Brutalist elegy by composer Jóhann Jóhannsson in the spirit of “Solaris” and “2001: A Space Odyssey” — about the frailty of life and the death of mankind
"Last and First Men" is not just a screen version of the iconic science fiction novel by Olaf Stapledon, but also a film essay, which reckons the eras bygone. The off-screen voice of the actress Tilda Swinton narrates about the fate of humanity, while depressing frames of abandoned architectural monuments flicker on the screen. As it turns out, people have left the crumbling planet in pursuit of a better life - tens of generations wished to achieve harmony with the world and themselves, but came to the inevitable extinction far from their home Earth. All that the viewer will hear is the last human’s frightening revelation about loneliness, the inevitability of death, and, consequently, the meaninglessness of any escape to unbeknown cosmic distances. Initially, Last and First Men, filmed in the former Yugoslavia countries, existed only in the format of a festival media performance. However, after the sudden death of a 48-year-old composer and debutant director Jóhann Jóhannsson, an hour-long film was edited from dismal monochrome frames. Frighteningly gloomy and philosophical, now it resembles an eerie epitaph not so much for humanity as for the author himself. This is innovative and unique science fiction without a futuristic entourage, the tone of which is set by depressive ambient and the ruins of majestic architectural blocks.