Children of Paradise - Ending Explained

The plot culminates years after the first part. Garance returns to Paris, having been the mistress of the wealthy Count de Montray. Baptiste is now a famous mime, but is unhappily married to Nathalie (María Casares), with whom he has a son. Frédérick has also become a star of the legitimate stage. All four of Garance's suitors converge again.

Garance secretly attends Baptiste's performances every night, and they finally meet again. They confess their enduring love and spend one perfect night together. However, the next morning, a distraught Nathalie confronts them. As Nathalie pleads with Baptiste, Garance quietly leaves, sacrificing her happiness to avoid destroying his family. Baptiste, realizing she is gone, runs out to find her. Her carriage is pulling away into the thick, chaotic throng of a carnival on the Boulevard du Crime. Baptiste desperately tries to push through the sea of anonymous, celebrating clowns and revelers, calling her name, but he is swept back by the indifferent crowd. He is completely swallowed by the masses, unable to reach her. The film ends with Garance's impassive face in her carriage as it disappears, and Baptiste lost and defeated, forever separated from his one true love by the unstoppable force of life itself. The ending solidifies the film's core theme of fatalism: despite the purity and power of their love, circumstance and fate make it impossible for them to be together.

While the film is primarily seen as a romantic tragedy, it is also frequently interpreted as a political allegory for the German occupation of France. In this reading, the beautiful and elusive Garance represents France itself, desired and threatened by various forces. The men who love her can be seen as different facets of French society: Baptiste as the pure, suffering artist (the soul of France); Frédérick as the pragmatic and pleasure-seeking collaborator; Lacenaire as the cynical nihilist; and the Count as the powerful, oppressive occupier. Garance's inability to be possessed symbolizes France's enduring, free spirit that cannot be conquered.

Another interpretation focuses on gender roles. While Garance is the object of the male gaze, she can also be viewed as a proto-feminist figure. She consistently rejects societal expectations and strives for personal autonomy. Her final act of leaving is not just tragic but can be seen as a defiant choice for freedom over being defined by a man, even one she loves. The film, in this light, critiques the possessiveness inherent in traditional romantic love.