Smell the Movies
Smell the TV
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
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| Year: | 1985 |
| Country of origin: | New Zealand |
| Director: | Geoff Murphy |
| Genre: | Sci-fi paranoia, Isolation |
| Starring: | Bruno Lawrence, Alison Routledge, Pete Smith |
| Rating: | 4/5 |
| IMDB link: | http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089869/ |
| Tagline: | No tagline |
| Favourite line: | Joanne: "I wouldn't ride with you if you were the last man on Earth." Api: "I'm working on it." |
Underground cult sci-fi from New Zealand, here.
The plot:
Zac Hobson is a fairly normal sort.
Well, he's a scientist, but let's not hold that against him.
One day he awakens, and all is quiet. Venturing out into the street, he discovers he is alone.
Utterly alone.
Exploring further he comes to the conclusion that he is the last man left alive.
Then, a stranger.
A woman, attractive, too.
How can this be?
Are they really the last two people on the planet?
No, they’re not, for another stranger appears, a man this time, big and burly - competition for the woman’s affections.
Will Zac keep hold of the new found love?
Is the disappearance of the population connected to his scientific experimentation?
Could Zac, indeed, even be God himself?
Esoteric and existential, this is a slow, sombre affair, the budget allowing little in the way of action or adventure. Instead, a tale of unrelenting bleakness is developed, with Zac slowly going insane in a world he simply can't cope with.
Or is this insanity?
Is it not, in fact, what each and every one of us would do in his position?
Exploring themes touched upon in more well known fare, notably The Day of the Triffids and the mega-budget Will Smith vehicle I Am Legend, this is interestingly introspective and a real slow-burner that will, ultimately, make you question your very existence.
Liked it a lot, have to say.
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