Le Dernier Survivant

Years before Peter Jackson's movies brought New Zealand cinema to the fore, Geoff Murphy's adaptation of Craig Harrison's novel was an interesting release from the tiny country. "The Quiet Earth" is not really a post-apocalyptic tale, per se. It seems to be posing the question to the viewer of what you might do if thrown into this absolutely bizarre situation. The late Bruno Lawrence plays a man who wakes up to find out that everyone else on the planet has simply vanished. But it turns out that a project on which he has been working holds the answer to this.

Without a doubt, the end scene is up for interpretation, in the same way that the end of Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey" is. But most importantly, "The Quiet Earth" is not an action movie. It's very much about the characters, and I really liked it. Also starring Alison Routledge and Pete Smith (an Orc in "The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King", on which Geoff Murphy served as 2nd Unit Director).

I'm another person who saw this movie in a small art theater on Balboa Island, CA, in 1985. "Quiet Earth" was so haunting that, while channel surfing 15 years later, I saw just a flash of the image of Zac awakening and recognized the film instantly. I settled in to watch the film again--even knowing the ending--and its impact was still incredible.

Maybe it's not for serious sci-fi fans but definitely for people who like movies with apocalyptic themes, such as "A Boy and His Dog".

I should begin by stating that I LOVE this film, which may explain, if not justify the following comments.

This is an excellent exploration of the human mind in a fantastic situation, but more simply just a damn good science fiction thriller.

I would agree that the first half is the better part, but to those who criticise the second half as being cliched and unstructured I would argue that a new impetus is needed by the time Zac has lived out his various fantasies and flirted with insanity.

Where many appear to feel the film is confused and leaves many matters unresolved, that very ambiguity and bewilderment was what I enjoyed most. For most of the film you DON'T know where the characters have found themselves, whether they are actually alive or dead, or what reality they're living in.

In accordance with this fascination I found the ending superb, accompanied as it was by that haunting theme music. Maybe it came as a result of the writer not knowing how to end the thing but it was never going to be a film where everything fell into place by a few cunningly worded lines at the conclusion! Therefore I liked the fact things were left unexplained, unsatisfying though it may be.

In short, I would definitely recommend this film, which seems to be dusted off and screened late at night on a regular basis by BBC 2 (English terrestrial channel). I know it won't appeal to everyone, but there will be those surrealists who do love it, if only as a fun and bizarre Sci-fi.

I love films with an apocalyptic theme. And this is definitely one of the better ones. Even though the basic story has been around quite a few times, e.g. "Omega Man, The (1971)", it is always interesting to see what has happened before and how it ends. Here, the emphasis is put on human relations, not so much on action. The scientific explanation for the "effect" is also somewhat implausible, but due to that rather authentic scientist Hobson I believed it anyways. And fortunately, the authors chose a non Hollywood-style ending for the movie!

New Zealand surely isn't that illustrious, but this film is an incredible work that is begging to be rediscovered. It isn't a science- fiction in the way of aliens and action; despite it's meager budget, it uses mood, suggestion and great storytelling. The protagonist doesn't fight bloodthirsty monsters, but human nature.

Zac wakes one morning to find himself alone; the entire human race has seemingly disappeared overnight during a phenomena known as "The Effect". As his mental state begins deteriorating, he meets two other survivors, but it isn't long before problems in their relationships begin to happen.

For an inexperienced director, inexperienced cast, and probably inexperienced crew, the movie is surprisingly professional. At a time when other sci-fi movies like Back to the Future and Brazil, The Quiet Earth unfortunately and undeservedly faded into obscurity. Plus, dare I say, this movie features the greatest ending ever put to film (Think Planet of the Apes x10).

Please do your best to find this movie, you will surely enjoy the wonders of filmmaking outside of Hollywood once you do.