12 Movies That Made You Work Out The Answer Yourself

Ambiguity at its most brilliantly annoying.

By Jack Pooley /

StudioCanal

Though it may feel like ambiguous, non-committal endings are becoming increasingly common in cinema nowadays, they've always been around, and as this list proves, they've always had an ability to tease a mixture of fascination and infuriation out of audiences.

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These 12 movies, all sure-fire classics in one way or another, ask the viewer to do all the mental leg-work by figuring things out for themselves. Was it really a dream all along? Who lived and who died? And what did that lingering final image really mean?

It's not only easier to leave the answers up to the audience, but it's a smart way to ensure a movie will endure in the cultural consciousness for years, even decades, as fans old and new meditate on the supposed meaning of it all.

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There are popular, even powerfully persuasive fan theories for sure, but in each case the movie itself keeps things mysterious, and each film is all the more intriguing and provocative as a result...