Der heilige Berg

Plot Spoiler

As the older man's hallucination continues, he sees himself and Diotima approaching an altar, but suddenly the altar explodes, and his vision of Diotima fades away. In a trance he walks toward where she disappeared to (in his mind) — and so he falls off the edge of the cliff, bringing both himself and his friend Vigo to their deaths.

As morning arrives, Diotima is still waiting by the window of the cabin. At first she is hopeful when she sees the rescue team returning with stretchers, but then she learns to her horror that it is only the dead bodies of the two friends that have been brought back. The film ends with Diotima sitting once again by the sea, tearfully dreaming of the man she loved.