TIFF 2024 Review: The End – “the film defies classification”

Life in an underground bunker get disrupted when an outsider from the post-apocalyptic appears which causes those living inside to question the choices that they have made.

Tucked away in a salt mine is the family of an oil tycoon and a couple of friends who have an established routine that has allowed them to get on with their lives while the outside world has experienced the rest of humanity being wiped out by a catastrophic ecological event.  Upsetting the equilibrium is the discovery of a young woman suffering from survivor’s guilt which in turn has a ripple effect in exposing hidden truths.

Known for crafting compelling documentaries, Joshua Oppenheimer has taken that dramatic flare and adopted it for a narrative fiction which heavily-handedly deals with the prominent themes of human greed, climate change, and revisionist history. Include an actress like Tilda Swinton and the oddball factor gets multiplied by 10.  And let’s not forget to mention that everything takes place in a salt mine and this is a musical.  The one major revelation is the theatrical quality of George MacKay who does a marvelous musical number running through hills of salt.  Oppenheimer is not afraid to lean into the theatrical aesthetic as songs conclude by taking place in an entirely different setting and the lighting is something out of a Broadway production.

While there is lamenting for daring original content in an era dominated by remakes and franchises, one has to wonder how far is too far when pushing boundaries.  At what point does social satire become a self-indulgent parody (reborn later as a cult classic)?  Marketing is going to be hellish as the film defies classification and the quirkiness will make this a critical rather than a box office darling.  Not sure what expectations people had going into the screening but it was surely not something that anyone could have predicted.

The 49th Toronto International Film Festival runs September 5-15, 2024, and for more information visit tiff.net.    

Trevor Hogg is a freelance video editor and writer who currently resides in Canada; he can be found at LinkedIn.