Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom ending explained

What happens

The captives are tortured and killed while the four men watch from a window through binoculars. The film then leaves them for two young guards, who dance together and casually ask each other a girlfriend's name.

The last image

Two young soldiers dance together in the villa, chatting about nothing, while the atrocity is left behind.

What it says

The ending moves from the rulers to ordinary young men to show that atrocity needs ordinary participants, and that everyday life goes on beside it. The binoculars also place you in the watcher's seat, asking what it means to look from a safe distance.