SPOILER ALERT: the following article contains massive spoilers, including the ending. If you have not yet seen the movie, proceed at your own risk, or better, come back to this article later!
An elderly gentleman goes for what he assumes will be an ordinary day at the amusement park, only to find himself in the middle of a hellish nightmare.
SPOILERS AHEAD
The Amusement Park Plot Summary and Synopsis
The film opens with a informational prologue by Lincoln Maazel as he explains how the elderly are constantly overlooked and undervalued by society.
He tells the viewer that they are about to watch a film that acts as a metaphorical description of how the elderly are mistreated.
An elderly man, played by Maazel, sits in a white room, bandaged, bloodied and with his once nice white suit dirtied. Another man, also played Maazel, enters looking clean and in good spirits.
He attempts to communicate with the tired version of himself and tells him that he is going to the park despite him telling him that “there is nothing out there.” The cleaner man walks through the door and is immediately in the park.
On the outside the door is not connected to anything. The man walks about and happily examines his surroundings before coming across a ticket taker who swindles other septuagenarians out of their things with low pay. He buys some tickets from him which take the form of money in the park.
The man gets on a rollercoaster with strange signage, rides a train where one the older passengers supposedly dies and is ignored once in a coffin and witnesses a man’s license get revoked due to poor eyesight.
While playing in the bumper cars, an “accident” occurs complete with a police officer and lawyer arriving on the scene.
The man tries to offer assistance, but it becomes apparent that he needs to wear glasses and therefore cannot be seen as a reliable alibi. He goes to eat at a food stand, lampooned as a restaurant, as he and several other elders are ignored by waiters for a wealthy individual.
When the man finally gets his food, he sympathetically gives it to the other elders.
The man buys groceries, but cannot carry them all so he simply takes some crackers and a jar of peanut butter. As he sits to eat, he beckons some children to come and converse with him, but a younger man accuses him of being a “degenerate” and he leaves in shame.
The man is beckoned into a building by younger people who tell him that he will have fun, but upon entering, it is a claustrophobic room where elders are forced to perform in uncomfortable exercise machines. He leaves, but breaks his glasses in the process. He comes upon a fortune teller and witnesses a young couple enter and ask what their future will be like.
The fortune teller shows them that they will be living in a soon to be built over apartment building where they will have little support from their personal doctor and neighbors. Angry, the young man leaves and punches the older man who collapses.
When the man comes to his senses, the park is empty save for three bikers who beat him and then take his tickets. As people suddenly appear, they all ignore him. With very little money, he goes to get first aid.
The medical center, set up like a store, is full of various elders equipment and the doctors and nurses hastily rush everyone through. The man finds himself simply getting a band aid on his head and a cane and is ushered out. He comes upon some men trying to sell retirement homes and ends up getting pick-pocketed.
The pick-pocket is revealed to run a freak show, which simply consists of elders dressed in casual clothing. Everyone is upset and as the man gets up to leave, is suddenly chased away by the patrons. He finds “sanctuary”, but it closes upon his arrival.
The man finally gets some solace when a little girl offers for him to read The Three Little Pigs to her and have some chicken. The mother apathetically takes her and the book away as he finally breaks down into tears.
He leaves the piece of chicken behind and walks back to the white room; resigned and defeated. Moments later, a cleaner optimistic version of himself enters as the scene from the beginning repeats. The man sits tired and powerless over not being able to stop his younger self.
The Amusement Park Ending
Maazel appears one last time to tell the viewer that they can help the elderly through already established programs. He signs off with “I’ll se you in the park… someday.”
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0).