This is the most realistic, bittersweet, and BEAUTIFUL film ending I’ve ever seen. They don’t reconcile with a passionate kiss before a plane leaves, they don’t even hold hands as they walk into the sunset - it’s not even sunset, it’s dusk.
But without a word shared, only through the shift in their expressions - the shadow of a smile on each of their maudlin faces, both humiliated, ashamed, knowing they shouldn’t trust one-another they can’t hide their love – and despite everything they continue, side by side with the circus.
There is no better example of how a picture speaks a thousand words – it accomplishes it not through some ham-fisted symbolism such as they start tying a rope, mending their relationship, or two sides of a ceramic plate are brought back together: there’s no need for symbolism because the human emotion, the gesture, the expression is enough! This sequence, even if the rest of the film is mediocre, this thirty second sequence alone encapsulates why Ingmar Bergman was one of the greatest film directors ever. And certainly the one with the greatest insight into relationships.