Things to come (1936)

I knew nothing about Things to Come when I sat down to watch it. Good for me. This turned out to be quite something. It might not be a very convincing movie, but it has some stunning scenes that I wouldn't like to have missed. The aesthetics of the last 40 minutes is a mix of Soviet machine-fetichism, futurism and a weird antiquity-Rome-set-in-the-future. When I started watching it, I was sure the film was a post WII production. It's not. In the film, a global war breaks out in 1940. The conflict lasts a few decades and brings with it a horrenduous plague, sending the population of Everytown back into the Dark Ages. There are conflicts and local warlords. An aviator pacifies the town, and builds a new science-based civilization. In 2040, Everytown has turned into the dream of Marinetti. Hardships have been overcome. So, what is progress? Is there progress? And what are those barbaric forces lurking around the corner? Reason & non-reason - that is the primary conflict portrayed in this movie. As I said, this is a flawed movie, but hell, those sets look nice.