Being There Ending - Peter Sellers Walking on Water
Here's the scene: https://youtu.be/Bow1ZJTV4L4
So I just watched Being There after many years and was blown away by the not only the film, but especially the final moments. The most logical explanation for me is that it's a submerged platform. It's such a perfect, ambiguous ending (even though I embrace the one that reinforces the theme of perception).
A few takes on the ending:
1. The Mystical/Religious Interpretation
This is the most direct reading. Because the act of walking on water is an explicit Biblical allusion -- Chance is a kind of "holy fool" or a modern-day Messiah. His improbable rise from simple gardener to political deity is seen as the miracle itself from a man who pretty much reflects back the wisdom people project onto him.
2. The Metaphorical Interpretation
This approach focuses less on a divine miracle and more on a philosophical statement. It often cites the President's line heard during the scene: "Life is a state of mind." Since Chance is completely unburdened by societal expectations or self-doubt, he literally doesn't know he can't walk on water, and therefore, he does. This is seen as his ultimate transcendence—achieving a pure state of simply "being."
3. The Literal Interpretation (a submerged platform)
This is the one I buy -- the scene isn't actually supernatural at all. Instead, Chance is just walking on a submerged dock, a shallow spot in the water, or maybe some cleverly hidden support under the ice.
The whole point is how the camera fools us into seeing a miracle. This is the ultimate dig by the movie: the audience, just like the ridiculous politicians in the film, instantly chooses to believe the grand, impossible story over the simple, logical explanation of it being a submerged dock. It reinforces the entire theme that perception is everything, and people will project deep meaning onto something completely empty.
Posted Nov 5, 2025, 11:40 PM UTC