The Working Class Goes to Heaven ending explained

What happens

The union gets Lulù his job back, so he returns to the line exactly where he began. He tells his workmates a dream of breaking through the wall into clouds and fog. They listen, and the work goes on.

The last image

Lulù stands among his workmates on the factory line, his dream of the wall and the fog told, as the work carries on around him.

Three readings

1 · DefeatNothing has changed: the system absorbs his revolt, and the wall stays standing.

2 · A glimpse beyondHis dream survives, and his workmates have heard it, so something may yet stir.

3 · Madness or visionLike Militina, Lulù may be seeing clearly or breaking down, and the film won't say which.

What it says

Every offer made to Lulù, from students, union and management, ends with him back at the machine. The film refuses a winner so that no side can claim him, and the title stays ironic: heaven never arrives.