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.
How do you feel about ambiguity in films?
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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.