I am aware this is an older thread, but I had to comment on this film. I just watched it Friday night. If you haven’t seen the movie, TURN BACK NOW! Spoilers ahead! This is intended ONLY for those who have seen the film!
I agree with the idea that the film has many deeper and hidden meanings. And as for the ending… hmmm. Here is my interpretation of the film. I have not read the book.
The blonde woman, the Ninth Gate, and the ending - what they mean:
(A) The woman is an angel, but she is a “fallen angel,” or demon if you prefer. This explains her ability to float and her bizarre shape shifting at the end.
(B) I do not believe that, in the film, she is the devil. If you look at the final engraving closely, you will see that the woman is riding naked upon the back of a beast with seven heads, reading from the book, and opening the doorway to the Kingdom of Shadows. I find this to be prophetic of Revelation. The woman is a servant of Satan, sent to protect and seduce Depp. Why? There can only be one reason. The Devil must “need” something from Depp; he is valuable, the chosen one. Note: This is why the woman kicks the “albino” guys ass. He is expendable, of no use to Satan or his plan.
What is it Satan needs from Depp, you ask? His seed and the engravings. He is to impregnate the woman with the child who will become the antichrist. Note: In the book of Revelation, the Antichrist arises from Europe, which is where the majority of the film takes place. However, Depp & the woman can not, channel the power to spawn the child of Satan, until he has solved the puzzle of the engravings. The Ninth Gate is Depp, himself. Depp has already silently solved the puzzle in his mind when Balkan’s plan fails & he becomes toast. Depp shoots him, and takes the engravings. He and the blonde have sex just afterwards. The prophecy becomes fulfilled.
The woman is the “key” to opening the doorway to the Kingdom of Shadows. The engraving supports this theory because it depicts her opening the doorway, not Depp. This is why she gives him the final authentic engraving. Note: Another interesting fact is one of the LCF engravings shows a bearded man holding two keys, approaching a doorway. Depp has a beard, has the woman (one key), and has all the engravings in the end (second key.) Coincidence? I think not.
© What we see in the very final scene of the film, is NOT the Ninth Gate. The bright light represents Lucifer, the angel of light. Depp has fulfilled his purpose on Earth and is allowed to enter “the Kingdom of Shadows,” or Hell. Where he will be removed from “the danger from above.”
Note: God, not Satan, is trying to kill Depp. The “danger from above” engraving has great symbolism in the film: the falling scaffold, “albino” guy at the top of the stairs by the river, the burning library on the second floor of a building, Depp falling thru the floor, with Balkan standing above him as the floor burns. Another interesting note: One of the engravings depicts two men playing chess. The two men in the picture may represent Satan and God, and all of the film’s characters are the pawns of their game.
I think this is a brilliant, intellectual film, one that when viewed again, reveals something you did not catch the previous time. The small slices of “cheesiness” we are fed through the film only add to it’s charm, another symbolic gem. We, the audience, are but mice being led through a maze of complex puzzles and subtle clues, just as the characters are. The elusive ending is deliberate, to cause us to think, to solve the puzzles. If we solve the “maze”, we get our slice of cheese, but not at the end of the movie. The true denouement of the film comes after we leave the theater. I applaud Mr. Polanski. This is a work of art, even if it is not perfect.
This film review was written by,
Alan A. Minne a.k.a. MagicalSilverKey