Another Film People are Overly Confused About *SPOILERS*

Once again people are taking things too literally. The strawberry, as the movie dialogue points out early in the film when Max meets up with his old friend in the diner, is meant to represent "forbidden fruit." This is symbolic that he has somehow transcended death and knowledge of it by surviving the crash and has looked "beyond." In other words, he has tasted the forbidden fruit. The price, is that he is so "above" what is going on in daily life that he loses his connection with his wife and son and others around him, except for Carla and the little boy, who similarly have transcended death. They are not literally dead, but because of having "seen beyond" they cannot exist in normal life. Max eating the strawberry at the end and asking his wife to "save" him is his affirmation that he wants to live "on earth" again, and change back into his old self. He no longer wants to see the beyond so much that he is willing to risk his live doing audacious things, as he does throughout the movie (e.g. standing on the top of the building edge and spinning around).

Also notice in the scene early in the movie at the diner that his server's name is "Faith," a dead giveaway. Two seconds later he shows "faith," eats strawberries and voila!, he is untouched by them despite his allergy. The basic message of the movie is be happy with life on earth, and the beyond will be waiting, though to truly "know" it we must die first. The movie's interpretation implies that death is rather peaceful, in contrast to the early presentation of it as being violent and gruesome as in the plane crash.

Great movie, well presented and more accessible (though in my mind slightly less rewarding) than Dead Man (1995 with Johhny Depp).