making a list for my fave films of the last three decades of the 20th century, i remember a little gem from new zealand that my brother and i rented sight unseen off the shelf of the mom-and-pop video store in the mid-80s, the quiet earth. we became obsessed with the movie, and since there was no internet in those days, there was very little information to be had about it. i've not seen the movie since, tho we had rented it at least a half dozen times in a row. the movie is based on a novel, but we could not locate, and we tried ordering it, a copy.

the film is about three survivors of a govt. project gone wrong, so wrong that our survivors are the only ones left on earth. the catch is that one of the survivors was one of the scientists working on the project, and that all three seemed to survive because each one, for their own reasons, such as the scientist's attempted suicide, were nearly at the crossing point of dying when the catastrophe struck. the rest of the film is spent on the why and how of their survival and how maybe they could rectify the damage done, and bring back, or go to, the people that had disappeared.

the movie is beautifully photographed, and ably acted. the direction is solid, as the characters develop and move from scene to scene. i confess to having a 'thing' for apocalyptic, last-person-on-earth films. the movie, at least how i remember it, is an ambient study of space-time, civilization and loneliness. how the movie ends is a stunner. my brother and i talked about it for weeks, trying to parse its code. for some, the conclusion may seem like a letdown, but for me it ends on the perfect note. tho it was a head-scratcher, it fits the themes of space-time and loneliness quite well. how it ends is the reason we wanted to read the novel, perhaps a few questions would be answered.

at any rate, i'm writing this based on my memories, which are over 20 years old now. i can still see the penultimate scene, the lovely photography. it is strange and wonderful. the movie, long out of print, is getting its dvd release later this month. according to this film there are indeed more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt in yr philosophy.