“I’ve been condemned to live.”

The Scoop: 1985 R, directed by Geoff Murphy and starring Bruno Lawrence, Alison Routledge and Pete Smith

Tagline: The End of the World is Just the Beginning

Summary Capsule: Guy wakes up to discover that he’s the last guy on the planet. He promptly decides to take a sick day.

Justin’s rating: I think I’ll go for a walk outside now, the sun is shining my way!

Justin’s review: If you woke up one day to discover that you were the last person – indeed, the last living creature of any kind – in the world, what would you do?

Would you search desperately for an explanation? Engorge yourself on all of the materialistic goods you could grab? Go crazy? Pronounce yourself as the supreme leader of the planet? Settle down and create a new, if lonely, life for yourself? Kill yourself? Take up jazz flute?

This is the conundrum that Zac Hobson (Bruno Lawrence) wakes up to one autumn morning – a world in which it seems that he’s the only person alive. It’s quiet… too, too quiet. And as puzzled unease falls way to panicked bewilderment, Zac rushes through New Zealand’s countryside and cities looking for one, just one human companion – or barring that, an explanation why a rapture-like effect suddenly took everyone from the face of the Earth in the early morning hours.

The Quiet Earth, a cult vision of a frightening “what if?” scenario, barely made waves in the rest of the world following its 1985 release. Yet the haunting images of Zac scrambling for explanations and companionship endured over the past couple decades, making it a fan favorite in the “last man on earth” genre. Somewhat like I Am Legend, this is a study of what an average person would do if thrown into the largest solitary confinement cell ever devised. For introverts, particularly, this seems like a fantasyland with a very silver lining – a world where nobody tells you what to do, where you have all the luxuries and food and shelter you’d ever need, where you’re free to do whatever you want for the rest of your life.

But the truth is, we are not meant to be cut off from the rest of humanity, and a part of us snaps, withers, and dies when this is done.

I’m not in a mood to spoil any of the secrets, twists or turns of The Quiet Earth, except to say that there are quite a few, and for those looking for explanations and answers, you won’t be too disappointed. It’s a no-frills, low budget apocalypse flick that’s similar to, but not exactly the same as, a number of other movies where only one or a handful of people are left with the inheritance of the entire planet. It’s so down-to-earth (rimshot) that in the film’s silences you won’t be able to help yourself in imagining what you’d do if you were in Zac’s shoes.

In a way, it really reminds me of that old Twilight Zone episode, “Time Enough At Last”, where a sole survivor of nuclear Armageddon is more than happy to be left alone to read all of the books he’d ever want. These twisted blessings usually come with demented curses, yet The Quiet Earth is all about finding the blessing inside the curse.

Intermission!

The scene where Bruno Lawrence is aimlessly wandering the empty streets of the city blowing on a saxophone was an in-joke to those who knew him, as he had once stolen one when he was young, but later felt guilty and returned it.

Groovy Quotes

• Zac Hobson: Zac Hobson, July 5th. One: there has been a malfunction in Project Flashlight with devastating results. Two: it seems I am the only person left on Earth.Zac Hobson: I’ve been condemned to live.

[speaking to a cardboard cut-out of Adolf Hitler]
Zac Hobson: Look, I haven’t got time to talk to you, I’m a very busy man! Besides, you’ve had your turn.

If You Liked This Movie, Try These:

• I Am Legend
• The Stand