The following contains spoilers for Rumours, now playing in theatersRumours’ending is a surprisingly silly but deeply satirical conclusion that underscores the message of the film. Directed by Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, and Galen Johnson, the film focuses on the G7 summit — which brings together the leaders of the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Canada, Italy, Germany, and Japan.Rumours’charactersquickly dispel any notion that this gather will be productive, however, with the movie embracing an almost dreamlike visual style and goofy approach.
The fact that the world leaders are soon running through an abandoned forest in search of help, surviving off pocket meat and taking turns pushing the President of France in a wheelbarrow, gives the film an overtly goofy element. However, just beneath the jokes are some surprising critiques about romance, aging, and the failures of those in power in the face of a potential end of the world. Here are the strangest andunsettling elements ofRumours’ending, explained.
Is The World Ending In Rumours? The Mystery Global Crisis Explained
RumoursSeems To Destroy The World In The Background
The ending ofRumourssuggests that some cataclysm has befallen the world, potentially causing an apocalyptic event that nevertheless remains a mystery to the film’s cast and audience. Almost the entire movie is solely focused on the seven world leaders, who quickly discover they are alone at their remote meeting space and incapable of using their phones to contact people. This means the exact circumstances of the apparent apocalypse are never revealed, especially after a heavy fog rolls in. However, the bizarre circumstances of the movie suggest something is happening to the world that can’t be explained away.
Rumoursdoesn’t confirm one way the other what is happening around the world.
In fact, the movie gives several possible explanations, any of which could be the cause of this unspecified crisis. There’s the undead Bog people, rising from their unearthed graves. This suggests a supernatural threat at work. The brain found in the forest could be an extraterrestrial entity or a new lifeform brewing out of the Earth. Ultimately,Rumoursdoesn’t confirm one way the other what is happening around the world. However, the final shots of the movie indicate the surrounding area has been engulfed in flames, indicating there isn’t some misunderstanding going on.
What Is The Big Brain In Rumours?
Celestine’s Discovery In The Woods Is One OfRumours' Strangest Beats
Even compared to the other strange beats inRumours, the discovery of a massive brain in the forest stands out. The brain is found by Maxime while he is searching through the forest for Celestine, the Secretary-General of the European Commission. Celestine, who has been established by the others as a brilliant young woman, seems entirely enamored by the brain and incapable of shifting to a different language.It isn’t clear if she has been impacted directly by the brainor if her mind has has been changed because of the strange sight.
Where To Watch Rumours: Showtimes & Streaming Status
Cate Blanchett stars in a black comedy rich with political satire, and options exist for where to watch Rumours in theaters or at home on streaming.
Regardless, Celestine’s connection to the Brain leads her to suggest it’s actually a new life-form growing with the Earth, potentially even the Earth itself evolving into something she believes will replace humanity. This makes her decision to destroy it (and herself with it) all the more harrowing and unexpectedly dark. It’s even possible that if the brain is deeply connected to the world by burning the brain,Celestine has doomed the world. If so, the fires seen by the world leaders at the end could potentially be the result of her decision.
Rumours' Bog People Explained
Rumours' Versions Of Zombies Are A Big Part Of The Satire
The Bog People are some ofRumours' more overtly goofy concepts, adding a layer of low-brow comedy to the film’s purposefully unnerving ambiguity. The Bog People are introduced as a concept early, a recent archeological discovery that serves as the backdrop of the G7. The Bog People are established as former leaders of ancient Germanic tribes.The long dead entities seem to come back to some form of life once night falls, rising from their Graves after Sylvain encounters them.
The Bog People are based real life occurrences across various parts of Europe, including Germany.
They pose no direct threat to the G7 leaders, seemingly ignoring them for the most part. In fact, all they seem really capable of is trying to pleasure themselves, as the confused G7 leaders discover when they see them around a fire while moving through the woods. Their presence suggests a supernatural element to the film, but their true origins are never fully explained.The Bog People could be seen as the film’s most overt form of satire, a commentary on the self-serving leaders who fail to actually lead their world into the future, as they are identified early as failed leaders themselves.
Celestine & Jonas' Deaths In Rumours Explained
Rumours' Two Biggest Deaths Don’t Involve Any Of The Main Characters
Rumourshas two notable deaths, Celestine and Jonas. Celestine’s clear love for the giant uncovered brain in the forest leaves her desperate to unite the the G7 leaders around it. However, she ultimately decides to destroy herself and the brain, lighting both if them on fire in the process.It’s a sudden burst of horrifying violence in the movie, which largely avoids major casualties as the rest of the group flees. The other big death in the film is Jonas. Jonas is introduced late in the film as the only remaining other person at the G7 location.
After meeting with the other world leaders and using a predator-hunting app to lure the leaders to the building, Jonas ends up killing himself with a pistol. His body is found by Hilda.Jonas' death inRumoursserves as an emotional low point for the world leaders. Jonas death represents a potent but final escape from their situation, especially after Hilda reveals a number of cyanide pills that they could use to follow suit.
Who All Has Maxime Seduced?
Maxime’s Romantic Interests Include Almost Half Of The Rest Of The Cast
Played by Roy Dupuis, Maxime is the Prime Minister of Canada inRumours. The handsome world leader is quickly established in the film as a romantic, whose open emotional state is teased by his compatriots. However, it’s notable thatMaxime ends up having a romantic connection or history with all three of the film’s primary female characters. Early in the film, Hilda goes to follow Maxime as he walks into the nearby woods to collect his thoughts, with the pair getting intimate among the trees.
Even before that, it was heavily implied that at the previous G7 summit, he had slept with the UK Prime Minister, Cardosa Dewindt. He’s also deeply concerned with the fate Celestine, who he was formerly in a romance with. Maxime’s charms even seem to work on Sylvain, who admits he feels reassured and safe while being carried by the Canadian.Maxime’s charms might be why he’s become a powerful politician, although it doesn’t give him any particular advantages as a leader over his fellow members of the G7.
The Real Meaning Of Rumours
Rumours' Satirical Core Has High Ideals & Lowbrow Humor
The ending ofRumourshighlights the farcical nature of the film, while giving it a somewhat strange sense of defiant optimism. After reuniting and considering their fates while the world burns around them, Maxime leads the leaders in collaborating on a new speech. This allows them to end the film on a note of defiant unity that in another film could be taken as a whole-hearted rebuttal to giving up. However,Rumoursgives the bombastic speech a darker undercurrent with the chaos surrounding them.
While the leaders may feel good they got their speech done, the world still appears to burn around them.Their leadership and unity means nothing in the end, save for their own self-satisfaction. They control some of the world’s most powerful nations, and they’ve done nothing of consequence. It’s a harsh bit of societal critique. This is underscored by the Bog People who appear below them and who respond to the speech with yelling and attempted masturbation. It all plays into the thematic core ofRumours, giving the film’s satirical commentary on modern government and leadership a harsh edge.
Rumours
Cast
Rumours is a comedy film directed by Evan Johnson, Galen Johnson, and Guy Maddin. The film centers on seven leaders of rich democracies. While attempting to draft a global crisis statement, they become lost in the woods and struggle to find their way out.
