This movie is probably unlike anything you've ever seen. In mood and style it's reminiscent of the groundbreaking 1962 "La Jetée" (which was the basis for the American adaptation "12 Monkeys"). Plot wise, it's a bit like the obscure "A Boy and His Dog" (1975) with a setting similar to "Mad Max" (1979). Thematically, it reminded me a lot of the classic "Papillon" (1973) the way it focuses on 1 individual's tireless efforts and ingenuity against an impossible environment. I might also mention the Jeunet-Caro "Delicatessen" (1991), minus the humor, or their short film "Bunker of the Last Gunshots" (1993). But overall "The Last Battle" is a one-of-a-kind, hard to compare.
Shot in crisp, antiseptic black & white, despite the grimy setting of the story, the entire film is without any dialogue (we are led to believe that in this post apocalyptic future, there's something wrong with people's vocal cords). As a result, this is a challenging film to piece together solely from images, actions and facial expressions. But once we start to grasp what's going on, who's who, and why's why, it's a deeply rewarding experience.
I won't say much about the plot because the fun part is figuring it out. I'll just say that the story is set in the future, in a ruined world full of shattered buildings, endless deserts, and every-man-for-himself savagery amongst the few survivors. No one seems to have any purpose other than surviving the moment, although there are interesting clusters of gangs with their own hierarchy and rituals. Our protagonist is a complete loner, but midway he meets a mysterious recluse who is still attached to the old world civility, humanity and an ironic appreciation for the arts in this barren wasteland. At the same time, another character enters the story: a formidable antagonist who will stop at nothing to get what he wants (and what he wants, we ultimately learn, is extremely disturbing).
A lot of post-apocalyptic films, and scifi in general, suffer from trying to over-explain the situation, and they inadvertently become less believable because of it. How many times has a silly discussion of the "space time continuum" ruined an otherwise credible plot? Not here. Here we see how a futuristic story should be done to achieve realism. Keep it to a bare minimum, leave the backstory to the imagination of the audience, focus exclusively on the characters and their actions without the distraction of dialogue; that's all we need. As a result, this 80s futuristic flick is more believable than any modern scifi, and it will stand the test of time for decades if not centuries to come. If people are still around to see it.
Shot in crisp, antiseptic black & white, despite the grimy setting of the story, the entire film is without any dialogue (we are led to believe that in this post apocalyptic future, there's something wrong with people's vocal cords). As a result, this is a challenging film to piece together solely from images, actions and facial expressions. But once we start to grasp what's going on, who's who, and why's why, it's a deeply rewarding experience.
I won't say much about the plot because the fun part is figuring it out. I'll just say that the story is set in the future, in a ruined world full of shattered buildings, endless deserts, and every-man-for-himself savagery amongst the few survivors. No one seems to have any purpose other than surviving the moment, although there are interesting clusters of gangs with their own hierarchy and rituals. Our protagonist is a complete loner, but midway he meets a mysterious recluse who is still attached to the old world civility, humanity and an ironic appreciation for the arts in this barren wasteland. At the same time, another character enters the story: a formidable antagonist who will stop at nothing to get what he wants (and what he wants, we ultimately learn, is extremely disturbing).
A lot of post-apocalyptic films, and scifi in general, suffer from trying to over-explain the situation, and they inadvertently become less believable because of it. How many times has a silly discussion of the "space time continuum" ruined an otherwise credible plot? Not here. Here we see how a futuristic story should be done to achieve realism. Keep it to a bare minimum, leave the backstory to the imagination of the audience, focus exclusively on the characters and their actions without the distraction of dialogue; that's all we need. As a result, this 80s futuristic flick is more believable than any modern scifi, and it will stand the test of time for decades if not centuries to come. If people are still around to see it.