tbh i dont see how the ending lacked any kind of conclusion unless you dont know anything about the holocaust.
from the start the movie makes the assumption that audience has prior knowledge of the holocaust, or at least the cliffs notes version.
to me, this ending fit perfectly for this assumption. and every explanation of the fallacies presented in this film (from the propaganda film to the camp not being a farm) was for the benefit of character development and not as an explanation to the audience of whats occurring.
as an audience:
we dont need to be told that its not a farm that he saw through the window, we assumed at that point that it was a concentration camp.
we didn't need to be told that the propaganda film the soldiers were watching, we knew that from due to our knowledge of history.
we didn't need to be told what that smoke meant, or have it explained as to what the soldier meant by saying "they smell worse when they burn"; as the audience.
given this, and our prior knowledge as the audience, we know what that chamber was used for; we know that that soldier poured in the vents when he was wearing the gas mask, and we know that when people went in those chambers they didn't come back out. at this point, the main character was dead and the need for the story to explain this was gone.
i think that you misinterpreted the dramatic structure in this case.
rising - he goes under the fence (at this point the audience understands what might happen but still has hope for a happy ending)
climax - being herded to the gas chamber (the audience realizes exactly what is going on and some may still have hope that he will be recognized)
resolution - the door shutting on the chamber (any hope for a happy ending for him ends when that door is shut and locked. at this point the audience has the full realization of what will occur and any hope for an ending other than what happens is gone. as the audience with our prior knowledge we know what happens in that chamber and that when those doors are locked they're not opened again until all the occupants are dead)
end - family finds where he has gone and searches in vein only to have the realization of whats happened well after the fact (accomplishing a conflicting result in the audience, grief for the death of the innocents and a perverse sens of karmic enjoyment at the loss the family has suffered)
to end the movie in any other way, cheapens the intended effect on the audience. if someone watching this needs it explained to them what happened to the main character at this point, then i highly encourage that individual to research the Holocaust in a historical context or better yet ask their history teacher
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