Happy Together ending explained

What happens

Ho leaves for good, and Fai finally reaches Iguazu Falls alone. The vast water gives him some release. He then goes home by way of Taipei, where he visits Chang's family stall. The relationship is over, but now understood.

The last image

Fai moves on alone, the falls and the long road home behind him, carrying the love with him rather than still living inside it.

What it says

The film is built from loops, so the ending breaks the pattern: Fai's journey is emotional as much as geographic. The falls dwarf his private pain, and leaving becomes possible. Sometimes the hardest part of a love is learning you can leave it and still carry it.