TO WATCH: “THE END” BY JOSHUA OPPENHEIMER

Mother, Father and Son reside in a bunker after a total environmental collapse 25 years ago. With the Earth being rendered uninhabitable, the family maintains a charade of hope and security by clinging to their past routines. Candles and polished silverware decorate the table as warm family dinners keep visions of the wasteland above at bay. Their mundane rituals uphold their feeble sense of sanity until the house of cards is shaken by the arrival of a stranger, Girl.

Being a stranger to the world outside, the son develops a curiosity for the newcomer. The sudden change in the household’s structure causes the dynamic between the bunker’s inhabitants to shift. Feelings of doubt and remorse, which the family had barely been able to repress, start to surface. The already delicate balance slowly tips over, forcing them to face difficult truths. But there remains a chance to reconcile. Even if the world has ended, they still have each other to move forward.

“An urgent and unforgettable cautionary tale”

Academy Award®-nominated director Joshua Oppenheimer exposes an ugly truth with “The End”. The film is a clear mirror to the current state of our world. Even while Earth is burning, sincere warnings of climate change and failing ecosystems are still largely ignored. Often disregarded as mere myth or conspiracy. The idea of losing our only home can be a paralyzing thought. Upholding a sense of safety, even if it is only fantasy, is a natural response for many.

The characters, masterfully portrayed by Tilda Swinton (Michael Clayton), Michael Shannon (Nocturnal Animals, Revolutionary Road), George MacKay (1917) and Moses Ingram (Lady in the Lake, The Queen’s Gambit), highlight a sorry trait that resides in all of us. It is within human nature to lie, to others but also ourselves. In “The End”, the act of lying upholds a shield. It protects us when the truth is deemed too menacing to handle. But to truly move forward, it is a necessity to face the bleak truth.

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