Eternity

Joan chooses neither Larry nor Luke because she cannot bear to see either man heartbroken. Rather than the triumphant "I choose me" declaration, her decision is a self-imposed compromise born of compassion. She would rather let both down than commit to one and abandon the other, though this leaves her future uncertain rather than resolved.

Joan's hair serves as a visual indicator of her happiest moments. With Larry she wore it short, reflecting her dissatisfaction during their marriage. In the afterlife her hair grows long, echoing the brief period she spent with Luke when she was truly happy. The film suggests a soul's appearance reflects the state of its greatest joy.

Earlier scenes show Joan's hair style changing with her emotional state, foreshadowing this visual symbolism.

Luke assists Joan in escaping the mountain-bound eternity because he realizes their love, while powerful, was essentially a honeymoon that never matured into a real partnership. Rather than trapping her in an illusion of eternal romance, he gives his reluctant blessing for her to leave, acknowledging that forcing them together would be unfair to both of them.

The ending conveys that eternity is less about perpetual bliss and more about the honest accumulation of both joy and sorrow. Joan ultimately chooses ordinary, steady love with Larry over the ecstatic but immature passion she shared with Luke, suggesting that lasting partnership often trumps idealized romance.

Larry had prepared a letter intended to sway Joan toward choosing his version of forever. The revelation that he may have been trying to influence her decision adds to Joan's confusion and contributes to her breaking point, making it harder for her to trust either man's motives.

After experiencing both eternities, Joan discovers that the ordinary, familiar life she shared with Larry feels like home, even without the ecstatic spark she felt with Luke. She returns to the archive where Larry works as a bartender, choosing the worn-in comfort of a long marriage over the idealized romance she once shared with her first love.

Joan's ending is bittersweet rather than triumphantly happy. She finds peace with Larry in a modest shared afterlife, accepting the imperfections of their earthly life together. However, Luke is left behind, and her choice reflects acceptance rather than passionate certainty.

After Joan leaves with Luke's blessing, he remains in the mountain-bound eternity they once shared, waiting alone. Having waited 67 years for Joan, he accepts that their love was too idealized to sustain eternity. His fate represents the cost of choosing a mature partnership over romanticized passion.

The ending is bittersweet because Joan and Larry are reunited in peace, but Luke is left behind in solitude. The peace they find comes from accepting imperfection rather than achieving romantic perfection. Joan gains a lasting partnership but loses her first love forever, embodying the film's theme that honest love includes both joy and sorrow.

The film argues that ordinary, steady love can be more enduring than idealized romantic passion. Eternity is portrayed not as perpetual bliss but as the honest accumulation of both joy and sorrow. The most lasting partnerships are built on familiarity and acceptance rather than constant ecstasy.