Italian Studies (2022) Ending Explained – Final Scene & Meaning

At the end of Italian Studies, Alina returns to London and appears to have regained a sense of self and her memories. She recalls her encounters with Simon and the teenagers but cannot find concrete evidence that her New York experiences were real. Despite this uncertainty, she chooses to accept it and expresses a desire to live in the present rather than chase a possibly lost past.

• alina
• london
• ending
• return
• identity

The film deliberately leaves this ambiguous. Alina's New York experiences could be a real experience, a constructed hallucination, or a mixture of both. The story suggests her memories and experiences may be fluid, unreliable, and perhaps even self-created, possibly to serve her writing or her subconscious desire for detachment from her past.

• reality
• hallucination
• memory loss
• new york
• simon
• teenagers

Alina's refusal to reconnect with Simon suggests she has found some peace in acknowledging her fragmented memory and choosing to embrace the present. Rather than seeking clarity about her past or forcing a reconnection that might destabilize her newfound equilibrium, she decides to leave certain things unresolved.

• simon
• rejection
• closure
• moving on

The ambiguous ending maintains that Alina's memories may have been restored or simply reimagined. The film suggests this uncertainty is intentional, she chooses to accept not knowing rather than obsessing over whether her experiences were real. This reflects the movie's theme that human memory can be fleeting, elusive, and sometimes a story we tell ourselves.

• ambiguous ending
• interpretation
• memory
• identity

Alina expresses a desire to leave certain things unresolved, preferring to live in the present rather than chase a possibly lost past. This choice suggests she has made peace with her fragmented memory and accepted that identity is not solely defined by what we remember but by what we choose to hold onto or let go of in the present moment.

• present
• past
• acceptance
• memory
• moving forward

The film leaves unclear whether Alina's memories were truly restored or simply reimagined. She recalls her encounters with the teenagers but struggles to find concrete evidence they were real. The ending maintains ambiguity about whether her memories represent genuine recovery or a comfortable reconstruction.

• memories
• recovery
• restoration
• recall

The teenagers Alina encounters remain mysterious. They could represent real people she met during her disoriented state, figments of her fragmented imagination, or symbolic representations of her own creative process and youthful energy. The film never confirms their actual existence outside of Alina's perception.

• teenagers
• new york
• characters
• mystery

Italian Studies explores the fragile nature of identity and memory, emphasizing that sometimes the things we hold onto, or choose to let go, are what shape who we are in the present. The film suggests that acceptance of uncertainty and embracing the now can be a form of peace, even when our sense of self feels fragmented.

• theme
• message
• identity
• memory
• meaning

Alina appears to find a fragile peace at the end. While her memory remains fragmented and uncertain, she chooses acceptance over investigation. Her refusal to reconnect with Simon or clarify her history indicates she has made peace with not knowing and is focusing on living in the present rather than resolving her past.

• peace
• resolution
• acceptance
• closure

Simon does not appear in the film's final scenes. Alina is back in London and explicitly refuses to reconnect with him, suggesting their relationship remains unresolved. She chooses not to pursue clarification about their connection or whether her time with him was real, leaving his role in her story ambiguous.

• simon
• fate
• connection
• london