A man wakes up in a world in which he finds himself on his own – literally speaking. There seem to be no other people on earth, than him. We come to know the man is some kind of scientist. Naturally, he tries to get clear about what has happened. But all he sees is empty streets and empty stores. – This scenario, of course, is the backbone of any number of films about zombies and/or the apocalypse. But The Quiet Earth is a gem of quirky scenes. First of all, the protagonist is a plump, baldish man, not the typical action hero. We see him exploring this eerie surrounding of human things and infrastructure, but no people. The volume is turned down. Only two other characters are introduced, but of course they bring some drama into this story about the end of the world. And of course there has to be a love story. Where most other films about the apocalypse focus on showy effects, The Quiet Earth opts for depicting quite ordinary emotions such as fear, loneliness, boredom and jealousy. Sometimes, the film is a tad bit silly, but in my book, all this is excused due to the sheer strangeness of it all. Thematically, this treads the familiar path of criticism of overblown scientific projects. It turns out that the protagonist is partially to blame for the catastrophe earth has undergone. I like the film best when it is most lighthearted, when our scientist dresses up in a dress and just paces around this desolate place on earth (New Zeeland, apparently). The end of the film is so bad it might just as well be ... well, not good but the kind of awful that is necessary if the theme is sexual possession of a girl and, paired with that, a second end-of-the-world. This is, I must tell you, cheesy stuff all the way, but quite entertaining this film is all the same.
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