Last and First Men (2021 | Iceland | 70 minutes | Jóhann Jóhannsson)
A long time coming, this surreal, ambient music-filled journey into the minds of humans far into the future, throws us into Jóhann Jóhannsson’s vision of the world. You see, this will be his first, and only, film in the director’s chair; he passed away far too young in 2018 before he could see its widespread release. With Tilda Swinton’s calm, yet emotionally distant monotone narrating, we embark on a free fall into Jóhannsson’s vision of what we as a race will be like and what we’ll be doing over a billion years in the future.
While the overarching narrative from our future selves serves as a warning on the surface, I find Last and First Men an encouragingly positive arc. While those speaking to us are describing humankind’s doom in their near future, I find myself celebrating our longevity. Did you ever think our people would last for a billion years into the future? Because I sure didn’t. I basically assumed we’ll be done for in a couple hundred years at most, unless something drastic and insanely lucky saved all our butts from oblivion. The fact that Jóhann believes we’ll live, evolve, move to the stars and become part of a larger organism of peoples is fascinating and dare I say… hopeful.
With what looks to be ancient ruins serving as the monochrome backdrop of his film (but actually Yugoslavian memorial statues), Jóhannsson allows you the space to meditate for the majority of the seventy minutes. Lost in thought and floating along the rivers of your own imagination Swinton wearily takes on the role of ferryman. A viewing can either become quite exhausting to simply observe and listen, or a transcendent experience depending on your emotional and mental state at the time. If you’re a fan of Jóhannson’s work whether it be through scores for television or film (The Handmaid’s Tale, The OA, Sicario, Arrival, Mother!) or simply his discography, you will enjoy this final send off… this visual love song to us all. His passing was a huge loss not only to Icelandic arts community but also the music world as a whole. This feels like one final grasp to appreciate his mastery and wrap ourselves in it like a damp, yet comforting blanket.
Last and First Man is currently in a limited theater release and on VOD now, with wider releases to come.