SPOILERS!!!!
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"Three-toe," or Brother was an escaped slave. The MIB were bounty hunters.
In the end, the Brother has gone "downtown" to confront the heroin dealer.
The bounty hunters track him there and attach their hi-tech shackles and use the "dial" to reel him back in- just like a fish on the line.
As they take him away, the Brother notices the directional markings and gets an opportunity to escape. As he runs, following the markings, he encounters others like himself. They confront the bounty hunters and the two MIB self-destruct to avoid humiliation at the hands of the mob.
When Brother asks if the others are from space, too, they reply that they are from Earth- which could be interpreted to mean that Black earthlings befriended him, but the silence might suggest that the gesture means that Earth is their new home.
Brother then takes the "A" train back to Harlem, his new home. (Remember that they are currently downtown and connect that to the directions given the two white guys from Indiana in the bar earlier.)
Then the last scene- Brother is at home in Harlem, home of the best basketball in the country ;)
Remember: no matter where you go, there you are. - Buckaroo Banzai
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pontifikator
15 years ago
> As they take him away, the Brother notices the directional markings
The whole thing is an allegory of the Civil War with its secret symbols and underground railroad - it's pointed out in the gallery where they reference Harriet Tubman.
And the end is the literal underground railroad taking him back to Harlem - Harlem is the end. It's where it's at. It has the history. Remember that dialogue in the bar?
I believe the Brother is asking by pointing up after the MIB self-destruct if they went back to the home planet where he's a slave, but the silent answer is no. I think the silence is because his helpers are mute, too.
"Take the A Train," of course, is a classic jazz piece by Billy Strayhorn (attributed mistakenly to Duke Ellington for whom it was written and who made the first recording).( An interesting coincidence in names is that MIB Dos is played by David Strathairn, who went on the play Edward R. Murrow in "Good Night and Good Luck," along with other memorable roles.)
I have to agree that the ending is weak. I'm not sure whether it's because Sayles didn't really nail it down that this is the underground railroad or what. But he definitely is home in Harlem, as you say.
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vegsag
15 years ago
The other blacks at the end were clearly aliens from his same planet, or else they would've spoken. Earlier in the film, The Brother passes some graffiti on a wall. He pauses because he recognizes it as his written language. He feels the wall and then gets this look of joy on his face because he knows his people are there somewhere. At another point in the movie, one of the black aliens from the end (man with knit cap) can be seen watching The Morton. He looks still like a statue; there is something about his movement where he doesn't seem human. Also, the white aliens were strong enough to overcome humans, even if there were 5 or 6 of them like there were at the end. After all they defeated several men in the bar who even had baseball bats, while the group in the alley at the end were unarmed. Perhaps as a group they had some sort of power. Could this be a message about black solidarity?
Right before The Brother makes the thumbs-up gesture to the group, he does something with his fingers, as if to say "we" or "all of us". He's asking if they're leaving that planet and the man says thumbs-down, as in no, this is our home now.
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shoobe01-1
11 years ago
This. Don't know why it's so hard to figure out. Never considered another interpretation, because very, very little is open to interpretation. There are cues all over the movie.
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