Word Street Journal

Japan’s latest movie, The Parades, found some resonance among the audiences. In my review, I called it a melancholic affair.

But one thing that must be bugging the viewers is its ending. How does the movie end? And why? I decipher these questions in my detailed ending explanation of The Parades.

The point of the beginning is after Minako meets her son and finishes her unfinished business in the afterlife.

Here we go.

The Parades Detailed Ending Explained

Minako asks Mr. Tanaka for some time to help Michael finish his final movie. He replies ambiguously but his face tells the story that he would allow her request.

At the breakfast table the next day, Michael calls Akira a bummer since he failed to express his feelings for Minako, who they think has left for the other side after meeting her son.

The old man jokes that if he had been younger, he would have proposed to her. Nana finds the conversation lame and asks them to stop it.

Minako comes from behind and leaves everyone surprised. 

She is accompanied by Tanaka. Minako starts the conversation by thanking Michael for finding his son. 

As a mark of respect, she says she would help him finish his film. She would not go to the other side until it’s done and he has shown it to Maiko, his girlfriend.

Michael gets emotional and excited, both at the same time. He enthusiastically says it will be the cinematic event of the decade. 

They start shooting for his movie near the sea. Michael resumes his half-complete story with a fifty-year leap. So, we can assume that The Parades is set in two timelines, 1970 and 2020.

What happens in the Movie Michael is Making?

Despite being a movie, the film’s story revolves around the life of Michael himself. 

He creates a protagonist named Koga, who is the real-life Michael. 

Koga believes in the power of student revolution. 

The night before a demonstration, Koga fears arrest by the authorities and decides to leave for his home in Tokyo, leaving his girlfriend, Maiko, behind. 

But she finds Koga just in time to have one last conversation with him. 

He tells her that he is not a man to start a revolution. Maiko replies saying all she wants is for him to stay. 

They hug and Koga promises to meet her again. 

Now, after he went back to Tokyo, Maiko married Sasaki and Koga started working. 

Both went with their own lives until fifty years later, when Koga returned. 

This is how he plans to show a fifty-year leap in the movie. He assigns Nana the role of Maiko’s granddaughter, who accidentally meets Koga and asks him to visit her grandmother, Maiko. 

This is his plan to reunite old lovers in the film.

Everybody is stunned to see the nuanced performance of Nana in the role of Maiko’s granddaughter.

The six of them watch tidbits of the movie in their theater while Michael simultaneously edits the frames to combine all shots together.

While shooting the end scene, Michael gets emotional and imagines the presence of Maiko in reality. The group plans to have a screening of the complete film. 

Even though he wants to show the movie to Maiko, Michael is a bit shy in doing the same.

However, the rest of the members convince him and promise to be by his side when he presents it to his former lover. 

They step into the city and everybody is surprised to see Michael’s big poster quoting him saying, “Film should be freedom.” 

They had not thought he was actually a famous producer and director. But seeing the poster, they are surprised.

Outside Maiko’s house, nervousness is at an all-time high for Michael. He wants to go back but his friends again convince him to finish what he started.

A familiar face stops their little clamor. Michael identifies him as Sasaki. He asks him why has he come after so long? 

Michael says, Maiko deserves an apology from him and tells him that he wants to see her. 

Sasaki takes the lead and asks him to follow him inside the house. 

Seeing Sasaki’s photographs, Michael enquires about his death. 

Sasaki says he died from Cancer two years ago. 

Seeing the large reel case in his hands, he asks what is he carrying to which Michael replies saying it is his latest work. 

It is a story about him, Maiko, and even Sasaki. 

The latter scoffs at him meanly, as he is still doing movies after death.

They enter Maiko’s room, where she is already watching a movie. Michael looks at her with utter longing, love, and respect. 

He says she hasn’t changed a bit. Being in another dimension, his words don’t reach her but that doesn’t stop him from speaking. 

Sasaki tells him that Maiko has always been his biggest fan. An emotional Michael says, still she chose him in spite of everything. 

Sasaki opens a drawer nearby, where Maiko has preserved all the memories of Michael. 

Dismantled emotionally, Michael hugs her from behind and apologizes to her, with a gentle smile on his face. Maiko doesn’t feel anything.

He then steps out of the house and Minako asks him how it all went. He replies saying it couldn’t have been better. 

Akira notices the reel and asks why didn’t he give her the movie. 

Michael makes a hardly believable excuse saying movies aren’t made for outside the theater and he would bring her a copy of the DVD (obviously, this wouldn’t happen).

They leave the place with a light heart, having achieved their initial goal.

On their way, Minako suggests they should screen the film for all the lost souls. Michael and the rest of the members agree with her idea. 

All the spirits come to the theater and Michael screens his movie. 

Before starting it, he takes the stage and delivers a speech through which he thanks his friends, sheds light on the importance of the movie, and jokes about himself.

The next day, they sit for their last dinner together. It is because barring a few of them, everyone has fulfilled their last regrets or unfinished work.

Michael says he plans to document his life-after-death experience in his next feature film. 

Akira jumps in saying he also had the same idea. 

They decide to do it together, but Tanaka cannot allow that. 

Minako is a bit sad since she cannot digest everything that has happened to her in the past few days. Michael seconds her thoughts. 

Kaori asks Tanaka if he can tell them something about the other side, but he politely refuses.

Noticing Nana’s surprised expression, Akira tells her that Tanaka is like a marshal who takes people to the other side once their unfinished job is done. 

Minako expresses her positive thoughts about Michael’s film and the latter agrees. 

He says, there is nothing like filmmaking as it involves full-grown adults working towards a common goal of finishing a story. 

He tells Nana to continue making more movies using the notes in his room. Michael then shifts to Akira and tells him that everything is up to him. 

It is essential for him to continue documenting the world. Akira promises to keep going in the same direction. 

They toast together and have their last meal at the same table. Emotions overpower everybody, especially Michael and Kaori.

Minako goes to meet Akira in his room. They sit together. She asks if he really plans to keep on writing. 

He answers in a yes and says that’s what he would do at least until his dad finishes his novel. He might stop afterward. 

Minako cheekily tells him to not forget to add her character to the book he is writing. He replies saying, he would, in fact, make her the main character. 

The playful environment turns silent as Akira tells Minako that he wishes for her to stay longer. When she digs deep, he expresses his ‘crush’ on her. 

The woman is taken aback and calls his confession strange, with a smile on her face. 

Akira wonders how things would have gone had they met a little earlier. 

They thank each other for being there all this while and share a long, friendly hug.

The next morning, we are shown a beach sequence through which Tanaka takes Minako to the other side.

The scene cuts to the aftermath of the earthquake. Security personnel clean the debris from the roads.

In another scene, the makers reveal how the gathering place of the lost souls looked after the Tsunami in real life. 

The eatery is dismantled, the dining table is tattered, and the van looks outworn.

The theater they used to screen movies in is antiquated. 

And you realize everything on the other side is superficial and non-existent in the real world.

Nana wakes up in a hospital room. Afterward, she travels through the same beach where they used to shoot the film.

In another leap, a young kid walks along a crowded road in Tokyo. Nana calls him from behind and addresses him as “Ryo,” Minako’s kid who has now grown into a teenager.

So, it can be assumed that the movie jumped at least half a decade ahead. Nevertheless, they greet each other and have tea together.

Nana thanks him for coming and asks if it’s his first time in Tokyo. He nods in return. 

As he is supposed to graduate next year, she asks about his future plans. Ryo says he is interested in becoming a journalist just like his mom. 

The young guy expresses his desire to talk more about his mom to Nana some other day since the movie, which he is supposed to watch, is about to begin.

They are interrupted by the arrival of a family. Nana gets up to welcome them. She talks to the young girl, and also her mom. In all probability, they are Kaori’s family.

Ryo takes his ticket from Nana and makes his way to the cinema hall while the latter stands on the side with her friend.

The guy stops on his way to look at the poster of the movie he is going to watch. The film’s title is “The Parades.”

It carries the back shot of a young girl facing a vibrant gathering place. A dining table, accompanied by friends, and a van stationed nearby occupy the scene.

In other words, it is the same meeting spot of spirits.

He enters the Audi, along with other people. Everybody settles down and the movie begins. Ryo’s face slowly transforms into a smile. 

The end credits begin to roll and we are shown the group of friends singing a ballad at their gathering spot. 

Soon, the clips of each of their families or loved ones start playing. They try to display how things exactly happened in reality when they transcended from the afterlife. 

Mizuko’s boyfriend proposes to her and she accepts the same.

Minako’s friend is still upset about her death.

Kaori’s daughter gives birth to a baby.

Nana’s friend is sitting in the waiting area at the hospital.

Akira’s father continues writing his book.

And Minako’s son is sleeping at the exact place where Minako had met him in the afterlife. 

What Does the Ending of The Parades Mean?

If you remember, Michael had told Nana to make films after he left and take inspiration from his notes. 

He was a well-known filmmaker and Nana must have studied his notes carefully while also taking required courses before choosing Filmmaking as a career. 

Moreover, she must have taken help from Akira’s notes and made a movie on ‘life after death.’

In my opinion, the movie was about the time she spent at the gathering place with spirits.

This is why she had invited Ryu and the family of Kaori.

After coming back to life, Nana must have gotten in touch with Ryu and acquainted with him, introducing herself as Minako’s friend.

Why Did Nana Attempt Suicide?

Nana tried to kill herself by cutting her wrist. The reason behind this was consistent bullying by her classmates.

Did Nana Die in The Parades?

No, after she attempted suicide, Nana was taken to the hospital. She stayed unconscious for a few days. 

This was the time when her soul went into a state somewhere between life and death. Hence, even after completing her unfinished business of apologizing to her friend, she is not taken to the other side by Tanaka.

Is The Parades Based on True Story?

No, The Parades is a fictional movie.

Who was Tanaka in The Parades?

Tanaka was like a marshal who was tasked with taking the spirits to the other side or heaven or hell, as they put it. 

But the makers don’t reveal why he stays with them and not with the other departed souls. 

My theory is, that there are more people like Tanaka who are spread across the region to take spirits to the other side.

What was the Regret or Unfinished Business of all Characters in The Parades?

Michael wanted to finish his film and apologize to Maiko.

Kaori wished to see her daughter give birth to her grandchild.

Minako wanted to find her son and tell him she would be around always.

Akira’s regret was the most impossible. He was diagnosed with a terminal disease and given days to live during which he spit his anger on his family members.

More than a regret, he felt guilty for putting them through so much. 

Shori’s desire was to see his wife.

Why is the Movie Named ‘The Parades?’

It is a symbolic representation of the herds of spirits who take out a parade every single month on the night of a full moon. The spirits search for whoever they want to see.