A futuristic movie with bare visuals, a Gregorian style chant in the background and the soothing voice of the wonderful Tilda Swinton giving the history of a neo human race on a dying earth. This is definitely not everyone's cup of tea, but I found it both relaxing and stimulating, whilst making you think. A thumbs up from me.
87 Reviews
For better or worse, it is indeed a "visual audiobook"
TheVictoriousV27 September 2020
With the summer movie season of 2020 being drier than sandpaper (thanks to our good friend COVID), the season of banking on streamed releases has been all the more exciting. Through September, we've already enjoyed I'm Thinking of Ending Things, the documentary Feels Good Man, the return of Amazon's The Boys, and that one French Netflix film about dancing or whatever. I understand there's also more Borat coming up.
But the one that truly caught me off guard was Last and First Men - an Icelandic film that was actually completed over three years ago, stars no people bar narrator Tilda Swinton, and was directed by Jóhann Jóhannsson, the late composer who scored 2018's Mandy as his final effort (which I still say deserved a farewell-Oscar).
Last and First Men plays like a documentary from the distant future, yet is so minimalistic in its unearthly footage that it feels more like a visual audiobook, narrated by Swinton with the same gravitas that Cate Blanchett gave Malick's Voyage of Time - albeit darker and more aware of the Earth's mortality. It is fair to say that "nothing happens" in the movie, and if your measurement of quality reduces itself to "number of things happening", close this window so I can proceed in peace.
What we see is a monochromatic series of alien structures, set to narrations that explain how humanity evolved after the "First Men"; that is, you and I. The message being broadcast to us is from the almost superpowered Last Men. The sun is dying, killing itself without care for the superhumans we've become: a collective communicating mainly with the mind and engaging in sex or intimacy only when a new step on the evolutionary ladder may be possible - we learn that pregnancies last 20 years and infancies a century.
Without giving too much away, we also learn that, in a sense, accepting the inevitability of doom - a reality that persists even if we, the insignificant Sol 3 bipeds, successfully achieve immortality and higher awareness - made us "truly" human and connected again. This is all very intriguing, and I want to say that the ambiance of Jóhannsson's imagery and sound made it hypnotizing to take in. Alas, I do think the film itself winds up repetitive, at least visually.
Perhaps I shouldn't quite think of it as a film. It has been repeatedly referred to as a "multimedia project" that may be best enjoyed as an art installation with a live orchestra (the film does have an absolutely superb musical score). This might remind some cinephiles of Matthew Barney's Cremaster Cycle, which is one of the few properties I can safely call "pretentious" without feeling as if I'm using the word as a get-out-of-thinking free card.
Last and First Men is hardly so pointless; it has something to communicate and the images of empty desolation are ultimately fitting, given that this is meant to be a message sent to our astronomers from a close-to-apocalyptic future. It's all part of the point (I also understand keeping things minimal with something as unfilmable as the sheer smallness of human existence next to the lifespan of the cosmos, which may as well be left to our already limited imagination). The problem is that some of these structures and locations, while impressive on an SFX level, start to look a bit samey.
Even so, I will have this piece on my mind for a while. It is a journey to the future of man that you won't soon forget. The question is if you'll want to go again.
But the one that truly caught me off guard was Last and First Men - an Icelandic film that was actually completed over three years ago, stars no people bar narrator Tilda Swinton, and was directed by Jóhann Jóhannsson, the late composer who scored 2018's Mandy as his final effort (which I still say deserved a farewell-Oscar).
Last and First Men plays like a documentary from the distant future, yet is so minimalistic in its unearthly footage that it feels more like a visual audiobook, narrated by Swinton with the same gravitas that Cate Blanchett gave Malick's Voyage of Time - albeit darker and more aware of the Earth's mortality. It is fair to say that "nothing happens" in the movie, and if your measurement of quality reduces itself to "number of things happening", close this window so I can proceed in peace.
What we see is a monochromatic series of alien structures, set to narrations that explain how humanity evolved after the "First Men"; that is, you and I. The message being broadcast to us is from the almost superpowered Last Men. The sun is dying, killing itself without care for the superhumans we've become: a collective communicating mainly with the mind and engaging in sex or intimacy only when a new step on the evolutionary ladder may be possible - we learn that pregnancies last 20 years and infancies a century.
Without giving too much away, we also learn that, in a sense, accepting the inevitability of doom - a reality that persists even if we, the insignificant Sol 3 bipeds, successfully achieve immortality and higher awareness - made us "truly" human and connected again. This is all very intriguing, and I want to say that the ambiance of Jóhannsson's imagery and sound made it hypnotizing to take in. Alas, I do think the film itself winds up repetitive, at least visually.
Perhaps I shouldn't quite think of it as a film. It has been repeatedly referred to as a "multimedia project" that may be best enjoyed as an art installation with a live orchestra (the film does have an absolutely superb musical score). This might remind some cinephiles of Matthew Barney's Cremaster Cycle, which is one of the few properties I can safely call "pretentious" without feeling as if I'm using the word as a get-out-of-thinking free card.
Last and First Men is hardly so pointless; it has something to communicate and the images of empty desolation are ultimately fitting, given that this is meant to be a message sent to our astronomers from a close-to-apocalyptic future. It's all part of the point (I also understand keeping things minimal with something as unfilmable as the sheer smallness of human existence next to the lifespan of the cosmos, which may as well be left to our already limited imagination). The problem is that some of these structures and locations, while impressive on an SFX level, start to look a bit samey.
Even so, I will have this piece on my mind for a while. It is a journey to the future of man that you won't soon forget. The question is if you'll want to go again.
More art than movie
tony2847-882-85883619 June 2020
Rarely did the visuals match the story and music so I essentially listened to this. The score was nearly perfect and the story was quite compelling. As art, I liked it quite well. As a film, it wasn't very good. 36 hours later I'm still thinking about it.
Beautiful posthumous work by Jóhann Jóhannsson
majorbonobo9 June 2020
This is a beautiful art/science/philosophy installation music film by Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannsson released after his death in 2018, from a haunting text by the British philosopher and writer Olaf Stapledon, known by his "science fiction" in the first half of the 20th-Century. It's narrated by Tilda Swinton, who conveys greatly the tone of a once and future humanity (a post-humanity, if you will). The visuals are provided mostly by brutalist Soviet concrete architecture from the former Yugoslavia.
Apparently the film is being marketed by some quarters like some sort of kind of post-apocalyptic sci-fi pic, and apparently kids are watching it with expectations of seeing the likes of Mad Max (which is a great series of films, anyway) or Ready Player One or who knows what kind of zombie crap. This is not it, and you can then laugh at their perplexed and resentful reviews giving the film 1 star. No, nope, nope. What were they sold? This is not World War Z, nor the Time Machine. Think, if of anything, of Guy Debord's films, John Berger, Soviet films, think of Paul Virilio's Bunker Archaeology, think of the visuals and soundtrack for T. S. Eliot's serious poems (not "Cats", of course), etc. Think of Cosmos or 2001: A Space Odissey, if you want. Think of a documentary. Think of a museum exhibit. Think of a manifesto for post-humanity. Think of archaeology in 2 Billion AD... but for Pete's sake, when you get into watching this film, stop thinking you are entering a McDonald's or a Chuck E. Cheese when you come in into The Met or a Guggenheim museum.
Apparently the film is being marketed by some quarters like some sort of kind of post-apocalyptic sci-fi pic, and apparently kids are watching it with expectations of seeing the likes of Mad Max (which is a great series of films, anyway) or Ready Player One or who knows what kind of zombie crap. This is not it, and you can then laugh at their perplexed and resentful reviews giving the film 1 star. No, nope, nope. What were they sold? This is not World War Z, nor the Time Machine. Think, if of anything, of Guy Debord's films, John Berger, Soviet films, think of Paul Virilio's Bunker Archaeology, think of the visuals and soundtrack for T. S. Eliot's serious poems (not "Cats", of course), etc. Think of Cosmos or 2001: A Space Odissey, if you want. Think of a documentary. Think of a museum exhibit. Think of a manifesto for post-humanity. Think of archaeology in 2 Billion AD... but for Pete's sake, when you get into watching this film, stop thinking you are entering a McDonald's or a Chuck E. Cheese when you come in into The Met or a Guggenheim museum.
Surprisingly intriguing
bassewt11 May 2022
I rarely watch arthouse films, and I seldom enjoy the few that I see. Yet somehow, I found myself captivated by this one. Partly because I had read Stapledon's book not too long ago, and been impressed by its vast scope. I found the strange way this film represents the story intriguing.
As others have said, on the surface this is 70 minutes of slow pans and zooms on strange concrete sculptures. The kind of style over substance that could easily be dismissed as pretentious navel-gazing. But for me, at least, it worked.
The core purpose of the visuals, I think, is to create a sense of alienation, of peering into a distant future world that we cannot fully grasp, through a medium - cross-time telepathy - that we are not built to comprehend. The film is made not as a story to be watched, but as if it were an actual telepathic message from the narrator, one of the last living men, waiting for the inevitable end of all of humanity in a future two billion years away.
This is not for everyone, and I won't disparage any of the 1 star reviews here. But if you "click" with what this film is trying to accomplish, it can be quite enjoyable.
As others have said, on the surface this is 70 minutes of slow pans and zooms on strange concrete sculptures. The kind of style over substance that could easily be dismissed as pretentious navel-gazing. But for me, at least, it worked.
The core purpose of the visuals, I think, is to create a sense of alienation, of peering into a distant future world that we cannot fully grasp, through a medium - cross-time telepathy - that we are not built to comprehend. The film is made not as a story to be watched, but as if it were an actual telepathic message from the narrator, one of the last living men, waiting for the inevitable end of all of humanity in a future two billion years away.
This is not for everyone, and I won't disparage any of the 1 star reviews here. But if you "click" with what this film is trying to accomplish, it can be quite enjoyable.
Don't fasten your seat belts.
gotohoward27 May 2020
Warning: Spoilers
On initial glance this film seems like a sleeper. Not the kind of film that didn't get a lot of notoriety, but ended up really good, but rather, one you'd fall asleep to. In order to base my 6 rating I had to have a few ground rules. First, you have to like science fiction from the thought provoking end. Second, you have a be a free form thinker, and daydream with purpose. Third, You better like Tilda Swinton's voice. The film attempts to go way into the future of the Earth almost in documentary style. It charts what happens in the human condition and is a bit on the gloomy side. Oh, and fourth, you better like the imagery perhaps from Alien Covenant. The one before the last one if I have my sequels right. It was the one about the "Engineers" and where the human race came from. You might get bored to tears if you don't have those four things in stow. Good luck!
Not a movie, A classic SF story, as an audio book w/stills
joshua1695 July 2020
Another reviewer said it. This is is not a movie which is much of the reason for the dislike. There are no moving images. There is simply panning over still figures while the narrator speaks, telling a classic SF story written in 1939. It's old sf and it has no traditional story either. The story itself is not to everyone's taste so neither is this "visual audio book". The story is not boring to most SF fans, but as a MOVIE, sure it is. Because nothing moves. There are no actors. It's not really a movie at all in the normal sense. It's one of the most unfilmable stories ever written.
Last and First Occurrence - Modern Art
gelf-462582 June 2020
If your ideal cinematic experience consists of a lot of CGI-action and -explosions, then you should probably skip this feature. This film is not indented for you, sorry (trust me, you'll thank me).
If THX-1138 and 2001 a Space Odyssey are amongst some of your favourite films and you are not adverse to visiting a modern-art exhibit once in a while, this movie may just appeal to you. If you love the Soviet version of Polaris - you will LOVE this!
Overall the film seems to have been shot digitally, relying heavily on fairly standard software (Photoshop, After Effects) to make it look both artistic and analogue. It could possibly include stock material. This was done, however, to perfection. I could have made this film by myself. It would have taken me 20 years to get it to this level.
The opening shot of the film is very similar to the 2001 monolith. The frame then moves to reveal a more complicated form. The subsequent scenes consist of well-shot modern architecture, photo-shopped natural forms (to appear constructed) and closeups of other forms. While colour is included, most is monochrome. Without narration and abstract music, this is what the film is, a series of slowly moving black and white shapes.
Story is: we are 2.000.000.000 years in the future (I think that was the number, I may be way off); "This is what we want to tell you." Most information is thematic, setting a mood. 18th version of humanity. Huge gaping hole, how did we come to live on the "surface" of Jupiter? How come Earth-trees grow there? Why not Terraform Jupiter's moon Europa? Jupiter is closer to a star than a planet in reality. Jupiter has no solid surface. The message is entirely done by narration. A matter of accept it's true. No (actual) story-line, no actors.
So am I watching... a 60's/ 70's script? One that did not get made until '17? 'Shrooms would help. Possibly LSD. But I doubt you'd watch the movie. Maybe just weed? Possibly.
No, this is a modern abstract artwork. A well made one. It can not be compared. THX has a narrative story. So does 2001. Many visuals put in my mind "Irakis, Dune, Desert planet." It's not that either.
It is what it is. Abstract. Non-conformist. Like a Soviet film from the '70s. "I sure want to do something, just confused about what that is." I'm glad to have seen it. I'm glad to know people are still making these!!!
It's art.
If THX-1138 and 2001 a Space Odyssey are amongst some of your favourite films and you are not adverse to visiting a modern-art exhibit once in a while, this movie may just appeal to you. If you love the Soviet version of Polaris - you will LOVE this!
Overall the film seems to have been shot digitally, relying heavily on fairly standard software (Photoshop, After Effects) to make it look both artistic and analogue. It could possibly include stock material. This was done, however, to perfection. I could have made this film by myself. It would have taken me 20 years to get it to this level.
The opening shot of the film is very similar to the 2001 monolith. The frame then moves to reveal a more complicated form. The subsequent scenes consist of well-shot modern architecture, photo-shopped natural forms (to appear constructed) and closeups of other forms. While colour is included, most is monochrome. Without narration and abstract music, this is what the film is, a series of slowly moving black and white shapes.
Story is: we are 2.000.000.000 years in the future (I think that was the number, I may be way off); "This is what we want to tell you." Most information is thematic, setting a mood. 18th version of humanity. Huge gaping hole, how did we come to live on the "surface" of Jupiter? How come Earth-trees grow there? Why not Terraform Jupiter's moon Europa? Jupiter is closer to a star than a planet in reality. Jupiter has no solid surface. The message is entirely done by narration. A matter of accept it's true. No (actual) story-line, no actors.
So am I watching... a 60's/ 70's script? One that did not get made until '17? 'Shrooms would help. Possibly LSD. But I doubt you'd watch the movie. Maybe just weed? Possibly.
No, this is a modern abstract artwork. A well made one. It can not be compared. THX has a narrative story. So does 2001. Many visuals put in my mind "Irakis, Dune, Desert planet." It's not that either.
It is what it is. Abstract. Non-conformist. Like a Soviet film from the '70s. "I sure want to do something, just confused about what that is." I'm glad to have seen it. I'm glad to know people are still making these!!!
It's art.
An amazing piece of art, Jóhannn's own eulogy
heldriver17 September 2020
This is definitely not for everyone, as the reviews show, but those who get it truly get it, and are touched forever by this great piece of art.
I'd put it in with movies like Begotten, just less visually disturbing, and yet the story even more so.
The visuals and music are simply put amazing and immensely emotional.
I can not help but mention the cruel irony of life and point out that this was Jóhanns last and first film. The whole story is about death, the ultimate, inescapable end that comes too fast. I feel like Jóhann made his perfect eulogy himself. What an artist, what a loss!
R.I.P.
Slowly Zooming In On Concrete
stephenstephenbyrne31 January 2021
While watching this it felt like a short story set to music and images (No surprise then when I found out after it was based on a novel). And I can dig that but it's certainly not for everyone. If you're not really into sci-fi (particularly of the written kind) I would say avoid this.
As for the film, I understand what they were going for with the visuals but I felt myself wishing they'd do just a tad more, even just in terms of variety. The incredible music does so much of the heavy lifting, I just wish the visuals were able to reach that same level. Watching it in the dark I was initially gripped but by midway through the visuals had become a bit repetitive for me and I found myself almost closing my eyes, turning it into a audio experience, which still kinda works to be honest.
The passing of Johan was really a great loss to cinema and I'm sad we will never get to see what other interesting projects he would have done.
As for the film, I understand what they were going for with the visuals but I felt myself wishing they'd do just a tad more, even just in terms of variety. The incredible music does so much of the heavy lifting, I just wish the visuals were able to reach that same level. Watching it in the dark I was initially gripped but by midway through the visuals had become a bit repetitive for me and I found myself almost closing my eyes, turning it into a audio experience, which still kinda works to be honest.
The passing of Johan was really a great loss to cinema and I'm sad we will never get to see what other interesting projects he would have done.
Just read the book.
hectordanielbuelna4 July 2021
I knew a low budget movie with a 110 minute lenght wasn't gonna make justice to the book, but this is ridiculous.
It's, basically, Tilda Swinton (beautiful voice, by the way) reading the last chapter of the book verbatim with a bunch of long pauses filled by "inspiring" music and some "artistic" visuals.
I was really excited to see this when I found out there's a movie about this one book I really loved. What a huge disappointment. I don't know why there's so much weird people praising this for NO good reason. This is supposed to be a movie, people, not and audiobook. You are just artificially inflating the value of this piece with no merit whatsoever. It's bad, plain and simple. The music is bland, the visuals are flat and the narration keeps getting interrupted by this long pauses where the director wants you to "reflect" on the message.
Just read the book. Period.
It's, basically, Tilda Swinton (beautiful voice, by the way) reading the last chapter of the book verbatim with a bunch of long pauses filled by "inspiring" music and some "artistic" visuals.
I was really excited to see this when I found out there's a movie about this one book I really loved. What a huge disappointment. I don't know why there's so much weird people praising this for NO good reason. This is supposed to be a movie, people, not and audiobook. You are just artificially inflating the value of this piece with no merit whatsoever. It's bad, plain and simple. The music is bland, the visuals are flat and the narration keeps getting interrupted by this long pauses where the director wants you to "reflect" on the message.
Just read the book. Period.
A thought provoking meditative experience.
chevothy30 July 2020
Audiobook on film
Rendanlovell29 November 2020
Remember when that jock from Rick and Morty held Morty and said, "There's something special about you."? That's how I am towards Johan. Gone to soon. Rip to a king.
For a debut feature this is both incredibly impressive and a little underwhelming. When the movie showed the title card that it was based on a book I felt vindication. It's literally an audiobook. Tilda Swinton reads to you for a little over an hour accompanied by gorgeous music and a sharp eye for wonderful visuals. Tilda Swinton as the book reader or Narrator in this was lovely though. Her confident voice and choice of words gives her character a full bodied feel without ever seeing her.
It's the perfect movie to turn on if you want to be transfixed by something. And I imagine it will go over like gangbusters for anyone more or less intoxicated. That said, I watched this at 3am and found myself starting to dose off periodically (probably less the movies fault and more mine). The dreamy, slow pace and droning narrative would be enough on their own to inflict drowsiness but there's more then that. The visuals, while nice, are also super dreamy and slow paced. Lots of long takes pushing in or pulling out on architecture in a loop.
Fortunately, it only runs at an 1hr 10 which means it never feels boring. Slow and quiet? Sure, but not boring. The black and white visuals alone are striking. Couple that with an interesting narrative and you've got something. But it does play just like an audiobook would and does little outside of that. If you're in the market for abstract, museum level art then is will be a hit. Traditional, this is not.
For a debut feature this is both incredibly impressive and a little underwhelming. When the movie showed the title card that it was based on a book I felt vindication. It's literally an audiobook. Tilda Swinton reads to you for a little over an hour accompanied by gorgeous music and a sharp eye for wonderful visuals. Tilda Swinton as the book reader or Narrator in this was lovely though. Her confident voice and choice of words gives her character a full bodied feel without ever seeing her.
It's the perfect movie to turn on if you want to be transfixed by something. And I imagine it will go over like gangbusters for anyone more or less intoxicated. That said, I watched this at 3am and found myself starting to dose off periodically (probably less the movies fault and more mine). The dreamy, slow pace and droning narrative would be enough on their own to inflict drowsiness but there's more then that. The visuals, while nice, are also super dreamy and slow paced. Lots of long takes pushing in or pulling out on architecture in a loop.
Fortunately, it only runs at an 1hr 10 which means it never feels boring. Slow and quiet? Sure, but not boring. The black and white visuals alone are striking. Couple that with an interesting narrative and you've got something. But it does play just like an audiobook would and does little outside of that. If you're in the market for abstract, museum level art then is will be a hit. Traditional, this is not.
So boring the clock stopped
petercarlsson-9229724 May 2020
I'm all for art films, but they must have something to say.
This is just an endless series or images of objects and grey fields.
If you want to try something really depressing for 70 minutes, this is it. But if you want any story, progression, humanity or life in your movies, you will not find it here.
Wonderful and Mesmerising
Roy_Batty_Nexus66 September 2020
What a most extraordinary piece from Jóhann Jóhannsson, from the haunting music to the cinematography, a credit to all involved in its making. It had me engrossed as soon as I heard the soothing voice of Tilda Swinton to guide me through this masterpiece. Thankyou, I enjoyed every minute of it.
Cinematically brilliant, politically ambivalent
galanagn17 February 2022
The movie synthesizes exceptional cinematography, awe-inspiring music, and poetic narration to create a very compelling and captivating audiovisual experience. A clear allegory for climate change, it moves us to think about existential questions of what it means to be alive, how we deal with death, the meaning of time and space and how we connect with each other. Away from idealized utopias or catastrophizing, it presents a rather plausible pathway for humanity's development, emphasizing the precariousness of human life, a rather dreadful realization humanity has dealt with for millenia. This artwork is philosophically rich, drawing from various themes and schools of thoughts from Plato's Republic to sci-fi theories of time travel. Despite a clear opportunity to do so, the movie seems to take a rather blunt stance politically, refusing to make any commentary as to how societal institutions are the ones determining our relationship with and impact on the planet, adopting a more vague "anti-human" rhetoric of deep ecology with "humanity is the virus" themes. Though not necessarily to its detriment, as this reflects my personal preferences for more politically explicit films, I expected Johanson to pursue a more clear critique of modern society instead of vaguely condemning modernity as a whole. Overall a very engaging and provocative work of art that pushes us to ponder on big existential questions.
Not enough something
TheHoodOfSwords25 September 2020
Couldn't finish this one. I'm sorry, the score is excellent and it grabs you at first but I just couldn't get into it as much as I wanted. It's all black and white photos or footage that have little or nothing to do with what is being described. They re describing such vast worlds that are crazy but the images show none of that. I understand it's probably the point to say that life and existence are so simple and meaningless but I just couldn't get into it. The narration is so simple but the pictures so artistic. I can't help but feel it either did not need the visual element, or it should have been more like a traditional film. It's got its good parts but I just couldn't get fully into it.
I also can't help but feel that it fails in the fact the narrator is talking to you. You're supposed to be the protagonist of the story I guess but it doesn't feel genuine. I also take issue with the fact they're like omnipotent beings but the sun expanding is not something they can counter or outrun. It feels fake.
Overall, it's just not my cup of tea. I got about 40 minutes into it before I called it off. Sorry. This was my first VIFF film though so that's exciting!
I also can't help but feel that it fails in the fact the narrator is talking to you. You're supposed to be the protagonist of the story I guess but it doesn't feel genuine. I also take issue with the fact they're like omnipotent beings but the sun expanding is not something they can counter or outrun. It feels fake.
Overall, it's just not my cup of tea. I got about 40 minutes into it before I called it off. Sorry. This was my first VIFF film though so that's exciting!
Don´t listen to the spoiled kids on the reviews...
battusai-5078230 July 2020
This is not your typical work, its ART, its meant to divide, the owrk in itself tackles existential ideas while being experimental like La Jetee by Chris Marker and other film which i found uses a meta narrative: Lessons from Darkness (1999) by Herzog
Please dont listen to the gold sized people in the comments ramming zeros for this it was good and the soundtrack was otherwordly
Please dont listen to the gold sized people in the comments ramming zeros for this it was good and the soundtrack was otherwordly
But listen patiently
justahunch-7054924 March 2024
I know a few people who just might slice their wrists if I made them watch this! Lol. As intriguing as much of this is, there is probably not a slower movie ever made. Slow movies are not a problem for me. Many slow sequences in films just increase their intensity whatever it may be. This however is about the future of mankind two billion years in the future. What's left of humanity two billion years from now are many odd and interesting looking structures and some sort of mankind that is now telepathic and only allows group thinking, though we never actually get to see them. This is about mankind on its last legs sending out signals everywhere imaginable with technology that we have that far in the future. The imagery here is beautiful as is some of the music. It's an interesting piece for the curious film buff, but if ever there were a film that was not meant for everyone, this just might be it! It is completely narrated by Tilda Swinton and she does an excellent job. Slowly.
Story driven absract sci-fi.
akworley-684-67559228 May 2020
This is not a typical movie so if you are looking for something different, try this. It is completely driven by the deep and complex story revealed in the narration. Very abstract visually.
Most people won't 'get' this movie - but if you want to go on a philosophical journey into the nature of consciousness, give this a go. I recommend a 420-friendly approach.
The view that said this 'has nothing to say' must have not been paying attention, because the story is vastly more complicated than any mainstream sci-fi movie.
Most people won't 'get' this movie - but if you want to go on a philosophical journey into the nature of consciousness, give this a go. I recommend a 420-friendly approach.
The view that said this 'has nothing to say' must have not been paying attention, because the story is vastly more complicated than any mainstream sci-fi movie.
Total Sleep Inducing Trash
arfdawg-124 May 2020
This isn't really a movie. It's a series of black and white landscapes, buildings, trees, shapes, etc. in excruciating slow time with a sleep inducing music track and an occasional script read from Tilda.
It's boring beyond belief.
It's 1 in the afternoon as I watch this and i literally fell asleep twice.
It's THAT boring.
Let's stop pretending this is some sort of artsy fartsy movie. It's not. It could be made by your 14 year old. It's trash
It's boring beyond belief.
It's 1 in the afternoon as I watch this and i literally fell asleep twice.
It's THAT boring.
Let's stop pretending this is some sort of artsy fartsy movie. It's not. It could be made by your 14 year old. It's trash
Teenagers on a rampage in many of these reviews given. This movie is strictly for adult viewers.
unlogorised28 May 2020
I think this is one of the fine sci-fi movie ever attempted. Why?
Sci-fi is all about ideas. When the idea presented well it becomes masterpiece and when it fails becomes some crap.
In this 70 minutes journey the director make us think, believe and amaze with the theme.
But for that to enjoy you need patience because the movie contains zero actors or action sequences. It's crude ideas delivered as directly possible.
Interesting story not much else
mlpaleochef1 March 2023
I have noted that there is no spoilers in my review because number one this is no movie and, two, the whole premise from the beginning is that humankind of the future (2,000,000,000 years into the future, to be exact- spoken as 2 thousand million years) needs humanity's help. That premise never comes to fruition-after over an hour of sitting, listening, and watching imagery we still have no idea how a species which has evolved to the point of having a physical third eye (or perhaps more of a cyclops, though not giants necessarily) and which can move worlds with possible sheer thought; as well as a species which can use telepathy and is perhaps immortal...all that humanity has evolved to and solved the mysteries of ages past, individually, cannot even tell the humans of the past how they may be able to help.
We can presume that perhaps if all of humanity listened to this story that maybe something would click within each and everyone of us, a bond might form which might be lost with the generation following after the message stopped being heard. Per chance future humanity appeals to the past because in all their greatness they still do not know how to solve the end of humanity. Perhaps they appeal to the past versions of themselves because they need humanity to evolve more rapidly to be able to solve this conundrum. Perhaps there is no solution and this story is humanity's time capsule because there will be no one left to find this encasement in their future: "Humankind is a fair spirit whom a star conceived and a star kills"
We can presume that perhaps if all of humanity listened to this story that maybe something would click within each and everyone of us, a bond might form which might be lost with the generation following after the message stopped being heard. Per chance future humanity appeals to the past because in all their greatness they still do not know how to solve the end of humanity. Perhaps they appeal to the past versions of themselves because they need humanity to evolve more rapidly to be able to solve this conundrum. Perhaps there is no solution and this story is humanity's time capsule because there will be no one left to find this encasement in their future: "Humankind is a fair spirit whom a star conceived and a star kills"
Pretentious
callumblair12 February 2021
I really wanted to like this film. I read an article in the 'New Scientist' magazine singing it's praises, so I had high hopes going into it. From what I had read from other reviewers, I thought this would be an existential, bordering on ethereal experience. Unfortunately, what I watched instead was the only ever 70 minute movie that couldn't justify even THAT amount of screen time. The shots rarely show the entire structures, and thus they create a sense of ambiguity, that while at first was appealing, began to border on frustrating and monotonous as the film progressed. The structures themselves were repetitive (although this is probably a result of the film-makers being constrained by forcing themselves to film only former Yugoslavian war monuments for...some reason). Tilda Swinton's voice over was captivating, and she is by far the best part of the movie. In terms of the 'plot', it really has no underlying message, or at least none I could decipher. Not every film has to be fundamentally tethered to a core theme, obviously, but when your film is just panning/zooming in on monotone structures, devoid of any characters, lighting (at least in the conventional sense) and action, it seems like it should be a given that the work at least has something to say. In short, people are trying to make this high school media studies project into a modern day reincarnation of '2001 A Space Odyssey' and I simply fail to see how they reach that conclusion.
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