What does the final shot into the fog mean, escape or symbolic death?

[HannahMW]

I just finished watching the movie and I’m still stuck on the final shot of the protagonist walking into the fog. Was that meant to be a literal escape, or was it something more symbolic, like him finally accepting his own death? I can’t decide if the ambiguity is brilliant or just frustrating.

[VioletR]

I watched it and the final walk felt like he was stepping into something beyond the frame, maybe a literal escape into the fog, maybe an undefined future. I was not sure but the texture of the shot, the light fading and the sound dropping out, made me think he was leaving one world behind.

[Robert99]

To me the fog is a shield for meaning, not a door. It feels symbolic, like a final surrender to mortality or to the story's rules. The ambiguity is the point, I guess, but it also makes me want the director to tell me what they meant.

[Robert_C]

Maybe the real question is whether the movie promised closure at all or if the ending just mirrors his messy unfinished arc?

[Luke66]

I tried to map a reading, watched it twice, and still felt halfway between two moods, frustration and a strange relief that some things stay unresolved.