The Road (2009)

This film is based on the 2006 novel by American writer Cormac McCarthy. It is a post-apocalyptic tale of a journey of a father and his young son over a period of several months, across the country decimated by an unspecified cataclysm that has destroyed most of civilization and, in the intervening years, almost all life on Earth. Most everything has perished, no animals, no crops, trees are dead and only a moderate number of humans are around. The novel was awarded the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Fiction in 2006. The book was adapted to a film of the same name in 2009, directed by John Hillcoat.The tale is of survival, the methodology behind the film is the fire we carry inside as human beings, AND the lengths they will go to survive. Viggo Mortenson's character slips us back in narration through the film. The story is bleak, the characters lost souls searching for the triumph of survival. Desolate, cringe worthy scenery and strong direction. The film may move rather slowly but it keeps you entertained by thought and visual cinematography. 9/10

The Road directed by John Hillcoat was released in 2009, produced by Paula Mae Schwartz and Steve Schwartz, and written by Joe Penhall. Based on the novel The Road by Cormac McCarthy, which won the 2007 Pulitzer award, as well as many other nominations and awards. McCarthy has had various other books adapted into movies including Child of God and The Sunset Limited. The leading roles played by Viggo Mortensen, who played the man and Kodi Smit McPhee, playing the role of the boy. Mortensen who had leading roles in the Lord of the Rings series, also acting in Crimson Tide, A Dangerous Method and 45+ other films, is a more experienced actor than McPhee. McPhee, who played the young boy in this film, has also appeared in other movies including X-Men and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. These actors worked as one in this movie to adequately represent the true message of the film. This film is intense, yet touching and withholds many messages expressed by Mortensen and McPhee. This film starts in the the post apocalyptic world, with a man and a boy, and many untold stories. Throughout the film we see their hardships as they embark on a journey down the road to reach the south, and the ocean. We see the characters grow as they experience new things and learn new lessons. The man plays the role of a leader for the boy, who has never known different from the world he lives in today. But we see that the man, who holds many secrets, can vividly remember life before his life turned upside down. We experience these times through flashbacks and it only accentuates the true hardships he has experienced. After reading the book, and watching the film it is notable that there are few differences between the two, overall messages as well as small details carry throughout both. This film is very intriguing and intense to watch, many moments leave you on the edge of your seat and wondering what will happen next. This, combined with angles, soundtrack and lighting allow the true message of the novel to come through. Point of view shots allow the audience to feel more connected to the scenes and make them more intense, along with this, the music played at moments of intensity, keep the audience on the edge of their seats. Throughout the film the use of lighting, or lack thereof, keeps the mood, low and dreary. Overall this film truly captured the post apocalyptic world, in a way that kept readers on the edge of their seats. All combined, the actors, props, editing and soundtrack, keep the audience engaged at all times. I would recommend this film because it encaptures true messages and struggles, while in the meantime keeping the audience engaged and entertained.

I enjoy the Fallout series of games. In these games, you play a person who's survived a nuclear apocalypse and explore the wasteland of America completing quests and missions. Being computer games, they're designed to be fun and entertaining.Dystopia is popular right now. From the unending surge of zombies (World War Z, Walking Dead, etc.) to YA (Hunger Games, Maze Runner) to more series, adult media (Automata, Blade Runner 2049). For all their attempts at making the future look grim, I personally find them quite appealing. I loathe paperwork, you see. It's the bane of my existence. I'm someone who does. I enjoy my job, for the most part, but mention 'stakeholders', 'APR percentage' and 'audits' and my brain switches off. I honestly don't care, and it stresses the hell out of me. It does more than that. It makes me miserable - depressed, even. I can't cope with it. I can't cope with the intricacies of the bureaucratic system. It confuses me, it gets me into trouble when I don't even know why, I hate it. I hate it with a passion. I have anarchic tendencies. I believe that our biology is designed to help us survive against nature. We're intelligent beings, and we've evolved to cope with the adversities thrown at us by nature. The thing is, I believe I would stand a better-than-average chance of surviving the apocalypse. I'm intelligent, and I'm tough as old boots. Ask me to do a tax rebate and I'm utterly useless, but I don't care about the cold or the heat or noise while I sleep. I'll deal with that no problem. And that's the thing with dystopian fiction - it appeals to me. They show us worlds where people like me would actually be quite successful when the vast majority of people would flounder. But not The Road. I've read the book, and it's bleak. Utterly, utterly bleak. I'm under no illusion that our usual media diet romanticises the apocalypse - makes it strangely appealing, despite everything. The Road does not. From start to finish, it's cynical, miserable, depressing, extremely grey (like, it might as well be in black and white) and raw. There's no attempt as making the apocalypse look positive - adding some glamour into it like the Fallout games do. This is not really science fiction. If you address it rationally by questioning the character motivations you'll be disappointed. This is not really sci fi in the traditional sense. This isn't a strict narrative. Characters act irrationally, even stupidly, and the whole cause of the apocalypse is unexplained. This, instead, is a drama with an apocalyptic backdrop. It's completely non-political. It doesn't care about the causes of the trouble, but rather how people react to it. It's a psychological examination of the question: 'How do you retain your sense of morality when everyone else has forsaken theirs?'. That's a difficult question to answer. Does the film do it satisfactorily? In my view, no. It's a big topic, and I wonder if the film has felt too conflicted by its commercial needs to make some money and its desire to tell a more cerebral narrative than your average blockbuster. Certain aspects are glossed over. Other things are ignored completely and logic falls by the wayside more than once. It moved me, however. To tears. And it really did get me thinking. Hey, life's pretty good. I may not be brilliant at coping with the unending form-filling and I'm never going to care much about the petty conflicts that dominate local politics, but I have money, food and shelter...and friends...and family. That's what storytelling is about. If you go into The Road expecting a zombie-style action-fest you'll be disappointed. It's slow-paced and repetitive and never gives any character any glory, No one's a hero. Go into it, right now, at this time when the media is fixated on the Middle East conflict(s), Russia, North Korea, Cambridge Analytica, nationalism, #metoo, Brexit, Trump, Iran, whatever and everyone is losing their s*** and you might find yourself approaching it very differently.

Typical people trying to survive an apocolypse. However, the young boy, who was raised AFTER the apocolypse has occurred is magically oblivious to reality unfolding around him, making absolutely every circumstance worse. How the father didnt leave him for dead earlier on is beyong me.