Question: The lady that plays Julia Stile's mother looks remarkably like Swoozie Kurtz. Any relation?
Question: The killer arrives at the farm in an old rusty truck which Maria stows away in with the captive Alex. Then from the gas station she follows the truck in the murdered station attendant's car, and both vehicles end up at the scene of the final confrontation. Yet at the end we learn that Maria is actually the killer and has insanely hallucinated virtually the entire movie. Can anyone offer any explanation of where that big truck came from in the first place and what the truth is about which vehicles were really present at the end and how exactly Maria and Alex arrive at the scene of their final confrontation?
Answer: It is impossible to know which vehicles were actually used, or even what really happened throughout the movie. The plot twist at the end of this film, while certainly surprising, was not very thoroughly planned out. It's almost as if the writer decided at the last minute to add it for no better reason than he couldn't think of a way to end the movie.
Question: I just loved the music. Can anyone tell me whether there's a soundtrack or anything, or who are the main performing artists?
Answer: There is a soundtrack to the movie which has two oscar nominations for best original song and a nomination for original score - go to amazon.com to find out the artist info.
Question: It was revealed at the end what Rachel Weiss and John Cusack had planned all along, why did they ask Dustin Hoffman for 10 million? They never intended for him to lose, they were out to get Gene Hackman and the gun makers.
Chosen answer: Hackman's team was closely monitoring what Hoffman was doing in regards to the tampering, as evidenced by their taping of his conversation with Weiss when he decides not to pay. Cusack and Weiss probably anticipated this so were forced to offer the deal to Hoffman to keep up the illusion.
Answer: The short answer is because the viewers did not yet know their intentions so, from the viewers point of view, they should be asking both sides for money. Also, even though it was revealed much later they were on the side of the planting, it doesn't mean they were not greedy, and they would have taken money from either side or both sides.
Question: Is there a reason why we do not ever see the face of Katherine's boy-toy "Zeus"? Is the salary lower for actors whose face is not shown?
Answer: Zeus' face is not shown because the directors want to leave him to our imagination. Without knowing, he can be whomever we want him to be. This increases the credibility of her character as well since she is spontaneous and a free spirit with no "real" attachments. He is just like her - attainable physically, but not emotionally.
Question: Does Greit say yes when Peiter asks her to marry him? I couldn't work this out.
Answer: Obviously, since she married him in the end.
Question: What is the name of the Japanese song that plays prominently during the whole film, especially during almost all of the ending? It has both instrumental and vocal parts, and can be heard for the first time when Sandy and Hiromitsu make love.
Answer: I think its called "Chinsagu no Hana".
Question: Is the taxi driver the cosmonaut from Alex's youth? First he states that he's always mistaken for the cosmonaut, but then he tells Alex what's it like to be in space.
Answer: According to IMDb, Sigmund Jähn gave permission to be featured in the movie, but refused to play himself. It was very difficult to find an actor who looked like Jähn and spoke his typical dialect but after filming had begun, 'Wolfgang Becker' chose a Swiss actor. He was given complex make-up and was dubbed by another actor who came from Jähn's home region, the Vogtland.
Question: Does anyone know what music is playing while the old lady crosses the ocean with the dog?
Answer: The music heard on the soundtrack as Mme. Souza and Bruno follow the ocean liner is from the opening movement (Kyrie) of Mozart's Mass in C minor.
Question: Where is the film set and where can I read up about the true story?
Answer: The film was inspired by an incident at St Crispin's Reef, a dive site on the Great Barrier Reef in 1998, when Tom and Eileen Lonergan was left behind by their diving boat after an error was made during the headcount. They were never seen again. More information can be found at http://outside.away.com/outside/features/200310/200310_mysteries_2.html.
Question: Was the ending a suicide or just an accident?
Answer: An accident. They were inexperienced pilots trying dangerous barnstorming stunts. A fitting end for two adventurers afraid of nothing.
Question: After Ed and Norther rob the bank, Ed explains that he explained about how Texas oil money and poor federal regulation result in many savings and loans losing money. From the clothes and hairstyles, it looks like the 70s. Does anyone know what he is referring to?
Chosen answer: Deregulation of the U. S. savings & loan industry in the early 1980's greatly reduced the restrictions on which federally-chartered S&Ls could invest their money. Since the depositors' money was insured by the federal government, the S&Ls had no incentives to minimize risk. This resulted in a major political scandal by the end of the decade, to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars being lost through questionable investments, with taxpayers picking up the tab. Many of the most egregious violators were based in Sun Belt states, including Texas. The fashions do appear to be a bit out of date, however.
Question: We all assume, as I did when watching the movie, that the opening scene really was intended to be the Malmedy massacre. Could it have been that they were just hinting towards that, and that the opening scene (with the array of mixed Wehrmacht and SS, 101st Airborne and other which is historically not matching Malmedy) was simply another incident? Did the director ever intend to create a grossly false Malmedy scene? There were quite a lot more atrocities in that area and time, with executions of prisoners by both sides.
Answer: The massacre was intended to be Malmedy. Artistic license was taken with the participants but what happened is a possible version of events that caused the massacre.
Question: Why did that guy shoot his own friend near the end? Why did the two start shooting in the first place anyway?
Answer: This movie was based on the Columbine High School Massacre, and another high school massacre. There's no answer to "why" they did it.
Question: At the end when the main character is in hospital, he speaks to a vision of his wife. He says something in Danish, but I can't find a subtitled version anywhere. Does anyone know what he says?
Chosen answer: In pursuit of the answer to your question, I have looked up and found screenwriter Peter Asmussen on Facebook, and directed your question to him. If and when he responds, and if nobody else has provided a translation by then, I will post an update here.
Question: Where was the civil war battle fought nearest Madison, Wisconsin?
Answer: The nearest one I can find listed was at Kirksville in northern Missouri.
Question: Why does the guy in the prison have so many assistants, and live in complete royalty compared to the other inmates? I've watched it over and over but still can't understand why.
Answer: Because he is connected on the outside. Money and infulence can give you a much easier life in prison, though this movie greatly exaggerated the fact.
Question: What is the name of the song that plays at the end of the movie just before it goes to credits?
Chosen answer: 'If You Could Read My Mind' by Gordon Lightfoot.
Question: Is it true that Lee was able to steal enough money from her victims to buy a house (or even just put a down payment on it?) I would assume she could only use cash, and it seems unfeasible that she'd be able to acquire that much cash from people's wallets without murdering hundreds of them.
Chosen answer: In the story it shows she does not kill every man. It is possible she had sex with multiple men without killing them and got more money (but maybe not that much) than just what she stole from the men she killed.
Answer: I can not find any reference to Joan Brandwyn's mother. I do not remember seeing her. Perhaps you are thinking of Mrs. Warren, Kirsten Dunst's mother in the film. She is played by Donna Mitchell. I have been unable to find a connection between the two.