Last and First Men: NZIFF Review

Composer Jóhann‌ ‌Jóhannsson is best known for his music from films like Sicario and Arrival.

And despite having died relatively young, Jóhann‌ ‌Jóhannsson also left a movie, mixing imagery and his evocative score to relatively strong effect.

Robbed of a big screen presence, Last and First Men's multimedia presentation feels more slight than it should. A voiceover from Tilda Swinton that starts with pomposity but gradually finds a place of its own despite claiming to be from "2000 million years in the future."

Adapted from the 1930s book of the same name, Last And First Men is a collection of Balkan landscapes shot in black and white, and slow swirling camera movements.

Dissonant, dizzying and discordant, this dystopian piece of work is more successful without the voiceover, as the series of images and sounds progress building to a hypnotic crescendo. There's something mesmerising in what Jóhann‌ ‌Jóhannsson has committed to screen, and the electronic screeching and maudlin feel of the soundtrack fits perfectly with the apparently disconnected architectural structures.

Then, somehow, against the odds, in the final 15 minutes of the film, everything comes together - the voiceover finally clicks into place and it feels like the jigsaw puzzle pieces have all dropped to reveal a wider picture - it's a deeply commendable result, given the initial struggle to have it all gel.

Last and First Men is Jóhann‌ ‌Jóhannsson's acutely aural experience; it's the kind of film headphones and a large screen were made for - and even though there's no sense of urgency in the final destination, much like parts of 2001: A Space Odyssey's mix of future visuals and audio, the journey of Last and First Men is a deeply engaging and strangely spiritual one.