The Quiet Earth is a New Zealand film based on the Craig Harrison novel of the same name, which I have yet to read but my understanding is the two are very different.  The film tells the story of Zac Hobson (Bruno Lawrence), a scientist who had been working on a dangerous experiment called Project Flashlight, waking up one morning to find all of humanity (or so it appears) has vanished - not dead, but gone altogether, without a trace.  From there, the film is largely divided into three acts, marked by the arrival of a new character for each one.  First, Zac is alone, completely alone, and it seems that he will go insane.  Gradually, he accepts his situation and finds ways to keep carrying on.  Then, he abruptly encounters a woman, Joanne (Allison Routledge), who is just as surprised to see him.  This second act is mostly dominated by trying to determine why they among all others remain on Earth.  Finally, they meet Api (Pete Smith), a man of Maori descent who turns the relationship into a sort of love triangle.  At this point it becomes clear why these three remain on Earth, and also what Project Flashlight has to do with the "Event" (as Hobson calls it).  I don't want to give away much more than that, because any more information likely ruins the rest of the plot.  In fact, just posting the movie poster gives away the rest of the plot (WHOOPS MARKETING).

So if this is a path already well-tread, why do I so love the "last man on Earth" trope in The Quiet Earth?  Well, what matters when it comes to rehashing an old idea is how you take that idea and put a unique perspective on it, and The Quiet Earth does this wonderfully.  Zac Hobson's initial scenes are visceral and haunting, ranging from bizarre comedy to surreal lunacy.  They are among the most beloved in critical reviews of the film, and its easy to see why.

Faced with the sheer crushing despair of having no one to interact with, Zac goes completely off the deep end.  He blasts random objects with a shotgun.  He wears a dress and flirts with himself in a mirror.  He sets up mannequins and declares himself president of "This Quiet Earth".  He blasts loudspeakers of applause in reply to his speech.

If all seems a bit much, it makes us question how much of our behaviour is defined by our socio-cultural background.  Humans are social animals; we naturally gravitate to other people and form groups.  Left with no one else, why bother keeping up pretenses?  Would we eschew clothing, hygiene, schedules?  Would we forget how to talk?

Then, just as suddenly as it all falls apart, Zac meets Joanne.  And the rules come back.  He has to wear clothes for modesty's sake.  They have to have personal boundaries.  They keep in contact by radio, where before they felt safe wandering the empty landscape alone.  The environment around them hasn't changed in the slightest, but simply by being WITH another person they are compelled to act in a completely different way.

If that's not enough, then they add the third layer, and the third character:  Api.  And just like that, we have the last key element that makes up our human interaction:  conspiracy.  Who loves who, maybe two will turn on the third, or one will abandon the others or...an infinite number of possibilities.  And all of this from just three people.  It's very reminiscent of Sartre's famous lesson from No Exit:  "Hell is other people".

But what people really seem to remember from this movie (those that HAVE seen it) is the ending.  This is one of those endings that people will either love or hate, but will universally enjoy talking about.  It's bizarre, it's weirdly spiritual, it's uplifting and hopeless at the same time.  To appreciate the sheer audacity of these filmmakers, it has to be seen.

And The Quiet Earth is nothing if not audacious.  It dares to place the stakes of the plot entirely at the spiritual level, relying on character and dialogue to drive the viewer along.  For my money, it succeeds wonderfully, and I think any lover of hard drama (sci-fi or not) will find something to ponder in The Quiet Earth.