"

[–] bhaktigirl 19 years ago

Of course, it makes total sense- you're probably right!

[–] luv0817 19 years ago

Thank you SO much. Finally a person on this messege board I could have an awesome film discussion with!!! I like to see what people write on the messege boards, but a lot of times I get... annoyed at peoeple who say they hate films because of their mere lack of understanding. (To those of you who have done this, please don't take offense.)
I would really like to know what you thought of other flms such as BIG FISH or MONA LISA SMILE... (I've heard some really interesting thoughts on that film) Anyway, please email me at:

movieprncss@gmail.com

Again, thank you so much. You've totally restored my faith in cine-goers

[–] fuitas 19 years ago

stainless_steel_rat1:
I'm glad someone see it the same way I did, though I haven't really thought about the significans of the "why not" part(don't remember much of the movie), very interesting.

it's interesting how this movie has similarities with k-pax.

[–] bshumate 19 years ago

Just saw this for the first time, after going through a Johnny Depp frenzy with Netflix. Anyway, why hadn't I seen this movie before? What a sweet movie. The point of this post, though, is that the doctor realized from talking to John/Don Juan that this young man wasn't really ill. He wasn't delusional.

I'm not a doctor, but I can't imagine that one dose of medication will make you suddenly snap out of a delusional state. The doctor and patient spent a lot of time together, and while Johnny's character carried on as Don Juan, he knew that the doctor knew who he really was, at least where he had come from, but that his fantasy life was where he felt comfortable, where he could breathe, to paraphrase the movie. He wasn't hurting anyone, and since the doctor knew he didn't REALLY think he was Don Juan, institutionalizing and medicating him would have been a crime. Johnny understands that, too, and shows during his interview who he REALLY is, and shows the doctor that he knows how to "play the game". (Be honest and tell them what they need to hear.) He is a normal person, completely in possession of his faculties, who happens to choose to live life in this manner. The other doctors and nurses, having not spent time with him, don't know this and think he'll hurt himself if set free. The doctor (Brando) knows he is fine; he just lives life to the fullest, complete with passion and carefree thoughts. This is clear when he asks his wife what her unfulfilled dreams are, those that she suppressed "while I was thinking of myself". SHe smiles and says "I thought you'd never ask."

This whole movie is about living life to the fullest. This patient helped the doctor see upon his retirement that he could live a different, more carefree life full of love and passion, and that to lock up someone who knows where they came from (Johnny really DID know who he was), but chooses to live life with passion rather than with ordinary-ness doesn't need to be locked up.

I love that everyone is looking for the deeper meaning in this film. I'll definitely have to watch it again. Until then, I'll have to remind myself to look for the beauty and passion in life -- doing so will make the world a brighter place! -- Beth