Sumith Prasad
Originally titled ‘Mystère,’ Denis Imbert’s French film ‘Vicky and Her Mystery’ centers around Victoria, an eight-year-old girl, and her pet Mystery. Set and filmed in the mountainous region of Cantal, the film progresses through Mystery’s arrival to Victoria (Shanna Keil) and her father Stéphane’s (Vincent Elbaz) lives and the predicaments that follow. As a heart-rending drama, the film is a moving depiction of Victoria’s companionship with Mystery. Since the movie concludes with a startling turn of events, we have taken a thorough look at it to fill the blanks in the ending! SPOILERS AHEAD.
Vicky and Her Mystery Plot Synopsis
‘Vicky and Her Mystery’ begins with Stéphane and his daughter Victoria moving to his family farmhouse in a mountain village. Victoria is grieving the loss of her mother and stops talking to her father, who couldn’t save his wife from a terminal disease. Stéphane tries his best to revive Victoria from her nightmares and the absence of her mother but fails. After settling at the new home, both of them go for a walk through the hills and get lost.
Stéphane and Victoria somehow arrive at a ranch in the valley to ask for help to return to their house. The owner of the ranch gifts Victoria a puppy named Mystery and she starts to nurture a bond with him. With Mystery, she becomes jovial and starts to talk with her father. Seeing Victoria’s enthusiasm, Stéphane agrees to keep Mystery with them. The father and daughter start to share merry times together with Mystery being a part of their family.
However, Victoria’s happiness ends one day when she goes for a walk through the forest with Mystery, her father, and her uncle Thierry. They become suspicious that Mystery is actually a wolf and Anna, who works at a local veterinary center, confirms their doubts. They try to hide Mystery in their farmhouse, but authorities find out and they take him away to a nature reserve.
Vicky and Her Mystery Ending: Do Victoria and Mystery End Up Together?
No, Victoria and Mystery do not end up together. Even though Victoria and Mystery develop a heartening bond together, their companionship gets threatened when the villagers come to know that Mystery is really a wolf. To protect their flocks, they contact authorities to take Mystery away, without considering Victoria’s attachment with him. A disappointed Victoria goes back to her moody self until Mystery’s return from the reserve to her school. An elated Victoria follows the wolf to a mountain without letting anyone know.
A tensed Stéphane finds Victoria and Mystery in the mountains and brings them both to a nearby house. However, Mystery gets shot by a villager whose flock is constantly attacked by wolves. As a surgeon, Stéphane operates on Mystery in Bruno’s house and saves him. But the incident changes Victoria’s understanding of the world she lives in. She realizes that animals do have their own families and way of life and they can’t live among humans as per her expectations.
When Mystery gets shot, Victoria perceives that the villagers around her can only see him as a threat to their livelihood. When Stéphane saves him from the gunshot wound, Victoria may have understood that the safety of her beloved wolf from now on is guaranteed in the wild rather than among the humans. When Anna makes sure that it is safe to release him to the valley and other wolves, Victoria does it without resistance. She accompanies Mystery to the valley and, in a heartfelt scene, tells the wolf that it is dangerous to live with humans.
Even though Victoria’s realization about the human world leads her to let go of Mystery, she does it with pain. She reminds the wolf that she is letting him leave her only because she can’t live with the wolves. To a dispirited Mystery, Victoria assures that she will never forget him and they will never separate in her mind. She removes the collar off of Mystery and watches him join other wolves in distress. She resists her pain with the satisfaction that she did what is best for Mystery.
‘Vicky and Her Mystery’ becomes a tale of sacrifice and virtue with Victoria’s selflessness. Even when Mystery becomes her catalyst of happiness, she does not jeopardize his safety by making him live with the humans. Her innocence as a child makes her concerned about Mystery’s well-being and family, which leads her to the decision of letting him go.
Even though they do not end up together, Victoria can be at peace that she made the best decision for him in return for his companionship. The touching ending of the film leaves behind a window to the innocence and sincerity of Victoria and how distinct she is from the adults that surround her. Along with a sentimental depiction of a child and her pet’s relationship, the film is also a poignant tale about the purity of childhood.
