Joshua Oppenheimer, who has been nominated for an Academy Award, is making his first narrative feature picture, “The End,” a post-apocalyptic musical starring Tilda Swinton and Michael Shannon. The movie is about how people connect in a world where the environment is breaking down.
The movie is set 25 years after Earth stops being livable. It takes place in an underground bunker where a biological family and their friends are shocked when a stranger shows up. Oppenheimer started the project after doing a lot of study on how the rich stay alive. He went to see former Soviet command bunkers and decommissioned nuclear missile silos that were being turned into high-end underground spaces.
Oppenheimer told people at the Thessaloniki Film Festival, “It’s a miracle this got made.” Live musical performances shot in a salt mine were just one of the many ambitious parts of making the movie. It was only possible with European funding that supported the director’s creative vision.
Even though it takes place in a sad world, the movie has a message of hope and how people are linked. As Oppenheimer put it, “When you keep people out, you are also hurting yourself.” The movie makes people think about the importance of having a real family that includes everyone.
The show had its problems, especially with the cast’s musical performances. Michael Shannon, an actor who has played music before, joined a group that didn’t know how to sing. Oppenheimer said shooting was hard because the elaborately choreographed group musical numbers needed more than one take.
This change from his previous documentary work is part of Oppenheimer’s ongoing study of how resilient people are. His earlier movies, “The Act of Killing” (2012) and “The Look of Silence” (2014), got good reviews and were nominated for Oscars. They showed that he is a director who doesn’t shy away from looking at complicated social issues.
“The End” comes out at a time when politics are unclear, so it seems especially appropriate. Oppenheimer distinguishes between fake hope and real hope that comes from working together and being united. Neon will release the movie in the US, so more people can see its powerful message.
As Oppenheimer goes from making documentaries to making stories, “The End” looks like it will be a one-of-a-kind movie experience that makes people think about how people connect when systems fail.
