‘My Wonderful Life’ or ‘Moje wspaniale zycie’ is a Polish comedy-drama that revolves around Joanna “Jo” Lisiecka (Agata Buzek). She plays many roles in her life – from educator to mother to wife to daughter to grandmother. She loves her students and her family, but those relationships don’t seem to be reciprocated. When the film opens, she has become disillusioned with her life. However, it begins to spiral completely out of control after a mysterious blackmailer threatens to reveal a secret she has been carefully hiding. Here’s everything you need to know about the ending of “My Wonderful Life.” FRONT SPOILERS.
My Wonderful Life Plot Synopsis
Jo and her husband, Witek (Jacek Braciak), work at the same high school – she as an English teacher and he as the principal. They share their home with Jo’s mother (Malgorzata Zajaczkowska), Jo and Witek’s adult son Adam (Jakub Zajac), Adam’s wife Karina (Wiktoria Wolanska), Adam and Karina’s son Leon, and Jo and Witek’s youngest son, Janek. None of them are happy to share their cramped home. Jo has a second house that originally belonged to her parents. Adam and Karina wanted him for a long time for their young family, but every time they talked about it, Jo refused. Adam even lost a bet to his wife over it and now has to get spanked a hundred times in the back.
Jo smokes weed and uses her parents’ house for recreational purposes. The property is also where she secretly meets her lover, Maciek (Adam Woronowicz), a teacher from the same school as her. Jo’s personal and professional lives separate little by little. Her mother has Alzheimer’s disease. Adam and Karina are not particularly good parents. Witek seems lost and is in the midst of a midlife crisis. He goes for a run every day in a desperate attempt to retain his youth and spends time in a bar surrounded by young people. Janek isn’t necessarily an incel, but the time he spends in his room seems to be a concern for everyone in the family.
Amidst her family and indifferent students, Jo suppresses her true self. This changes every time she is with Maciek. Her open personality and caring nature bring out the best in Jo. However, she is not ready to abandon her family. They are an essential part of her identity, and Jo desperately tries to hold on to them.
The blackmail starts with a text message. Later, Jo begins to receive envelopes containing encrypted messages. She asks Adam for help and admits she is being blackmailed into having an affair, though she does not reveal with whom. She comes to believe that one of her students is responsible. She becomes especially suspicious of Monkey, Maciek’s daughters. She collects fingerprints from several students, including Monkey, and asks Adam to have them checked against those left on one of the envelopes. But none of them match, much to Jo’s disappointment.
My wonderful end of life: who is the blackmailer?
In the final part of the film, the blackmailer begins sending Jo the photos and video clips she and Maciek recorded during their private time. She receives the clip on her phone with a note telling her that if she doesn’t show it to her family that night, the whole town will see it the next day. Forced into a corner, Jo has no choice but to have her entire clan sit down and show them the footage. In this scene, writer-director Lukasz Grzegorzek ramps up the tension in stages. The family members get angry and disappointed at Jo and go on a rampage one by one. In the end, she goes after each of them, clinically pointing out their shortcomings.
The situation diffuses after his mother flees. Jo goes out with her two sons to look for her in town and eventually discovers that Witek has already found her. It is later revealed that Janek is the blackmailer. He found out about the affair and probably felt that his mother’s actions endangered the family unit. Shortly after leaving the family home, Jo realizes this. And Janek confirms this even when he comes to visit his mother.
What does Jo choose between Witek and Maciek?
In the film’s final sequence, the rest of Jo’s family show up at her doorstep. There’s not a lot of dialogue after that. In a powerful scene, Jo and all of her family members except Witek embrace. Shortly after, Maciek arrives with flowers in hand. It’s Witek who opens the door and lets him in. The two men stand side by side as Jo looks up and the movie ends. Although infidelity often destroys families, Jo’s choice isn’t necessarily between her family and Maciek, but between Witek and Maciek.
The cuddling scene depicts Jo and most of her family members forgiving each other and themselves. The fact that Witek deliberately stays away is telling. Although Grzegorzek offers an ambiguous ending, it’s probably safe to say that Jo and Witek’s marriage has run its course. Witek lets Maciek in because he probably thinks the other man has as much right to be there as anyone else. It’s a new start for the three of them. Jo and Maciek can finally be open about their relationship, while Witek can pursue her own happiness.
Read more: Is My Wonderful Life based on a true story? Where is it filmed?
