WELCOME TO OUR NEXT SCREENING
Geoff Murphy's
THE QUIET EARTH
(New Zealand | 1985 | 91 mins | M adult themes)
Wednesday 25 March at 7.30pm
University of Otago’s Colquhoun Lecture Theatre**
The Quiet Earth is a post-apocalyptic science fiction film focusing on three survivors of a cataclysmic disaster.
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| | “For much of the duration of Geoff Murphy’s The Quiet Earth, middle-aged Zac Hobson (Bruno Lawrence) believes himself to be the last living person on Earth – but Zac was already a loner, even before the so-called ‘Effect’ that put him in this post-apocalyptic state of extreme solitude… The film opens with an image of the Sun, its shape refracted and enlarged by the horizon, rising spectacularly over the ocean, as seagulls fly about noisily. At precisely 6:12am, their cawing stops, and Zac, lying supine and naked in a motel bed, is shocked into wakefulness. Dressing and leaving, he quickly discovers that he is in a world from which every living thing appears simply to have vanished, |
leaving no trace beyond boiling kettles, running taps and abandoned, sometimes crashed, vehicles. As Zac – shown as a small figure in wide shot – wanders through the eerily empty streets of Hamilton, it is as though the rapture has taken place, and he alone has been left behind… Loosely based on a 1981 sci-fi novel of the same name by Craig Harrison, Murphy’s film traces Zac’s response to his isolation–his gradual realisation that normal social rules no longer apply in a world for one, as well as his temporary descent into solipsism and suicidal thoughts, megalomania and madness”
– Anton Bitel, Little White Lies. |
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FURTHER REVIEW
"Murphy’s surreal and ambiguous drama is a tour de force, taking cues from a multitude of places and fashioning its influences into something deceitfully original. Using a contemporary landscape whereby civilisation appears normal – albeit sans people, Murphy’s production is basic yet haunting... Lawrence commands the screen with a forlorn demeanour, giving a stellar performance as a man on the edge. Alison Routledge and Peter Smith co-star as the two companions, Joanne and Api, whose pasts are uncertain and concerning. Routledge gives a fantastic performance as she also runs her |
| character through a gauntlet of personas. At first overzealous and hopeful, she soon navigates a darker attitude, bringing her story into question, as does Smith’s braun and thuggish character. As their relationship becomes closer, pushing Zac to the side, the whole question of their existence begins to control their actions, and what began as a straightforward concept film spirals into a deep philosophical question of universal existence and metaphysical possibilities. Are they actually dead and caught in a state of purgatory, or have then been trapped inside a tear in the fabric of time and space? Do they really exist at all, or are they inside a dream? |
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A REMINDER: For Your Diary - The screening of Boat People will now take place at 7.30pm on Thursday 30 April. The University requires the Colquhoun lecture theatre for a Medical School terms test which has been scheduled on the Wednesday evening that week. We apologise for the disruption which this may cause for some members but it is a matter entirely outside our control. ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
ABOUT THE DUNEDIN FILM SOCIETY
ADMISSION
Free to members.
TO JOIN
To purchase a Full/Half Season membership:- complete a membership form from our website and pay by online bank transfer (06-0942-0696013-00);
- or join at the door before any screening (cash only).
- you can also join at the OUSA office reception at the University of Otago (cash only).
Alternatively, you can purchase a Three-Film sampler ($25), which can be also be shared to bring two friends to one screening. The sampler does not expire and can be used over multiple years.
Membership includes generous discounts at Rialto Cinemas (from Monday to Friday) and the 2026 Dunedin Whānau Marama New Zealand International Film Festival; and FREE entry to the 2026 screenings of all other affiliated New Zealand Film Societies. Each member is entitled to ONE FREE GUEST ADMISSION to a single screening.
**To get to the Colquhoun Theatre: The Colquhoun is located on the first floor of the current Dunedin Public Hospital, above the chapel and squash courts. Stairs and lift access are from the main Hospital entrance on Great King Street.
WE WELCOME YOUR FEEDBACK!... on this screening, or any other Dunedin Film Society showing, on dunedinfi...@gmail.com –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– |
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| | Dunedin Film Society
C/- 1 Crewe Street Maryhill Dunedin, Otago 9011New Zealand |
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