Ok so I know I'm being completely dense here, but, did he dream the whole thing? or did seeing the woman on the train remind him of what happened?
..Without freedom, nothing matters....
You're not just dense, because your grammar sucks too!
Babies taste like chicken
My apologies. I wasn't aware that I was being graded on my question... Get over it.
..Without freedom, nothing matters....
I think he was actually reading the book that the movie was based on while he was riding the bus. He saw the woman (who matched the description of the girl) and as he drifted off to sleep he cast her in that role in his dream. So it was all a dream, but the dream was based on the true story. If you rewatch the scene at the end, you'll see the book on his lap. Great twist.
"Don't unform, you're a great mob. We'll think up something else to get upset about." Moe Sizlack
I think he was actually reading the book that the movie was based on while he was riding the bus. He saw the woman (who matched the description of the girl) and as he drifted off to sleep he cast her in that role in his dream.
All DePalma´s films are dreams.
"facts are stupid things" - Ronald Reagan
Life is a dream, and dreams are reality. Conscious infinite spirits having a human experience. One's character in the current dream/reality, helps determine their next.
shareI beleive that it all happens. He sees the girl on the train and is reminded what happened back in the war. The book is just a nod to Daniel Lang.
shareSeeing the train girl, who looks the same with the raped girl they met in Vietnam in 1950s/1960s, made Erikkson think back the Viet War period.......it's real, not a dream but the train girl made him remember all things.
sharehe was reading a book on a bus until he saw a girl who looked like the raped & killed viet girl whom erikkson's group, led by Sgt Tony Measerve, captured.
there came the whole film/movie, the whole story....
until the end, when the 4 others people got punishment, left MJF alone, tony measerve you will have a payback!
then MJF woke up from bus, being conscious, saw the girl coincidely leaving bus but left her scarf on seat, he took scarf and left bus, and handed the scarf to the girl
yes certainly I have watched the whole film, I am a MJF fan.
He was having flashbacks and when he awoke the girl on the bus reminder him of that dead girl in Vietnam. Also at the end I think he is having a catharsis.
shareFirst of all, he is on a train not a bus.
Second, in the versions I've watched he is not reading a book at all. At the beggining of the movie he is sleeping with his face on the window and he awakes and sees the girl. He then drifts off to sleep again. At the end there is no book visible anywhere near him. When he gets off the train he is not carrying a book either.
So given that he is interested in the girl "before" he has his dream, I'd say it was more of a flashback.