There's Still Tomorrow - Ending Explained

The central twist of "There's Still Tomorrow" lies in the true nature of the mysterious letter Delia receives. Throughout the film, her husband Ivano, her daughter Marcella, and the audience are led to believe it is a love letter from Nino, her former flame who has asked her to run away with him to the north. Delia's secretive planning, her saving of money, and her determined air all seem to point towards an impending elopement.

The climax reveals the misdirection. The letter is, in fact, her official voter registration card for the June 2, 1946, referendum—the first time women in Italy could vote. Her grand plan was never to escape with a man, but to escape to the ballot box. When Ivano finds the card and pursues her, he believes he is stopping an affair. He finds her in line at the polling station, surrounded by other women. His authority evaporates in this public, civic space. Marcella, who also followed, understands her mother's true goal and hands her the card Ivano had taken. Delia's act of voting is her revolution. This reveal re-contextualizes her struggle: her fight was not for a new romance, but for a new future for her daughter, built on the foundation of civic and political rights. Another key plot point is how Delia saves Marcella from a doomed marriage. Realizing her daughter's fiancé, Giulio, is just as controlling as Ivano, Delia enlists the help of an American soldier, William, to blow up Giulio's family's bar. With their wealth gone, Ivano breaks off the engagement, destroying Marcella's dreams but saving her from a life of abuse.

While the ending is widely seen as triumphant and empowering, some viewers and critics have offered an alternative, more somber interpretation. This reading focuses on the fact that Delia does not actually leave her abusive husband, Ivano. From this perspective, her act of voting is a significant moral victory but not a solution to her immediate, dangerous domestic situation. It suggests that while she has taken a step towards a better future for the next generation, her own tomorrow remains one of suffering and abuse.

This interpretation sees the ending not as a complete resolution but as a bittersweet commentary on the limitations faced by women of that era. Her freedom is symbolic and political rather than personal and immediate. The film, in this view, is less a story of personal escape and more a depiction of self-sacrifice for the greater good of her daughter and future generations of women. It highlights the difficult reality that for many women, systemic change was the only hope, as individual escape was often impossible.