How do you feel about ambiguity in films?

In some films it works, in others it's irritating. It all depends on the story.

For some films I really love ambiguity. Like, in The Birds, we never find out what is causing the birds to attack humans, or why it is concentrated in this one small town, or even what happens after the main characters leave. That just makes it scarier.

It depends whether it's intended to make you actually think about something interesting or just to make something crappy seem more palatable for the idea that there's a hidden meaning (which there often isn't).

I'm still rearranging my feelings about two films that did this.

- The Italian Job
- Lost In Translation

I like both. But have I been scammed by being forced to write the ending in my imagination?

I put I hate it a bit too hastily. I think I'm closer to neutral. If it's done well and isn't obviously just a plot hole, I don't mind it.

I do wish there was always a way to definitively say what happened. It bothers me when I don't know things and learning them is impossible.

I want to know what the fuck was there in that fucking suitcase in Pulp Fiction!!!

Watch "Memento", fantastic film. Needlessly ambiguous? You may think so at first, but it pulls it off brilliantly.

First, let me say, what a great question! This is something I've actually pondered before. Ambiguity is a very sensitive device in any media. Too much and the whole work seems arbitrary and random. Too little and the plot runs predictably and feels too "tied up". I prefer when the artist's/film-maker's goals are fairly clear. I like when an ending is open to interpretation, but when the ending points toward one particular conclusion that will be made by most viewers, but is also subject to doubt and rumination. Basically I like a film that is both a conversation starter and a thing in of itself. I don't like being left confused OR being left without a surprise or something to think over. I also think ambiguity is less dangerously used within a piece sporadically, and then most loose-ends are resolved by the end.

Most of the time, I dislike them, because I want a satisfying ending to the films I watch. But if a film does have an indeterminate ending, I prefer a hopeful one that leaves room to imagine good things happening to my favorite characters in the future.

It depends. It can be done very well or very badly. I found Shutter Island to be pretty ambiguous and absolutely loved it.

I'm pretty sure that the package in Cast Away contained a dildo. Tom Hanks said so.

Hmm, depends. I guess it's a good way to make you think. I either love it or hate it, depends how it's done. I'm not too keen on when they lose focus of certain parts of the film and then forget to tie up all the loose ends by the end of the film.

I love it when films leave some questions unanswered and make people think for themselfs. But I hate it when it's not done on purpose.

Example for a good unanswered question: Inception
Example for shitty writing and plot holes: Prometheus