The most interesting part of Hello Ghost is the question as to whether it was real or not. That is not because it unfolds like some psychological thriller. It is because unless we adopt that perspective while watching the film, we will not find it engaging or enjoyable. Once you have the big revelation at the end, it is worth asking if Kresna’s journey from his time in the hospital was how his trauma started unfolding or if it was as shown. Watching the movie with this debate in mind makes it worth it, and for people who prefer otherwise, here is a recap and ending of Hello Ghost.
Spoiler Alert
What do the ghosts want from Kresna?
Kresna is a lonely man who doesn’t want to live his life anymore. When his third failed suicide attempt lands him in the hospital, Kresna makes a recovery, but when he opens his eyes, he finds that he is no longer alone but that the company is certainly unwanted. He finds four Ghosts around him who occasionally take the reins of his actions to make him do what they want, but overall, Kresna is still in control. He takes them back home and demands to know what they want from him. All four ghosts have different last wishes that they demand that Kresna fulfill for them in return for leaving him alone. The little girl, Chika, probably has the simplest wish, which is to go skateboarding in the park and have lots of cotton candy. The others, however, prove to be more complicated.
Kuatno’s wish to find his old radio takes Kresna and him all over the city, and through some petty charades, they finally find the person who likely has what they are looking for. As for Bima, he wants to be able to drive his old truck. Kresna finds that in an old junkyard, but since he cannot drive, Bima does it for him and takes him to a beach. He says that one of his last wishes was to swim in the sea, and he needs Kresna to get in the water for that to happen. Therefore, unwillingly, Kresna ends up being taken care of and having fun for the first time in a long while. He happily gets a photograph taken with the other ghosts, even though they don’t show up in the final product. That may have been the end of Kresna and the ghosts’ beach outing, but when Bima sees a kid being hit and yelled at by his father, he intervenes through Kresna and stops the man. That lands Kresna in jail, though he is let go as no charges are pressed against him. However, it is a given that he is furious. Kresna talks about how he has always been alone and how that has ended up shaping his life and him as a person, which is why he doesn’t care enough to interfere when other parents are treating their kids poorly because, at the very least, they had parents.
Meanwhile, since the beginning of the movie, Kresna has been interested in a woman named Linda, who is a nurse at the hospital he was admitted to and is also his neighbor. She lives with her sick father, who keeps causing trouble by being reckless with his health. However, he is a good man who likes that his daughter has started warming up to Kresna, who has also started changing as a person after the ghosts came into his life. For example, he is having fun and feels a sense of belonging with them, even though it never leaves his mind that they are not humans. Also, it was Bima who gave him the advice that he should not stop enjoying life just because he has some tensions and problems to deal with. They are part and parcel of life and are in no way an obstruction to the happiness that can be found.
Between all this, Kresna and Linda are slowly falling in love, though the latter is concerned about Kresna’s “visions.” She has not accepted that he sees ghosts for real and believes that it could have something to do with a mental illness. Frankly, the final revelation at the end makes us think similarly.
Who Are The Ghosts In Kresna’s Life?
After a particularly concerning episode where Linda’s father escapes from the hospital, she is furious and tells him off for being embarrassing. Even Kresna heard a few words since he was there. Linda’s father passes away, but his ghost visits Kresna and asks him to deliver a final message to his daughter. Can Kresna see all ghosts now, or is it only about his near and dear ones? Anyway, when Kresna tries to talk to Linda, she shuts him down, saying that she doesn’t want to share his delusions. Not knowing what to do, Kresna decides to fulfill Lita’s last wish, and they go shopping for ingredients to make a meal. It is indeed a beautiful meal, and it is for the whole family.
Just as Kresna and the ghosts are about to sit down for it, Linda comes to his apartment to talk to him. But she is concerned about his behavior. He cooked a meal for an entire family, and if that is a regular habit, it is a concerning one, according to Linda. When she hears that he keeps seeing ghosts and how much they are a part of his life, she is in tears because his mental health is so bad. But these are not tears of pity. They are those of anger and helplessness, and she immediately leaves after Kresna tells her to look near the plants for her father’s last gifts.
When Linda leaves like that, Kresna is furious at the ghosts and asks them to leave as well since they have clearly overstayed their welcome. That day, Kresna tries to kill himself again, but he is unable to bring his task to completion. Meanwhile, Linda finds those shoes that Kresna was talking about, and she knows that he was telling the truth all along. The next day, when they sit together to have some snacks, Linda remarks on the unique flavor of the croquettes to divert the topic from Kresna’s confession that she knows is coming. However, this is what ends up bringing back memories for Kresna. He remembers that Lita is his mother, who had made Kresna promise to go shopping with her when he grew up.
Chika was his older sister; Bima was his father; and Kuatno was his grandfather. Their last wishes were things they had wanted to do with Kresna as a family when they were still alive. The family had been in an accident when they were going to the sea, and Kresna was the only survivor. His trauma had made him block out everything he remembered about them, and now that he knew who the ghosts were, he couldn’t help but be amazed at the love he had been receiving all along.
During Hello Ghost‘s ending, Kresna has a tearful reunion with his family, who tell him how they have been by his side this whole time. In fact, they were the ones who had failed his previous suicide attempts and probably brought Linda into his life. From then on, Kresna lives a much happier life with his family, who become a part of all his pictures in the present and in the future when he gets married to Linda and has his own children as well.
Final Thoughts
Hello Ghost was on the slower side, with plenty of loopholes to account for. It had a wonderful premise, but it lacked the humor needed to deliver the punch. Hello Ghost could have been a much more beautiful film if only it had a sharper edit and execution.
