SPOILERS AHEAD
So... did Ronsel actually make it to Germany to see his son? Did he live or did he die? Couldn't tell for sure... If the answer is obvious, then I missed something major. Watched it twice though...
'I think' it was supposed to be a fantasy, told from a dead man's point of view. So the dead man explains what would be an ideal situation based on love.
shareI took it that way as well, but then, why did Jamie hand the letter to Florence in the end telling her to pass it to Ronsel?
I have to say the ending confused me as well.
i took the ending at face value - it looked like Ronsel was dead and in a coffin on the back of that wagon, but maybe he wasn't and he ended up in Germany for real. The movie really didn't have any Magical Realism or fantasy elements to it, so to me, it's possible that Ronsel just had his tongue cut out (he didn't say anything to his German girlfriend or to his kid) and ended up with them, while Jamie just waled away from everything and everyone.
I think Ronsel made it to Germany. They had to hide him in the false bottom of the wagon to get him safely out of town. At that time and given the circumstances, I took it that they were being safe rather than sorry. What would the story have gained from having an afterlife scene of him? Another thing of note, he still couldn't talk - normally in afterlife scenes all earthly short comings have been erased.
shareThe film never says that Ronsel died. The KKK guys asked Jamie to choose whether they would cut his eyes, his balls or his tongue. If he didn’t, they would kill him.
By choosing the tongue, he saved Ronsel.
Nothing afterwards suggests Ronsel died.