Nothing Lasts Forever

This movie shares some similarities with Terry Gilliam's "Brazil". The mixing of 1930's and 1980's, the totalitarian state that pretends to be caring, a mix of freaky supporting characters and subtext behind every shot and concept. But Nothing Lasts Forever is lighter and more optimistic in tone and a modern (ish) fairy tale of searching for one's talent and purpose. The concepts of the Manhattan Port Authority taking control of New York, underground Angels, going shopping on the Moon in a bus and Bauhaus German techno artists in a mock 30's setting all show great creativity and originality; often missing in a lot of American comedies. And it also works the soundtrack (a mix of original and classical music) into the story extremely well.

I had wanted to see this movie for years, but until just recently it was next to impossible to see, never getting an official release. But it finally popped on TV, and I made sure to record and watch it. After seeing it, I can only say, "Strange... very strange..." Note that I didn't say it's an *awful* movie. The production design is very good, managing to capture the look and feel of movies made forty or so years earlier. And it's so offbeat that you can't help but be curious enough to stick with it in order to see how things will work out. But the problem is that the movie concentrates more on being strange than working to have strong characters and a solid story. Eventually I got somewhat tired of the movie. But if you are a fan of strange major Hollywood studio movies, it is definitely a must see. And it's unlikely a movie like this would get made today by a major Hollywood studio, so you might want to grab the chance to see this rarity.

Easily one of the most charming unspoken of movies I have ever seen, especially capturing the supreme Golden age of Hollywood ("The Wizard of Oz) in the middle of a decade that brought us "Predators", "Gremlins", "Aliens", and "Lethal Weapon", etc. Talk about a genre-changer! A film that even came out a year before Terry Gilliam's masterpiece "Brazil" that is similar in many ways; reminding me of the blissful Sam Lowry in an oppressive bureaucratic world searching for love.

The film makes a lot work with so very little (adding to its charm) and gives us a certainly flawed journey of one Adam Beckett who aspires to be an artist amidst a surrealist, oppressive 1930's era New York. The black and white photography and camera-work is beautiful blending rather superbly with the stock footage used of the union workers in the streets and the shots of a sprawling NY skyline lit up at night. Add to that the perfect utilization of switching from B&W to color for specific scenes, and you have more evidence of great directing.

There are some moments that perhaps lack some charisma from our lead but the absolute zaniness and odd tangents of the film keep us interested and save us from any true dull moments. Ultimately, the film tells us we should pursue the right choices in life even if the things we want seem so far away. The allegory here is Adam's literal trip to the moon where he discovers a cult has turned the natives into a consumerized, shopified destination of pleasure, and where Adam falls in love with one of the natives; an Hawaiian-like dancer and singer. The final 20 minutes gives us TWO wonderful music numbers; one capturing the final message of the film by the brilliant title and the other punctuating the claim that all that hard work and those good decisions ultimately pay off. The end commits to the odd tangents we've seen all along, remaining just as wacky as the film has been throughout, and then suddenly grounds us back to reality with an awesome finale back at Carnegie Hall where the film began.

Look out for Dan Aykroyd and Bill Murray in great minor roles (particularly Murray) with a fantastic ensemble of veterans that bring their stuff reminding me of the magic from some films such as "The Shop Around the Corner", "His Girl Friday", and "It's a Wonderful Life". Highly recommended for those who like films like "Brazil" or the 1930's romantic comedies.

Zach Galligan of Gremlins fame, stars in this strange lost film, from a former SNL writer, Tim Schiller, in the 80's. This was produced by Lorne Micheals, and features cameos from Dan Akroyd as a Holland Tunnel inspector (who uses the only instance of profanity, this movie is PG) and Bill Murray as the villainous Captain of an interstellar bus which transports the elderly to the moon. Galligan is a young man whose been abroad for years, and returned home only to find that the New York Port Authority has seized control of the city, due to traffic problems. Galligan is a naive but kindly upstart who knows only that he wants to be an artist. After failing the mandatory "art test" used to determine, who is an artist and who isn't, he is forced to work at the Holland Tunnel with Akroyd, but not for too long, as he meets a fellow artist, falls in love and is taken through a short montage of the new york art world. The setting is essentially timeless, at one point, it suggests the thirties, at another they mention the 50's as part of the past, and at one brief moment, there's a strong hint of 80's, but the film is shot in black and white mostly, and made to resemble a science fiction from an earlyish period from the last century, 30's, 40's??? The plot takes a few turns from here which are surprising and fantastical and not to give away too much, but unfortunately since this movie has NEVER been released on home video or DVD(and doesn't seem likely too), I'll give a way a little more of what's to come...New York as you know it may be an illusion, the homeless are the secret masters of the city and possibly more, and the elderly have been taking routine bus trips to the moon since the 50's, they have chips in their heads which make them say "Miami" every time they even think the word "Moon", so they can't tell anyone. All of these plot elements are told with a matter of factness and a touching sweetness, at no point does this film become cynical, mean, perverse, or pretentious (not something most films as rare and surreal as this can claim). Others have rightly compared it to both Terry Gilliam and Woodey Allen at their most fanciful, but there's a sweetness to this, which gives it a charm all of its own. It's completely unique, very clever, and unusually heartwarming. See it by any means necessary, and as the secret society of bums commands,"Fear not, love all".

Never officially released, neither theatrically nor on home media, Tom Schiller's surreal science fiction fantasy Nothing Lasts Forever stars Zach Galligan as an eager young artist struggling to find his creative outlet in a New York City under the tyrannical rule of the Port Authority. Shot in black and white (for the most part) and with the sound recorded in mono, the film replicates the Classical Hollywood style of the late '30s and early '40s to create a dreamlike work that, had it been made during the indie boom of the '90s, would have easily found a cult following. Featuring strong supporting work from the likes of Dan Aykroyd, Lauren Tom, Apollonia van Ravenstein and Bill Murray – not to mention a midpoint shift in narrative that will leave an unsuspecting viewer reeling – Nothing Last Forever is an oddity of a film, perhaps too unusual for its time, that deserves, at the very least, a proper worldwide release.

www.azim.org Movie And TV Database