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Director Muye Wen’s Once Upon a Time in the Middle East may initially seem like a story about a Chinese chef working abroad, but the film ultimately becomes an ambitious anti-war epic about survival, sacrifice, and the devastating consequences of violence. For CinemAddicts co-host Bruce Purkey, the movie’s shocking twists and emotionally resonant ending were among its greatest strengths. Eric Holmes and I also love the movie, but for the purposes of this post, the spoilers were handled by Purkey. Check out our video below for more “ending explained” and “spoilers” insight into this remarkable feature.
Read more: ‘Once Upon a Time in the Middle East’ Ending Explained And Spoilers: A Powerful Final Scene
Once Upon A Time in the Middle East centers on a talented chef named Xu Fu (Teng Shen) who leaves family in China to take a lucrative restaurant job in the Middle East. His plan is to work for two years, pay off his debts, and return home. During his stay, Xu works with restaurant owner Zaid (Sherif Sabby) and restaurant manager Ma Jungsheng (Jiang Qiming). Although there is a lot of delicious looking Chinese food served up in the story, Once Upon A Time in the Middle East is ultimately a harrowing story of survival and regret.
For Purkey, who discussed the film on CinemAddicts, the most impressive aspect of Once Upon a Time in the Middle East is how it refuses to make its characters entirely heroic or villainous.
SPOILER WARNING: This article contains major spoilers for Once Upon a Time in the Middle East, including character deaths and the film’s ending.
What Happens To Zaid And His Family?
One of the film’s most shocking sequences involves Zaid, the restaurant whose relationships with American authorities and local business interests make him a complicated figure. We learn that Zaid doesn’t mind bending the rules with his restaurant, since more money helps pay for cancer medicine that is needed for his daughter.
An attack on his home claims the life of Zaid’s wife and daughter, leading him to ultimately join the terrorists who dole out the attacks against U.S. soldiers and ultimately imprison Xu, Ma, and Xu’s cook in training Seif (Omar Sherif).
“Now, the really interesting thing about this movie is it shows you why he is the way he is, and you can understand it,” said Purkey. “Even if you’re not justified to it, you can understand it.”
Another Tragic Death In ‘Once Upon A Time in the Middle East‘
While Xu, Ma, and Seif imprisoned, Seif discovers the children are being used as suicide bombers. When a huge attack is planned for numerous children, the kids are stricken with food poisoning so they are unable to perform their duties. When Ma claims responsibility for altering the food, his fate is sealed. It was a surprising moment for Purkey.
“But no, [he] just gets shot in the head and killed,” said Purkey. “And it’s these moments that just really let our characters have to really grapple with the fact they’re not just skating through by just cooking and, you know, making everybody happy and trying to appease all sides.”
‘Once Upon a Time in the Middle East’ Ending Explained: What Happens To Seif?
The final act has Xu risking his life to save most of the children, and for his actions he is shot by Zaid. However, Zaid angled his gun a certain way on the slim chance to save Xu. Soon after, Zaid is ultimately killed by U.S. soldiers and the children on the bus are saved.
Years after the events of the war, an older Xu returns to the Middle East for a return to the restaurant. When he enters the kitchen he sees discovers that Seif, with his back turned to Xu, is cooking and presumably running the restaurant.
“Overall, it’s pretty fair-handed by really painting the good and the bad on pretty much all sides,” said Purkey. “And really, the true villain is just war itself, which I think is fair.”
Check out Bruce Purkey’s full spoiler/ending explained review of Once Upon A Time in the Middle East:
Share your thoughts on Once Upon A Time in the Middle East in the comments!
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