Tuesday 14 October 2014

The Quiet Earth Film Review

A man named Zac Hobson awakens to find himself alone in the world, and in a desperate attempt to search for others he finds only two… who have their own agenda.

"I am GOD!!!"

Ahh, New Zealand films… they're either fantastic (The Piano, Boy) or the slightly underprivileged second cousin to Hollywood (Secondhand Wedding). Luckily, The Quiet Earth falls into the former category - with a brilliant cast of just three actors, The Quiet Earth is a forgotten classic that should really be talked about more…

In the opening act, the whole film relies on a stellar performance from Bruno Lawrence to keep itself afloat. At times, he stumbles, but a lot of the time, you see some fantastic moments that not even the best character actors can manage. One of the most memorable scenes of the film is, indeed, from it's opening act - we see Zac walking down a deserted New Zealand street as it pours down with rain as he plays the saxophone.

The film also sports some interesting thematic and deeper-meaning ideas, although it never toys with them to a great extent: Zac shooting the Jesus statue before he declares "I AM GOD," the moment when he is toying with the idea of suicide etc.

The directing and score aren't anything remarkable, and the effects haven't aged well, however The Quiet Earth is still a solid watch. I won't speak of the ending, no matter how many different ways it may be interpreted, as to avoid spoilers - and I ask that in the comments you refrain from talking about the ending as well, so that the film has it's desired effect.

What's next in my NZ Film Studies class? A cult-classic gothic horror…

7/10 Stars, a solid NZ sci-fi film with it's effect deadened slightly by dated effects and sometimes clunky acting.

Josiah Morgan

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