FilmCriticLalitRao A viewer is not expected to know a lot about linguistics nor should have any prior knowledge of works authored by great Swiss linguist Ferdinand De Saussure (1857-1913) in order to comprehend that in the complete absence of sound, meanings are invariably conveyed through gestures. It is on this artistic tool that French film author Luc Besson worked with actor/director Pierre Jolivet to create a science fiction masterpiece in 1983. Le Dernier Combat is a unique futuristic film in which human civilization has been obliterated to a very large extent. What remains on earth is a small group of men would would not hesitate even for a moment in order to show their supremacy and regain complete control over their rivals. As Iranian actor/director Majid Majidi was judged as "Man Friday" for his artistic contribution in Mohsen Makhmalbaf film "Boycott", French actor/director Pierre Jolivet has achieved the same distinction by having played a main role in this Luc Besson film. In 1990, Pierre Jolivet achieved astonishing success with a science fiction film called "Simple Mortel". Most brave men do possess a sweet romantic side which helps them to channelize their energy. This feeling is expressed by Pierre Jolivet's character as a brutish man with a heart replete with feelings who would do anything to get closer to his beloved. Apart from a pleasant musical score by Eric Serra, veteran Italian cinematographer Carlo Varini has shot surreal images for this film. It would be worth mentioning troubles faced by actor Jean Reno when he has tough time collecting fishes falling from sky. It is not only admirers of science fiction films who should watch "The last combat" with utmost care but also anyone genuinely interested in good cinema as Luc Besson has drafted a highly original scenario which could easily beat any Hollywood science fiction film.

Rooster99 I am glad that Luc Besson moved on from this Cannes film festival fodder and into more entertaining movies. Although it does take a fair amount of gall to direct a post-apocalyptic film in black and white with absolutely no dialogue, it seemed obvious to me that it was geared for the Film Festival set; things happen incredibly slowly, and there is no explanation for many elements of the film (people can't talk, fish rain from the sky, etc.), but how could there be as there is no dialogue? If you absolutely must see everything Luc Besson has directed, then by all means, see this movie. But if you are looking for a well-made Besson, then search somewhere else. Luc Besson has directed such classics as Nikita, Leon, Subway, and Le Grand Bleu, all of which are infinitely more entertaining and watchable than this post-modernistic French cinema which was likely praised at the time of its release as the future of film. Fortunately, it wasn't, and Besson went on to bigger and better things.

dbdumonteil Luc Besson's first work is also his first foray in science fiction, a genre to which he will return fourteen years later with "the Fifth Element" (1997). Even if this film was strongly influenced by Hollywood cinema, it is still highly enjoyable. Back in 1983, "le Dernier Combat" reveals Besson's own approach of science fiction. He takes back a threadbare topic and his efforts are discernible to make a stylish work. Shot in widescreen and black and white, a disaster has destroyed virtually all the population from earth and we will never know what was this disaster and why men can't talk any more. Some barbarian hordes were formed. In parallel, a man (Pierre Jolivet) lives on his own and arrives in an unrecognizable Paris where he is received by a doctor (Jean Bouise).There are no words in Besson's work. The characters' actions and the progression of the events go through looks and gestures. Although the starting point and the backdrop are unnerving, the film has never the look of a despondent one. It seems that the man and the doctor try to reproduce gestures and actions linked to mankind before the disaster. The film opens with the man having sex with an inflatable doll. Later, the doctor tries to make him speak through a machine and he is a painter in his spare time. It's all the more intriguing as these paintings seem to come from the prehistoric times. Following this reasoning, one could argue that the bearded giant (Jean Reno) embodies evil and a threat to the efforts deployed by the man and the doctor to regain what finally made a human being. Ditto for the gang of baddies at the beginning of the film.The pessimistic whiff that such a film could convey isn't really at the fore and gives way to a glimmer of hope. Personally, the film could have gained with no music at all, except the one the man can hear with his cassette recorder. Luc Besson was to make better and still entrancing films like this one, he also boosted Pierre Jolivet's career as a director who will leave a patchy work behind him in the future: "Force Majeure" (1989), "Simple Mortel" (1991), "ma Petite Entreprise" (1999) or "Filles Uniques" (2003).

bradmcc Remember that this came out before Gulf War I, which gave us Werner Herzog's "Lessons of Darkness".Le Dernier Combat is not "Sci Fi". It's more like Judgment. I've watched it at least a dozen times. It really is a fitting companion to Herzog's "Lessons of Darkness": "And in that time, men will seek death, but they will not find it, for death will flee from them."That someday, alas, may be today, in Iraq. But, back to Le Dernier Combat, make sure to watch thru the very last second of the film. I wouldn't call it a "surprise ending", but it is something you'll miss if you just assume the end won't be anything more than what you will already have seen.