L'Avventura ending explained

What happens

In a Taormina hotel, Claudia learns Sandro has been unfaithful again. She is devastated and he weeps. She rests a hand on his head. Anna is never found, and her disappearance is never explained.

The last image

Claudia and Sandro stay together without a word, a blank wall before them and distant Mount Etna beyond.

Two readings

1 · PityClaudia sees how weak Sandro is and comforts him from a distance, without trusting him.

2 · AcceptanceShe chooses to stay with a flawed man, knowing exactly what he is.

What it says

Anna's absence has long stopped being the question. What lingers is how little these people can say to each other, and how fragile any connection is. The film ends on a gesture, not a resolution.