Hello there! Welcome to Stromboli ending explained where we will look closely at Sara’s past, her reconciliation with her daughter Sophie and her blooming romance with Hans. Directed by Michiel van Erp, the Dutch film is based on the novel of the same name written by Saskia Noort. It follows the life of Sara and a group of other people trying to let go of their traumas.
The official Netflix description of the movie reads,
AT A SELF-HELP RETREAT ON A VOLCANIC ITALIAN ISLAND, A RAGTAG GROUP OF LOST SOULS CONFRONTS THEIR PAINFUL PASTS WITH THE HELP OF A CHARISMATIC GURU.
The movie’s main cast includes Elise Schaap, Tim McInnerny, Christian Hillborg, Pieter Embrechts, Anna Chancellor, Neerja Naik, Taz Munyaneza, Marisa Van Eyle, Adriano Chiaramida, Simone Coppo, Mark van Eeuwen, Jenny Hsia, Olinda Larralde Ortiz and Anna Loeffen. The movie was shot on Stromboli island and is available in English and Dutch audio. The movie runs for 1 hour and 26 minutes.
Stromboli Ending Explained
Sara, who is now recounting her sexual abuse, is finally ready to let go of it. However, the process of letting go is through a roleplay, which Hans and another member carry forward. As Sara tries her best to narrate what happened to her in her childhood, she keeps having panic attacks. But with the other members’ motivation, she graphically explains the incident, making the crew tremble.
Also read: Stromboli Review: An Emotional PTSD Healing Journey Portrayed Metaphorically
Once she reaches her utmost level, she stops it and accepts what has happened. Everyone becomes emotional and shares a cathartic moment. On the other hand, Sara also realizes that if she had sooner realized and opened up about her sexual abuse to someone, she could have saved her marriage. She also understands that it’s never too late to make things right. However, she doesn’t reach out to her ex-husband because, in her flashbacks, we can see the domestic violence imposed by him.
It is not just that, Sara has also had a bad relationship with her father. Overall, she has been traumatized by men throughout her life, so when her daughter Sophie is seen sitting on her male friend’s lap during her birthday party, Sara causes chaos. Due to her past, she tried to protect her daughter, but it ended up spoiling everything.
When Sara finally lets go of all the trauma, she trusts Hans. Hans, on the other hand, who is also a victim of abuse, believes in Sara and falls in love with her. In the end, three beautiful things happen. Firstly, Sara’s healing and the volcanic eruption are compared metaphorically. We can also see Jens wearing a white dress, signifying a healer.
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Secondly, Sara finally gets to speak with her daughter Sophie. While Sophie initially talks coldly, on hearing Sara confessing that she wants to discuss her past, Sophie’s tone changes. It is clear that Sara is ready to talk about what happened to her and is no longer ashamed of it.
The final good thing is that Sara finds her solace in Hans. They both are seen embracing each other as the ship departs. Both the lost souls confided their secrets to each other and are now in love. Sara finally has a huge breakthrough from her PTSD. Apart from this, we also get to see other people’s healing. Every supporting character’s dark story winds up, and they all wave goodbye to Jens and his assistant.
Stromboli is an excellent mental-health theme-related movie that everyone should watch. However, there are graphic triggering scenes so it’s a massive warning to those who can’t handle such traumatic representations.
If you haven’t watched the Dutch flick, it is now streaming on Netflix.