The Platform ending explained: Who was the girl and what did ‘the message’ mean?

This film goes DEEP

4 years ago

The Platform is a recent addition to The Netflix films that everyone’s obsessed and grossed out by. It’s a Spanish film that was released in February this year and has been described as ‘seriously disturbing’ and a ‘gut churner’. It’s also gained a lot of attention on Twitter from people confused by the film and its ambiguous ending. The film is full of symbols, hidden messages and a lot of social commentary, so here’s a break down of the ending and what it all meant.

*spoilers ahead*

The Platform ending explained:

What did the platforms represent?

To understand the significance of why Goreng travelled to the bottom floor, what the girl represented and why sending a message to the top was so important, we need to understand what the prison actually symbolised.

Most critics agree it is an allegory for capitalism. The food that gets sent from the top is enough to feed everyone if they all ration and only take what they need. However, the people at the top take too much and leave none for the people at the bottom. Like society – if no one is given an incentive to share, they won’t and people are left to starve.

Another link to capitalism is that people at the top are the only ones with the ability to create change. Goreng convinces the people below him to ration because if they don’t he’ll “shit in their food” but he admits he doesn’t have the same power over the people above him.

The only way he can beat the capitalist system is by travelling down himself, violently forcing everyone to ration and then sending a message to the people in charge.

What was the point of saving the panna cotta and sending it back up?

The whole prison is designed to turn people against each other. It highlights the naturally greedy, selfish nature of human beings – the people in charge know those at the top will over-eat, leaving those at the bottom with nothing. They also know this will turn people against each other, make people selfish and ruthless. Even Goreng believes he won’t be sucked into this system and then becomes one of the most vicious.

By saving the panna cotta – a luxurious and expensive dessert – they’ll be able to “break the machinery” and send a message to the top that they’re evil system has been overruled.

Who was the girl on the bottom floor?

We’re lead to believe that the girl found on the 333rd floor is Miharu’s daughter. Miharu was the woman travelling between floors, eating people and claiming she was looking for her child. We all believed her story until Imoguiri claimed Miharu is mentally unstable and has been living in an imaginary reality for years.

It’s never confirmed that the girl found on the bottom floor is Miharu’s child but it’s very likely especially as Goreng says she is.

Why did the girl become the message?

Again, this was all pretty ambiguous but people have argued that she replaces the panna cotta as the new message because she represents the life of a human being and the hope of a new generation.

In other words – the people in charge assigned the only child in the prison to the bottom floor, knowing she would have no food and no chance of survival. When Goreng and Baharat get to the bottom floor, they feed her the panna cotta so she doesn’t starve and send her back to the top. Basically a big “fuck you” to the people in charge.

Imoguiri spoke a lot about “spontaneous solidarity” and how this is the answer to beating the prison system. Even though Goreng ignores her, she ends up being right – the girl arriving on the top floor proves how the prisoners worked together to ration, save food and therefore save this girl.

Did Goreng die or did he just go crazy?

Another difficult one to be sure of but considering his injuries and the shot of him walking away with Trimagasi (his first cellmate who he killed), it’s very likely he died. Also, Trimagasi tells him to get off the platform because his journey is over – he is departing life and joining Trimiagasi in death.

The final thing we see is the child rushing up to the top floor. Like Goreng, we will never know if the message works but we are meant to leave this story with the hope of a better world.