The thought of the end of the world and everything as we know it is scary, but going through it, and somehow surviving, can be a much more depressing idea. What do you do now? O-Bi, O-Ba: The End of Civilization is aptly titled, as its characters remain stuck inside a dome after a nuclear war, but the way the survivors’ hopes are warped, manipulated, and used against them can feel eerily familiar, and the way Piotr Szulkin unpacks this through Soft’s journey crafts a bleak, yet necessary examination of the fantasies we need in order to live in peace.
The world has been ravaged by nuclear war. The planet is frozen and radiation kills anyone or anything that ventures outside of 'The Dome'. Soft is a shepherd for the last remnants of humanity who have gathered together as they await rescue from a mysterious craft known only as 'The Ark.' He wanders among the masses, performing his regular daily tasks; keeping morale from plummeting, wooing prostitutes, squashing rebellions, and sometimes feeding the hungry. But as the true and sinister nature of 'The Dome' comes to light, Soft must ask himself if humanity is worth saving...
A year after nuclear war ravaged the earth, the only survivors take shelter in The Dome, and they all wait for their rescue by The Ark. Tired of simply waiting for it, Soft decides to stop his routine and find the Ark, or at least an alternative to it, himself.
For some reason, I’m really captivated by the way The Dome is lit. 1980s film technology might be the reason as to why the lighting is hazy, but it adds to the whole idea of everyone’s perception not necessarily without truth, but always fundamentally hazy in some way.
Necessary viewing, in light of certain events.
Berlin
1 nomination
