User reviews

Satire in a bunker and Singing musical? Okay I'm puzzled but intrigued. Nice environmental background (scenery).

At least one or two good actors (especially Tilda Swindon) however they all impersonate caricatures of snobs, helpers, working class...

It's not a sci fi. There is no back story, no depth, no reasoning and for some reason one didn't seem to even miss a meal after barely surviving something outside even if she sings well.

Without spoiling anything, in 3 hours you can expect something like theater with singing and discovering back stories that you probably could have written yourself for someone you hated (especially if you think the global warming should be purely blamed on a few rich people).

The end is maybe the best part of this movie.

I don't think I had been equally excited for a film as I was nervous in a long time. Oppenheimer's feature debut was bound to be an uncompromising and singular vision, but I truly haven't seen anything like it. Clearly they have no idea how to market this film because neon is supposed to be releasing this limited in December and there's still no poster or trailer. I digress, but this film truly had me perked up throughout most of its runtime. Technically, this film has the sauce. Really interesting and detailed environment, cinematography and the use of lighting are also critical and work to contextualize scenes. The weak links are in the story and the music. While I don't think the golden age-style musical is necessary a gimmick, I don't think it's as fully realized or utilized as well as they'd hoped. I'd say for at least half the songs I was engaged but they all sound so similar. Aside from the moments where it feels like the visuals are meant to coincide with what's happening, it's just people walking around talk-singing how they feel. And it's a very thematically-loose film too, kind of has its eggs in too many baskets, without properly divulging into anything. When it's not scratching the surface of something profound, it can often feel trite. With all that being said, I really liked this movie. It's not for everyone and the dude next to me was so obviously bored, along with my girlfriend who said she'd probably never watch it again but liked it enough. You can't put it in a box and there's nothing like it which I think should merit a watch. While it's not looking to satisfy any lingering questions you might have, or any larger questions at that, it's begging something of you and asking, "are we too far gone, or guilty, to recover from our past?"

Who watches all these musicals they have been making recently? Seems like every movie i choose to watch is a musical! 2 hours and a half just people singing stupid songs. Are we back to 20th century?

Imagine you are talking and all of a sudden you start singing! You are crying and singing at the same time! This is not film goers' taste anymore! Stop making them!

Exactly like the found footage style, that littered the box office once and went out of style, this genre is also too boring and i would never pay to watch such a bag of steaming ... well you know what.

I rated this 1, if i could i would rate it even lower.

Saw this film at the Woodstock Film Festival and went in cold - not really knowing the premise or anything about the director. I saw some solid actors in the piece and thought why not? This movie was mesmerizing. The acting was incredible. The set pieces were stunning. I could not take my eyes off George MacKay (1917). Tilda Swinton and Michael Shannon are always good. I don't want to say too much and I wish the imdb description said even a little less but please try to see this film if you are open to creative and impactful storytelling. Deep themes of human frailty are deftly explored and I was incredibly moved by the piece. I dare say this may land as my film of the year.

This film won't be for everyone and plays like a theatre musical.

The cinematography however is quite beautiful and the tale a poignant one.

Set in a fancy bunker after a disaster with very few survivors a wealthy family and friends gets on with living life in ignorant bliss.

One day a stranger appears from outside who leaves them with more questions than answers who stirs up emotions.

Its a simple telling of the human condition and however create our own reality and bubbles to help hide or mask our deepest fears and worries.

Its a slow burn that peels away layers and gradually gives you clues into each characters background and personality. There is am eerie feel to the atmosphere which is suddenly lifted into a sweet musical stage show which is both unnerving and uplifting.

The songs are not huge dramatic musical numbers but more emotional story telling that give you an insight into what is really going on in these peoples heads.

7/10 very well done.

Joshua's two documentaries about Indonesia were important, groundbreaking and aesthetically innovative. Unfortunately, this film is utter insufferable rubbish. How can someone have all the resources including actors like Tilda Swinton and George Mackay and squander them on a torturous waste of 2 and a half hours of utterly utterly godawful trash?? Climate change deserves a meaningful treatment, as do the other themes such as racism and class that the film seemingly aspires to be tackling. Instead it is a hideously unwatchable waste of two and half hours, if someone can waste precious moments of their life in viewing it. I am deeply disappointed in Joshua and the actors and all involved in this subjecting audiences to this godawful waste of time and money that could have been much better spent.

Perhaps I am a philostene for saying this...the best musical I have ever seen.

The movie touched me deeply and sparked feelings of joy and love. I've been thinking about it all day and even started singing in the car to a soundcloud mix by frequency without control. As I was nearing my street, I was overwhelmed with the impulse to tell my girlfriend I love her. I think that's a direct effect from the movie. It was absolutely beautiful.

The performances were grand and I emphasized with each character. The singing was really pretty and the classical music accompaniment set the mood brilliantly. Definitely going to watch it many times over the course of my life until The End!

So my girlfriend comes back from her work trip and asks me to pick a movie to watch together and I randomly pick The End praying I don't miss cause she's rarely into the mode for movies. The fact that it managed to keep us quiet for a good q hour just staring at the TV without talking to each other definitely deserves a good review from me. It's a fantasy with some musical scenes setting it aside for a quiet and chilly movie night. Does it leave a lasting impression? That answer is subjective but promises a good moment of appreciation of work put into it by the cast. I leave this review here to remind myself watched this movie.

The Best of the Best Musical movie One of my all time favourite documentary films is Joshua Oppenheimer's The Act of Killing: an experiment where the director (and co-filmmaker Christine Cynn, along an anonymous Indonesian director) traveled to Indonesia to not just interview monsters who partook in the mass killings of 1965 and 1966, but allow them to tell their story through cinema. In fact, these genocidal men were granted the opportunity to use a number of classic film genres and movements, from your typical crime and gangster flick, to a Golden Age Hollywood musical. That second example leads us to Oppenheimer's first narrative feature film, The End, but before we get ahead of ourselves, I want to circle back to why this experience worked in The Act of Killing: this documentary provided us with angles of hatred and occasional guilt that we've never seen in a film before. No one who is evil knows that they are. They believe that they are part of the greater good. This is how monstrosities work in reality, and not the phoned-in drive to be sinful that stories teach us. By the end of The Act of Killing, there's no turning back, either for the unchanged, terrible murderers of countless lives, or for the one lone person who fights back vomiting because he finally realizes the atrocities of his ways.

My Girlfeidn and I watched this movie. It took 4 sitting to get all the way through it. 3 of the attempts I started to fall a sleep.

It was the most boring thing i've watched in recent years.

Instead of watching this, take a crap in a toilet and then stare at it for 148 minutes and make up a song about it on the spot.

The song you come up with will be more catchy than anything in this film.

I prefer musicals where after you watch it you have a song from the movie stuck in your head for days. This is not one of those films.

I highly recommend that you go watch the greatest showman instead.

It is rare for me to watch a movie that I'm not sure what to make of. Indeed, this film is a sci-fi musical drama. But calling it experimental psychological cinema perhaps does it more justice. Being a musical makes the film surrealistic enough to create initial distance between the film and viewer, so as to let story themes settle.

The film Blast from the Past possibly lends a thematically narrative comparison, but is as close to similar as my nose is similar to my right large toe.

My wife asked me to watch something else after an hour and a half, yet was happy to have finished watching the whole thing an hour later. It can be hard to watch, being somewhat depressing at points.

Emphasis lies with the psychological experiences of various characters. These are examined in a way rarely seen in popular culture, with zero space for black-and-white thinking. Am I a good person? No, I am just a human, making choices that are rarely purely good or purely bad. Yet eventually we see the characters make choices. To die or to live morally compromised. The final shot, suggesting a huge starscape, only to focuss in on what is merely microscopic reveals; it's all a matter of perspective.

Michael Shannon does a wonderful Willem Dafoe impression, Tilda Swinton is just excellent and Moses Ingram is... a lot better than she was in the Acolyte. Set design is good, cinemaphotography is quite acceptable. Music is also good, but the musical numbers seem to have been tailored to fit the vocal abilities of the performers. Not bad at all, but not Buffy the Vampire Slayer's Once More With Feeling good.

A nice semi-psychedelic experience overall. Not for kids or people with short attention spans. I'm glad to see that at least in Europe there is still room for this sort of production.

Negatives: ehh? Did not come with the "should you have been affected by the themes then please call this toll-free number" message? The ending felt a bit rushed perhaps? But possibly that was a good thing as there was no point dragging on the 2.5 hour long non-story. The lack of an actual narrative? Well, honestly there is some. But in the end it's 'a bunch of stuff that happened'. If you are looking for a good story, this film may not be for you.

Conclusion: Say you are having a film weekend at your home. Yesterday you showed your most coveted 16mm prints on your projector. But tonight is beamer night. And you showed La Dolce Vita before dinner, but need something new before putting on THX1138 at the end of the evening, just to avoid the 'classics only' vibe? Hey, this could be the film for you!

"The End" is a film you can't miss-it's both daring and imaginative. The production design is breathtaking. The cinematography is exceptional, featuring long, single takes and beautifully crafted lighting that enhances the overall visual experience.

The movie delves into themes of denial and privilege, portraying a family's effort to maintain their opulent lifestyle in isolation. It's a compelling commentary on how people often overlook inconvenient truths and choose to live in a bubble of comfort and ignorance. The narrative is both engaging and thought-provoking, making you reflect on the societal norms and personal choices that shape our lives.

The performances are stellar, with each actor bringing depth and nuance to their roles. The script is sharp and witty, balancing moments of humor with poignant drama. The musical score complements the film perfectly, adding an extra layer of emotion and nostalgia.

If you're in the mood for a visually stunning and thought-provoking film, "The End" is definitely one to watch. It's a cinematic experience that stays with you long after the credits roll.

Don't miss out on this unique and captivating movie!

"The End" is a fascinating and unique film that is like a cross between an Opera and a Eugene O'Neill or Arthur Miller play. The performances are first rate and keep you glued to who and what they are. It's a family drama with ideas contained in the film that resonate to our larger world and planet and the human and personal ways we act to cope, aspire,create,persevere,protect and delude ourselves to obsure reality and our moral responsibility of our actions. The sets and lighting are perfect. It's a long movie over two and a half hours but I was kept engaged by the acting and where the story was headed.

The acting is the only thing one can really comment on without spoiling anything. It's absolutely one of the best films I've ever seen.

It goes extremely deep, challenges everything, keeps you on the edge of your seat and sways your soul in every direction.

The unique features of the film that were unexpected for us as we watched it, since we avoided the synopsis and relied solely on the talents of Tilda Swinton to motivate our viewing of something we knew nothing about from the get-go other than her presence in it, were a delightful surprise, and honestly had we known about that feature we might have not watched it at all, and we'd have missed out on one of the best films of the last decade, at least.

Do yourself a favor, go in blind.