10 Movie Endings That Leave More Questions Than Answers

10. 2001: A Space Odyssey

Considered by many as one of the greatest films of all time, 2001: A Space Odyssey is easily director Stanley Kubrick's greatest masterpiece.

Throughout the film, we see the start of mankind in the form of apes who learn to use tools in the presence of a strange, alien monolith, to the far future in which space travel is possible.

Two astronauts, Dr David Bowman and Frank Poole, embark on their mission to Jupiter with the ship's AI system, HAL 9000, who begins to act strangely, gaining a conscious by questioning the mission and sabotaging the two men.

During the film's final act, David Bowman reaches Jupiter only to discover another monolith in orbit. He is pulled through a mysterious stargate in a visually stunning set and finds himself in a strange bedroom where an older version of himself rests in the bed.

As old David Bowman "dies," he is transformed into a being known as the Star Child as he floats by Earth with Karl Böhm's Also Sprach Zarathustra playing triumphantly in the background... and that's it. The film ends.

For years fans have speculated what the film's ending could mean and what happened to David Bowman. Among many theories, some believe that the monolith is an alien device, while others believe that the Star Child is a sign of an upcoming apocalypse.

However, when Kubrick was questioned about the mysterious ending, he stated that people were "free to speculate" the film's conclusion as he didn't want to "spell out a verbal roadmap" for the ending.

But where did the monolith come from? Why did David Bowman turn into a giant baby? Did the monolith have something to do with Hal gaining a conscious? How long was the monolith following David Bowman for?