Yi Yi ending explained · Cinespective

What happens

At the grandmother's funeral, Yang-Yang reads a letter to her. He says he feels he knows what she would say, and that he now sees things others cannot. The family stands together, grieving and quietly accepting.

The last image

The family stands together at the funeral as Yang-Yang finishes reading his letter to his grandmother.

What it says

The ending turns private grief into the film's outlook. Yang-Yang, the boy who photographs what people cannot see, finally speaks aloud what the film has shown all along: attention is a way of loving people. It stays quiet because life does.