re: Being There (1979)

I just took it as a capsule of his innocence. While some people are grieving, and the self-indulgent final statement is being read ("i never cared for...."), Chance gets distracted and walks off untethered. I think it means he was still purely innocent and unaffected by his 'chance encounter' with the elite. Rand is going into his stupid pyramid tomb that he built as a monument to himself, and Chance is drifting off freely.

It's tempting to see a Christ metaphor when he walks on water, but Chance didn't knowingly make any sacrifices; he's just an innocent who had a profound impact on people who weren't used to innocence or honesty, and who were able to read what they wanted into him.

There's an Office episode where Robert California thinks Kevin is making a brilliant analogy before realizing Kevin really was just talking about cookies. It's obviously an homage to Being There, except in Being There, only one person figured out Chance really was a gardener and appreciated him for who really was.

Been a while since I've watched it so I may be off some details, but that's what I remember thinking.

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I'm just curious, what do you think of the funeral scene? The walking on water bit?

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As a college student seeing it in the theater, I took it as another example of how Chance wasn't restricted by reality (which was the basis of his success).

I thought that it also cemented the film as a modern fairy tale. It was a nice release after a fairly dark comedy.

ETA: Which is also why I didn't mind the outtakes. People are pairing this with Network, which ended on a somber and menacing tone. Imagine if Being There ended with Chance taking the oath of office and the U.S. in the control of a mindless pawn (please no political comments). The gravity defying walk and the outtakes keep this film just light enough that you left the theater in a great mood, even with the semi-illuminati subplot.