What’s so special about this level of film is the cleanest roads and ungrown fields after so many years of civilization collapse.
The film is meditative. The landscapes are beautiful, the place for shooting is truly paradise. But the pastoral itself is so sluggish that it pulls not so much to think about the topic of the relationship between religion and contentment with life, which is constantly raised in the conversations of the characters, as about the likely symbolism of what is happening on the screen. Perhaps the mask of indie fiction and drama hides an indication of contemporary affairs. The white propertied class provides support to distressed Negroes/receives on decent terms not a white specialist from the Third World, but as the proletariat makes full use of the so-called “white garbage” (and its genetic material), which, having done its great work, drops out of the post-industrial economy into the unknown. All this happens in a period of partial abandonment of traditional values. After that, when it became convenient, the remaining try to get out of the closet of their conscience that accidentally survived there, and reflect.
I will immediately remark – the film is quite watchable, calm, but. There's always a but.
Post-apocalypse, nuclear war was, a certain valley for unknown reasons did not catch. A young girl lives in this valley. And she's doing fine. He grows cucumbers with potatoes, hunts, collects various things. One day, a woman meets a surviving man and brings him to her home.
After some time, a third character appears, also a man, a miner, who miraculously survived the war. The newly formed couple decided to shelter the boy for a couple of days. Then begins the classic, albeit peculiar, love triangle. And with a completely unfavorable outcome, which is why I changed my opinion about the heroes a couple of times and rushed in my thoughts about whom to worry more about. The last scenes are probably the most dramatic that is in this film and most likely the only sad moment in the entire film.
That’s what not to take away from the creators of the picture, is, according to my calculations, very homage scenes, as well as the entire biblical background, which is read almost from the first frames. Especially when they show a clear division between the valley (where everything lives, blooms and smells) and the rest of the world (where everything is destroyed). And this valley is a kind of Eden, and the main characters are peculiar Adam and Eve in a certain interpretation. The only thing your humble servant never finished is who/what is Zachariah. Is that a name, a valley, a point, a message? I don't get it.
6 out of 10
It's just amazing! If there are three people left in this world, then you will eat one, and sleep with the second, despite the protests of the latter.
Once again, people played the game and staged a nuclear extinction, as a result of which humanity ceased to exist. At least most of it. But contrary to all expectations, ashes do not fall from the sky, and it itself is not covered with gray clouds. Flora and fauna feel great. The screenwriters remember about radiation only when it is convenient for them, the screenwriters. Beauty ...
The main character of this film is a sixteen-year-old girl played by a twenty-five-year-old girl, Anne Bourdain. Beauty, athlete, farmer and in general a dream girl. In theory. Margot Robbie lives in the house that her father built, but there is no father, mother, brother and girlfriend. Where did they go? Well, you can blame it on the fact that they died from radiation. Why didn't the main character die? Um, uh, listen, ask me what's easier, huh? I did not write the book that served as the basis for this film.
In general, Anne Bourdain lives with a dog-smile and seems happy, but something the girl-girl lacks. What is it? It’s an adventure to the fifth point. And they won't keep themselves waiting long. Soon, the girl sees a stranger in a dry suit, who, like any self-respecting homeless person, rolls a cart with his belongings. And yes, the stranger is black, so the viewer can happily plunge into stereotypes. Naturally, the girl decides to follow the nigger in case the latter turns out to be a cannibal or just crazy. Of course, he may be a pedophile, but you can never guess. So, having found a nigra, the lake with a waterfall begins to selflessly swim in it, even ignoring what might be worth checking the area for radiation. Naturally, the idiot got irradiated. Naturally, Margot Robbie's character decided to help a stranger because he was... poking a gun in her face? Does a teenage girl feel threatened? Accepted.
Going out and cured the nigra, Ann learns that the latter’s name is John Lumis and he is an engineer, carpenter and generally a master of all trades, except that he does not believe in God, which upsets the heroine of Margot Robbie. But not so much, because John reminds the girl of his father, and therefore she wants to sleep with an African-American. Oh, yes, and the Oedipus complex. Beautiful!
Nothing, but a wise black man doesn't want Anne. In fact, he says she needs to wait and think. In any other situation, you could agree with John Lumis, but here's the thing - the world is on the verge of death. We don’t know what will happen tomorrow or next week. Yes, and in the films telling about the apocalypse, there is always a gang of some ghouls in loincloths that want to have fun and crush a couple of heads to good guys, that is, the heroes of history. So what can we expect in such a situation? All right, wait. We waited for John Lumis to change his face dramatically, and resentment and jealousy built a nest in his heart.
On the threshold of the girl’s house there is a young miner Caleb, strong, hardy and, in the opinion of the girl, extremely cute. Oh, yeah, Anne doesn't really care who she's with, as long as she's with someone. Well, it is difficult to blame the blood of a teenager is played by harmons, and then the whole familiar world flew into the abyss. Another thing is love triangles do not bring good, and only in a world where people do not remain even more honorable.
This is a film based on a book written in 1974 that is more relevant than ever. What? Oh, no, no, no, no, no apocalypse, at least not yet. Just now with noticeable periodicity filmed about teenagers who survive “in the wild”. How do they survive? They're the chosen ones, and all they have to do is kill a couple dozen enemies, and everything else will sort itself out. In this movie, there will be no dozens of enemies... and there will be nothing at all, according to the idea, except a teenage girl who can’t decide which of the two guys she chooses. That's how the whole movie is built. There will be no unexpected plot twists, tense atmosphere and deep fabrications, what you expect from the author's cinema.
There will be no interesting, and most importantly, well-written characters. The philosophies of John Lumis go mostly to milk, as they are more suited to our reality, not the reality of the characters of the picture. Of course, we can say - this is how the director addresses the viewer, to which the following can be objected with confidence: If you want to be heard, show a world you can believe in. As for Caleb, he walks like a ghost and needs him as a crutch for history, not a living person who is interesting to watch. As for Anne, the girl, despite her emotions and desires, is empty inside. She has nothing to offer to others and has nothing behind her soul.
Outcome? This film claims philosophical conclusions and tries to draw an analogy with the Old Testament, but only attempts are in vain, since the film has nothing to captivate the viewer. "Zacharias" looks with ever-increasing boredom and the only thing that keeps the screen, so it's good actors starred in the picture. Actors who simply had nothing to play. Well, if so, I still advised to refrain from watching, since there is nothing to catch here at all.
3 out of 10
P.S. Again, I would like to thank the Giggle Doctor for both the quality of the translation and the curious conclusions I came to towards the end of the picture. What kind of fabrications I will not say, suddenly someone present still decides to view this “miracle not made by hand”, but nevertheless the translator bows low. It is a shame that he spends his time and energy on such a movie.
The film left pleasant feelings and impressions. I looked at one breath.
One beautiful picture of what's worth. Luxury landscapes and the shooting of everything that happens conveys an excellent atmosphere. I want to visit these places and admire all this splendor live.
Acting is also on a level. All actors play perfectly, make you believe the heroes. Margot Robbie played her character beautifully, you are worried about this young girl who is left alone and fighting for her existence. Chivetel Ejiofor and Chris Pine, also coped well with their roles.
About the plot, I didn't watch the trailers, I didn't read the book, and I didn't know much. Because of this, it was doubly interesting to watch the course of events. It turned out super, steep twists in the plot that make you nervous and empathize with the characters. The intrigue is how it ends. You think which of the two characters will get Anne. So is the ending itself, which many probably will not suit. But I liked it, it turned out interesting, we are given to think about the latest events. Whether he helped him in the end or not, and what will happen after these events between him and her? Because of this, the plot of the film is very original.
“Z is for Zachariah” is not a masterpiece, but it is quite good. I would love to review it again. It has interesting thoughts to think about. Plus, normal post-apocalyptic films rarely come out, although it shows the relationship of people, how they behave, rather than the world itself, a little bit, so to speak. So it's safe to watch.
This tape, for reasons unknown to me, refers to fiction and thriller. Really? People, don't believe me. If you are a fan of intricate stories about maniacs or post-apocalypses with zombies, weapons of the future, etc., then pass by. “Z for Zacharias” is a pure drama, a theater of three actors, a love triangle. From the post-apocalypse, we got only the setting and backstory, something like “nuclear explosions, environmental pollution, coupled with the incompatibility of the life of anthropoids.” Even the surrounding world looks quite "alive", all in bright colors, running animals with a proper number of paws, explaining this by a successful landscape that does not miss radiation. That's how we were explained... But the whole point of the film is not that.
Craig Zobel's main focus is on the relationship between the "last two men and the girl of the planet." All events are developing quite predictably. Adult African-American scientist John is jealous of the one and only Anne to the young guy Caleb, not forgetting to mention the lack of tolerance towards himself with the phrase: “You are a great white couple...” This statement had no particular meaning. It would be intriguing if the last two men were gay. That’s when the film would have been given an Oscar, because neither acting skills, nor a great script and as a result the plot, nothing can guarantee the quality of modern cinema, except a story about national and sexual minorities.
Actors. This is a movie where actors decide everything. And Chivetel Ejiofor, Margot Robbie and Chris Pine handled this, in my opinion, perfectly. Played in one breath, like a small sketch in the theater.
I recommend watching the audience who appreciate good acting, as well as fans of drama.
The topic of post-apocalypse is often considered in current cinema. Even special features of the genre were developed: grayness, even the ashness of the general colors of such films, doom in the atmosphere, the tragedy of each participant in the action and the revaluation of values and behavioral motives in them. But these features cannot be fully attributed to the post-apocalyptic drama “Z is for Zechariah”, whose name is taken, as I understand it, from the name of the prophet Zechariah, one of the so-called twelve minor prophets who wrote his book, and it is recognized as the most apocalyptic in the entire Old Testament. But, of course, the plot of the film has little to do with biblical themes, it is, once again, a post-apocalyptic drama, the plot of which is based on the book by Brooklyn writer Robert S. O’Brien, and waited for its adaptation for more than forty years. And perhaps the film would not have attracted a large audience, if not for the cast.
And the cast includes the Australian Margot Robbie, who became popular after the film “The Wolf of Wall Street”, the Englishman of Nigerian origin Chiwetel Ejiofor, the Oscar nominee for best actor in the film “12 Years a Slave”, and Los Angeles-born Chris Pine, the current commander of the starship in the relaunched franchise “Star Trek”. And that’s all, you won’t see more of the other participants here. Three who are trying to survive a nuclear disaster on our mortal planet. And you can guess that if there are only three characters, then just the action in the film will be minimum, but the dialogue basis will be maximum. Writer Robert S. O’Brien tried to put in his characters completely different characters, this is emphasized by the screenwriter-adapter Nissar Modi, so the clash, conflict, internal saturation is all in abundance in “Z is Zacharias”, but critics liked it, but the viewer treated this tape mediocrely.
The film was directed by Craig Zobel, who received the first, albeit dubious, fame for the thriller Experiment Obedience" and was also on the list of directors of the series The Leftovers, which was also directed by Mimi Leder, Peter Berg and Carl Franklin. So, this Craig Zobel did not invent the wheel and made the film in a well-known manner: we, as viewers, will see the gray and ash color of the tape, which causes longing. But not only because of this longing becomes even stronger: literally with every minute of time, the film becomes more and more dull, interest in it gradually fades, and you already notice that you wait for the film to end, just wanting to know what the finale will be. Constant conversations, incomprehensible reaction of the characters to a particular situation, as a result of which the behavior makes you doubt your logic, make you cover the yawn with your palm. The spirit and style of minimalism of the post-apocalypse was not given to Craig Zobel, as well as the film’s cameraman Tim Orr.
Already on this basis, we can understand why at the Sundance festival, the brainchild of Robert Redford, which offers the best independent paintings to the general public, Z is Zacharias received scant audience ratings and only critics found something there. It is not known, however, that, because the acting is frankly depressing. After Salt, I said I didn’t see much in Chiwetel Ejiofor, but I was glad that he was nominated for the Oscars, although political correctness played a role. And in "Z is for Zachariah." Ejiofor had the most saturated character, he was explosive, although hiding under the mask of a tolerant and generous saint, but the actor did not really show anything. He has a strange character in "Z is Zacharias." The indistinct character was also shown by Margot Robbie. What is she waiting for, what does she want? I don't know. And Chris Pine, who seems to have existed separately, wandered around the scenery as if he were detached and not understanding what he was doing. In general, the actors personally disappointed me.
If you are an adherent of the subgenre of post-apocalypse, then, in principle, you can pay attention to this picture, but you should be warned not to expect anything special from it. You can listen to the words of the hero Chiwetel Ejiofor, who seems to carry the seeds of sanity and generosity. But soon you already understand - nothing more this picture does not bring, and in general even this very soon becomes terribly boring and similar. Generally,
Director Craig Zobel, probably wanted to make a documentary for dummies. And call it 'How to survive the post-apocalypse' There's no other explanation. Before I started watching the movie, I read the description as always. I wish I hadn't done that.
The main character survived the nuclear war. It is not specified what war, who fought with whom. Anne finds a grown-up black man, Lumis, and everything seems fine. The description says he's looking for his family. It turns out to be a girl. Where's the family? After a few days, Anne begins to play hormones. Lumis decided to stay scoring in search.
Winter is coming and we need to find supplies. And suddenly Anne meets another survivor. A young white and blue-eyed guy, Caleb, begins a friendship with our couple. Everything would be fine, but 2 guys and 1 girl is to trouble.
To be honest, I have not read the book. The script is boring and drawn out. Closer to the finale it seems that there is about to be a climax, but before the credits this did not happen. Operational work one of the advantages, of which there are few in the film. The correct music at the right moments. And now about the actor the game. Margot Robbie in my opinion could not cope with a 16-year-old schoolgirl. It's not her fault, though. Chivetel Ejiofor showed nothing new. The only one that probably played it less is Chris Pine. Mysterious and suspicious guy.
The appearance of a threat makes you appreciate what you have.
A picture of people's relationships. It does not matter that the film takes place in a post-apocalyptic world. This does not affect the developing connections of the characters. There are no zombies or dangerous criminals. This is why the film is calm and even warm.
The behavior of the characters and their motives are shown quite realistically. Each character is neither positive nor negative. The open ending does not leave us incomprehensible, because it is easy to guess about further events.
The actors played beautifully and presented complex and interesting characters. The most important thing is that the film did not have pretentious, romantic speeches, as is often the case in melodramas, and this distinguishes the tape from others in a good way. This is one of those films that with a calm atmosphere, monotonous locations and the absence of open passions can keep the viewer in suspense until the end.
Many people did not like this film, many just passed it by, because Margot Robbie there is not a sexy beauty in a short dress, and I liked this picture. Just right for a quiet evening. I recommend it.
3 characters, 2 of them guys. What can be said here, the situation is promising.
Post-apocalypse, girl - Anne meets a guy, and then another, this is the plot of this film.
The first scientist, an atheist, understands the devices of the internal combustion engine.
The second, a rural boy, a miner, prays before eating. The most suitable couple for our heroine. It would seem that might not be the case. As you all know, 1 girl, 2 guys, be in trouble.
The creators of the film, hint to us, the confrontation of the characters, but everything happens behind the scenes. In the end, like the mountaineer, there is only one. What happened to the other is an open question. That's the whole movie.
Theatre 3 actors. The actors are good, but the plot is not clear to me personally.
6 out of 10
I am one of those who have not read the book or even heard of it. Maybe that’s why I didn’t have high expectations for this movie and I liked it. However, it is not dynamic, it has only three actors and no variety of locations. But still the film manages to keep the viewer in suspense, and the open finale is the right thing for such a film. Many reproach the director that he turned the post-apocalyptic plot into a simple love story. On the contrary, I want to thank him for that. So, this film is not one of those about survival (I don’t think it would be interesting to watch the whole movie as two characters try to build a new world), but simply shows how a person even in such conditions (when there are no survivors, there is no civilization either) remains an ordinary person, with his own advantages and disadvantages.
Undoubtedly, it is worth noting the role of actors, because, in fact, it is on their play that the main perception of the film is built. But I liked Chris Pine the most. His Caleb is neither negative nor positive, and it is not entirely clear whether things are changing for better or worse with his arrival. And the open ending underscores that. But one thing is clear that this hero brings to the film what the audience may like - sharpness.
The movie is not about survival. Films of this genre show how strong a person can be in spirit. This film shows the weaknesses of the human character.
Iceland, New Zealand, Switzerland are a good combination. It was interesting to know what in the genre of “fiction” could remove these countries.
There is nothing in the movie except the end of the world. At all. Why would you advertise yourself as fiction? It’s very clear why – to attract more viewers. It's actually melodrama. I'm not saying it's bad. This part is written well, there are no questions to this.
After the movie, I felt like I was just reading a piece of a post-apocalypse book. It's a passage. It is not clear why the film was made. Here he slowly stretches and stretches, and then interrupts. I thought there would be some logical end, or at least some moral conclusion. But no. In addition, it is worth noting that the film is unusually boring. Words, little action. The dialogue is not bad, but you can not build a film only on them.
There are only three actors in the film. Let's look at each individually.
Margot Robbie is 4.5, and I have a lot of sympathy for this actress. This is where she became the last remaining woman on Earth. It shows that people are always human.
Chiwetel Ergiofor is 4. Honestly, if you were in an Oscar-winning movie, you could have done better.
Chris Pine - 4.5, played at a level, without serious mistakes.
So we're not getting what. I score points for actors and a good melodrama and it turns out.
5 out of 10
Z for Zachariah is based on a post-apocalyptic novel by American Robert S. O’Brien. In the book, he tells on behalf of his heroine one “school story” that he was in school, the so-called “Bible alphabet”, where the entire alphabet was painted. It was A for Adam, B for Benjamin, and so on. The last was Zacharias, and then the heroine assumed that since Adam was the first man on Earth, Zechariah must be the last. It is about this “Zachariah” this film, but here her name is Anne, and plays her wonderful Margot Robbie.
Anne lives alone on a farm in the post-apocalypse world. Thanks to cattle, chickens and abandoned supermarkets, she manages to survive. In parallel, she is trying to recreate the farm, plant seeds, it is a pity that you have to work manually, because the gasoline for the harvester ran out last year. She has a small chapel built by her father, which she sometimes goes to play the piano. And she also has a wonderful dog called Ferot, with whom she talks periodically. Going hunting, she discovers a small van and then its owner in a huge clumsy suit. Making sure that the air is not contaminated with radiation, a stranger with screams and tears of joy tears off his suit and runs to swim in a small pond, forgetting about all the precautions. As a result, having collected a decent dose of radiation, the stranger is forced to ask for help from Anne, and she drags him to her house, where John, as the stranger later introduced himself, lies unconscious for several days. Jonah is played by Academy Award-nominated Chiwetel Ejiofor, his character is an engineer, and he knows how to get gasoline for a combine harvester, and how to build a new engine to produce electricity. But you need wood materials, and the only thing you can get them is a wooden chapel. For John, a man of science, this seems logical, but for a believer, Anne, it is difficult. John argues that if there are more people, electricity will be more necessary than the chapel, and then they both realize that he is not talking about people from other places, but about the continuation of the human race. Both are terrified of these thoughts.
As the two strangers narrow down to each other, plan the household and try to counteract the sexual tension between them, a new character appears on the horizon - Caleb (Chris Pine). Having survived a mine disaster, he was moving south when he noticed the farm and periodically ran to steal eggs at night. John feels the danger coming from Caleb. He fears not only that he might hurt him and Anne, but that Anne might fall in love with him, the sociable, charismatic "white man" who prays before eating. Yes, with Caleb, they can build a new power generator, but what will it cost for John and Anne?
This movie is essentially a mental thriller. Without any monsters, frightening elements and other hallmarks of a modern thriller, director Craig Zobel managed to create such tension in the frame with only three actors in the presence that the viewer can hear the air discharged right next to him. By the way, a great idea was to distribute strangers to each other heroes on a large territory (farm, after all) and leave them without binoculars, and to see each other they have to look through the sight of a sniper rifle. And the finger automatically falls on the trigger.
As mentioned, there are only three actors in the film. If Chiwetel became known globally for his excellent dramatic performance in 12 Years a Slave, Margot Robbie was not particularly convincing in either The Wolf of Wall Street or Focus. But what she does in this film certainly opens up this actress from the other side - dramatic. Even despite the old worn clothes and dirt on her face, Margot does not lose her amazing attractiveness and beauty. I used to think that she would remain a “cute face” in various films, but no, it seems that Robbie took her career and acting seriously. As for Chris Pine, this is the third time after the roles in Driver for the Night and Hot American Summer: The first day of camp is when, as a secondary character, he manages to literally drag the blanket over himself in those moments when he is on screen. Their triangle is incredibly sharp, every hero can be cut. Everyone has their own intentions and it’s hard to know what’s on their mind. The relationship between the characters is the best feature of the film, and the end of the world is just an excuse to make this story possible.
The themes of love, loyalty, religion and racism are very hesitantly raised here. None of them are logically complete. The only reference point in the film is humanity, overcoming oneself, pacifying one’s own ego and hypocrisy. It would be acceptable to finish this story. But the ending is frankly disappointing. The author lacked the determination to turn this story into something more than just a good love story in a post-apocalyptic world.
7 out of 10
The parable that even if Adam and Eve were helped by a third person on Earth, this would not affect the quality of our world. It is human nature that even from scratch we are tempted and weak. And something like that is trying to play director Craig Zobel.
In principle, the description of this film is enough to have an idea of one and a half hours of screen time, the only thing added is the desire of our heroes to conduct electricity to the house of the main character. And so it turns out a chamber theater in the style of "three in a boat, not counting the dog."
By the way, thanks to the voiceover of the giggling Doctor, with the help of which the viewer can watch this film, during the final credits you can get such a subjective resume for this tape. And it was really noticed that somehow the dog mentioned above falls out of history. Is the writer missing?
I think if you abstract from the artistic component and try to dig into the "philosophy" - then in general there are wise thoughts for reflection, and the actors should be recognized as playing at a high level. But the ambiguity of what is happening, the unanswered questions are not at all what was expected from the general idea of showing this apocalypse through the fate of three people.
Amazing thing, but the apocalypse spared a girl with the appearance of Margot Robbie, the beauty of which as a whole New York was not found at one time even Leonardo “The Wolf of Wall Street” DiCaprio. Miracles, that's all. And now two worthy contenders will fight for her sympathy - the beautiful Caleb and the intelligent John.
The theme of the post-apocalypse regularly nourishes the imagination of filmmakers for more than a decade and, apparently, it will continue until the end - they will call trouble on our heads. Sometimes masterpieces grow out of this theme, such as “Mad Max” or “Turbo Boy”, more often such meaningless creations of fantasy as “Z is Zacharias” appear. Zachariah, if you don’t know, is one of the biblical prophets, especially zealous on the topic of messianism and the structure of the new world, and in the film it is not, no matter how much Craig Zobel builds intrigues in his love triangle.
In general, to reduce the theme of the apocalypse to a love showdown between two prominent guys for the sympathy of one single survivor is, you know, very primitive, stupid and disrespectful, or what, to Mother Earth. That is, it is clear that in a situation where for many square miles there is not a single surviving soul around, and the three of you are sitting at the same table - the most beautiful woman in the world between two males - then sooner or later the question will arise, "Who dances the girl?" But why make movies about it? And with such a beautiful name.
In addition, American political correctness, which requires at least one black person in the frame, destroys even this banal idea. The whole intrigue of the post-apocalypse and the birth of a new world, artificially created by the authors, recedes into the background, since we understand that the director and screenwriters solve not so much a new biblical problem as they try not to fall under the fire of rabid activists who even in such a plot can see racism.
The predictable ending, uninteresting plot and ambiguous morality are the result of this sundance film. It's also burned.
Director Craig Zobel shot a very calm fantastic film called "Z is Zacharias". The post-apocalyptic world is the only thing that allows you to fit this film into the category of “fiction”. In other words, it’s a normal melodrama. The movie shows us three people – a woman and two men. They try to adjust to life after a disaster, but it turns out that all three are overwhelmed by feelings and attitudes towards each other. In the spotlight of the girl Ann (Margot Robbie), she falls in love with a black man named Lumis (Chivetel Ejiofor), everything goes well for them until the mysterious guy Caleb (Chris Pine) appears, which becomes the main obstacle on the way to happiness of Anne and Loomis.
The story itself does not cause interest, there is a minimum of action. Forget about the dynamics and exciting story immediately. “Z for Zachariah” develops at a tedious pace, watching the film is even more difficult, because for an hour and a half on the screen, absolutely nothing happens. The thing is, I expected a little different from this movie, so I didn’t really like it. Instead of a fantasy or a thriller, I saw a melodrama, a typical love triangle. Of the advantages, we can note the quality of the shooting and the acting game Margot Robbie.
"Z is Zacharias" - the movie is not mass. I am sure that the majority will pass this project. In principle, the film turned out tolerable, actors play well, quality camera work and sometimes intriguing plot, but the problem is that the picture of Zobel seems a pathetic shadow compared to the mass of other films about the post-apocalypse.
6 out of 10
The topic of post-apocalypse can not leave the minds of modern directors. For this year, from which side only we were not allowed to watch the survival of people in the conditions corresponding to the post-apocalypse, and someone in this occupation succeeded - someone not quite, so there was a little fearful opinion about the next film, setting up an extremely gloomy poster for hopelessness, a la the recent "Maggie" with Arnie, and a synopsis on an almost hopeless story about a love triangle, which, against the background of a nuclear catastrophe, initially looks not quite right.
In reality, the post-apocalyptic mood here hovers only on a subconscious level, because so said the characters of the picture, who themselves can not explain why the farm of young lonely beauty Anne lives and thrives, the trees are cast with greenery, and the ground in the field bears fruit, and only a small reservoir carries radioactive danger due to the fact that originates somewhere in the infected zone. Just in this reservoir and wanders skilful engineer Lumis, whom Anne saves or her medical skills, or incessant prayers, and then Lumis stays with her on the farm and implements his engineering ideas in life, without even thinking about how much this young and beautiful young lady lived alone, without the notorious attention from the outside and, very importantly, without a man who will enter the hut of a burning dragon, and in bed will save. Priorities in the post-apocalyptic time naturally focus on the latter, but Lumis is not in a hurry to rush into the pool with his head, relying on feelings, and tries to quench the thirst of a young girl with promising phrases, saying “we need time”, “let’s not now”, “no need to hurry”.
But, apparently, having heard the prayers of the girl tired of loneliness and conversations with the dog, God sends another seeker of the living areas of Caleb to their secluded corner, who is the complete opposite of Lumis. Anne immediately notices a beautiful, more talkative and, importantly, a religious boy who dilutes them with Lumis a quiet and measured cohabitation, which is based rather on the ordinary desire to survive and understanding platitudes like those that together it is much easier to do – with Caleb everything is different. He may not be able to restore electricity to the farm by creating a huge wheel, but he is much more interested in a blonde who walks on this farm, which in turn is interesting for Anne. In addition, Lumis realizes that he is becoming the third superfluous slowly, and makes extremely outrageous speeches to Anne’s face with a hint of racial priorities in love plans and the desire not to be a hindrance, but after a while he returns his words back, but already, as they say, it is too late to rush.
Craig Zobel is so fascinated by these love-periods and attachments that the post-apocalyptic component, which at first still made itself felt when we watched Ann’s “exciting” farming activities, finally dies out. To show the experiences of the heroes, their inner torments, to reveal the essence of their actions, the motives of their actions, it is possible, to be honest, only partially. To reach the maximum in this regard, it turns out only at the end with the hero Chiwetel Ejiofor, which can not be said about him in the middle, when he looked simply dumb, despite his technical mindset, because the heroine Robbie herself climbed to him, and he wagged his nose, which then came out to him sideways. Caleb in this situation becomes just pathetic, because he just happened to be in the wrong time, in the wrong place, but accelerated Lumis’ rethinking of his views, or he would have walked around forever with a generator in hand. The heroine of Robbie is worthy of respect in the first part of the film, while she was alone, because keeping a whole household on her fragile female shoulders is not very simple, but then she was exposed as just some easy girl, for whom the main thing is to satisfy her intimate whims, and where this will happen and with whom it does not matter.
In the end, I want to note that the movie is not by apocalyptic standards beautiful due to the beautiful frames of living, untouched, real nature, which very often flash before the audience, with good acting work, which in a given atmosphere could merge wonderfully, but with their actions in the course of the film to come to terms with no desire, because all three clearly acquired a lot of strangeness, having been alone for a long period of time, otherwise not to explain the variability of the mood of Lumis, some excessive attraction to Anne and to both, and incomprehensible trust against the background of initial distrust of Caleb. At the very least, this is unconvincing.
In fact, Sunday school replaced my preparatory class: it was there that I learned the alphabet from a picture book called the Bible alphabet. On the first page, it was written, “And so Adam.” The next letter was “Benjamin,” “C for Christian,” and so on. On the last page it was written, “Z for Zachariah”; and knowing that Adam was the first man, I had long assumed that Zechariah was the last.
Anne lives in a lost patch of green paradise in the middle of dead land and empty cities, a valley miraculously unaffected by radiation that has a farm, a gas station, a small shop and a church, but no other people. Sometimes the girl pulls on a semblance of a protective suit and makes forays to the town next to the valley, from where she brings books, records and other ways to kill her loneliness. But one day, returning home, she notices a strange cart on the road, and then sees an equally strange figure in a grotesque suit. Soon hidden in the depths of the protective material man (he will be a man named Lumis), joyfully plunge into the nearest stream, not noticing that the water in it flows from outside the valley, will take a dose of radiation and will be in the house of Anne, for which life is now changed forever.
The screen adaptation of Robert O'Brien's post-apocalyptic novel sticks to the letter of the printed work only in its first third. Having allowed the main character to get used to the presence of a second person next to her and forming some relationships with him (logically trying to flow into increasingly intimate ones), Nissar Modi’s script under the direction of Craig Zobel begins to move in a way that is different from the literary source, preferring to give the main conflict a completely different direction. A new character is introduced - a third survivor of the apocalypse man and, at the same time, a second man coming to the fertile valley. Do you think the further development of the story is obvious? Not exactly.
Under certain conditions, Zobel’s film could turn out another banal story about how two men try to get a single girl for many miles around, but the creators choose a much more interesting path. If O'Brien's novel at best tried to seem like an inversion of the history of the first people, then its adaptation becomes such. Biblical motifs take on clearer outlines, because in addition to the last human pair in action now appears conventional serpent tempter. The devil manifests himself gradually, and finally materializes at the moment when the heads determined to destroy the church decide to retreat. A mysterious stranger named Caleb says that he will not cause harm, but almost immediately brings discord into the relationship between Anne and Lumis. Secrets of the past begin to surface, thus, as if demonstrating that all three characters here are actually notorious strangers, not only for each other, but also for the viewer watching them on this side of the screen.
The plot changes introduced by Zobel and Modi, in fact, are not so great, but make the story to work on a new thematic level. The survival problems of a girl locked in a relatively confined space with a man beginning to show aggression are transformed into the shaky coexistence of three people whose images are shrouded in religious overtones, mutual (but not always expressed aloud) suspicions and sexual attraction. Zobel’s directorial approach seeks to avoid unnecessary movements in spinning the plot twists and turns, building the narrative in as smooth and accurate a way as possible. At the same time, it is especially interesting how cleverly Caleb is put into action, opposed to Lumis almost from his first appearance. The same blue-eyed and fair-skinned as Anne, who also has the foundations of religious education against his black and atheistic opponent behind him - he lays doubts in the girl's soul by his mere presence, and therefore there is simply no need for creators to be generous with additional twists and twists of the script.
Z for Zechariah is a visually beautiful film. Fresh greenery, bright sun, summer-warm and tanned Margot Robbie surrounded by Chris Pine and Chiwetel Ejiofor – all this creates in the midst of post-apocalyptic convulsions a strange island of life, in which there is a place for romantic dinner by candlelight, night bathing in the pond, uncertainty in feelings and jealousy, leading to fatal consequences. Extremely emotional dynamics, almost entirely built on the play of actors, and not on the plot organs sticking out in the bushes (they are, but insignificant) is complemented by artificial isolation of the characters and forms, in fact, a rather tense dramatic canvas. The details of the apocalyptic events are even less than in O’Brien’s book, and as if stressing that this is not the point, Zobel seems to forget about them at the end. History is finally brought to the level of human relationships, as if not burdened by the struggle for life in the middle of a poisoned world. And this hides the true beauty and the true essence of the picture, the conditional emphasis on the fact that survival alone is possible, but sooner or later there will be a desire, the need to feel the shoulder of another person close to you. Even if you have to go to extreme measures to possess them.
Just a stunning film with a level of intrigue from the best love novels in the world - who will give her flower Anne, played by Margot Robbie. Well, this before the beginning of watching the film could be expected, if you see that the cast only three people.
Margot Robbie survived because the area around her house was uncontaminated. She is engaged in crop production, cattle breeding and hunting, so she exists normally. The author of the script, the director, and especially Robbie herself, does not know exactly what it is to engage in agriculture. It's simple: dug, planted, harvested. In the morning he fed the chickens, fed the cow, in the evening collected testicles and milk. Not life, but a fairy tale. Realism is the same.
Chiwetel appears. He is so harsh that he goes with a dosimeter on the road and in a chemical protection suit, but as soon as the dosimeter stops beeping, he throws off his clothes and jumps into the lake. Smart, nothing to say. Oh, yes, Chiwetel is an engineer, so immediately after meeting Robbie, he begins to make plans on how to improve his life with all sorts of "engineering things." In truth, it looks more convincing than Robbie, who digs land, feeds chickens and hunts.
The film is very unconvincing. The Chiveter was indifferent to Margot as a woman until Pine came along. Let’s start with the competition.
The atmosphere of survival is implausible. There are no changes in the characters.
What's Zachariah doing? Well, as it were, you can stick the prophet Zechariah to the post-apocalypse, there is about the purification of society from unworthy members, which will build a new marvelous world. But there's Zachariah on the side.
We are all flying away on the same planet – we are the crew of the same ship. (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)
A small secluded town, shrouded in hills and bare gray trees, suffers from loneliness, lack of people, lack of attention and care. Destroyed walls, old abandoned things, dust-covered tables, chairs and forgotten books. No one fusses in the morning, drives on the roads, swears or shouts. Here everything is quiet, calm, unperturbed - even birds do not fly: you can not hear the rustle of the wings, nor the chirping and chirping. There's no noise... The world is empty, and now it languishes from the consequences of a nuclear catastrophe that destroyed and took with it all the most dear and dear, leaving deserted cities filled with poisonous air. But all is not lost and hopeless... There, behind this dying city, behind a muddy highway, winding roads and dried up forests, trees reach out to the sky, leaves wobble and grass bloom, which means there is hope. Here nature lives its life. Yes, yes, she does not just exist, but lives, breathes and thrives, flooded with a variety of shades of green, as if the artist painting a depressing late autumn, instantly changed his mind, immediately transforming the depressing period of time into a cheerful and lively time, where one person named Anne lives - perhaps the last woman on Earth.
Touching a post-apocalyptic theme not new for cinema, based on the novel by Robert S. O’Brien, the American director Craig Zobel follows an unusual, unforeseen path for the viewer, adhering to a different concept. He does not study the consequences of the disaster, does not investigate the collapsed world, does not intend to explain or explain anything about it, and does not even try to find the logical reason for what happened, as in the similar picture “I am a legend”. The director penetrates deeper, wanting to understand human nature, subjecting it to various tests and testing the strength of nature, character, essence. Zemeckis did something similar in his "Rogue", but he splashed out emotions and openly shared his feelings, and Zobel everything is much calm and restrained. Yes, there is no screaming and tearing Tom Hanks, forcing the heart to shrink from the suffering and hard fate of his hero, but there are balanced and in their own way deep Margot Robbie, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Chris Pine. The picture does not require any expensive effects depicting a post-apocalyptic world, just a few shots of a secluded, orphaned environment and these three actors who hypnotize, make believe in what is happening and attract attention, due to the incomprehensibility and depth of their characters. The young girl Anne, the adult scientist Lumis and the young guy Caleb – the director slowly and gradually builds a triangle of relationships, imbuing him with feelings of loneliness, fear of awkwardness, jealousy and property. You can see how faith manifests itself in a world without hope, when there is hopelessness and despair around; when there is no one to communicate with and share their problems; when there is no one to cherish and love. What is left to do when two men meet the only woman in a remote, deserted land where there is nothing but one house and a small wooden church that gives a ray of hope to those who still believe in spite of everything? The director does not focus on external circumstances, but on the conflict within each character. Disagreements are imperceptibly manifested and felt through piercing views, joint actions, mutual assistance, and even through silence. Behind the veil of fatigue and hardship, there are strong feelings that tend outward. Due to the hopeless and hopeless future, distrust and jealousy, over time, make their way into this burdensome and agonizing environment, where everything seems unsuccessful and empty.
Like Pawlikowski’s Ida, Zobel seeks to show history, to reveal feelings, emotions, passions and experiences, through an inner conflict involving inconsistency and contradiction between the needs of the flesh and the soul. In order to feel the whole palette of emotions of this picture, you do not need any explanations, long conversations or words wasted. You just need to relax, calm down and just get into this atmosphere. To be there for some time, to feel it with all your heart, to put yourself in the place of the heroes, to comprehend their actions and to know the depth of feelings that subsequently leave a painful residue of dreary fuss and hope, which is almost no longer there. Let time take its course: the trees continue to grow, the branches rise to the sky, the grass turns green, the bushes bloom, the water flows through the rocks, and the small wooden church, which stores warm and pleasant memories, stay in place. After all, it is people who come and destroy all the most beautiful and good, leaving behind only fragments, ruins, ruins.