«Le Dernier Voyage» - Movie Review by Kinoafisha
Careless humanity.
Only a few days remain until the destruction of Earth. Soon, it will collide with the Red Moon, which unexpectedly appeared in our Solar System. Although initially it posed no threat to humanity, greed and the desire to extract resources from this new celestial body turn against us. Now, the planet can only be saved by Paul V. R., a brilliant astronaut, the only one capable of flying through the protective magnetic field surrounding the Red Moon. But at the last moment before the launch, he disappears. Paul begins to chase his childhood memories, believing that a nuclear attempt to destroy the approaching danger cannot be the solution. The astronaut wants to find the place from his old drawing depicting tree crowns, where the answers must be hidden. However, Earth has long resembled depleted deserts, where life only survives within the cities, behind large fortified walls.
"Last Journey of Paul W.R." is a French sci-fi novel set in the not-so-distant future. A great leap in progress occurred after the discovery of a new energy source on the Red Moon. However, this time the promised utopia turned out to be a mirage, a self-deception that laid bare eternal problems - greed and insatiability. We will not be allowed to witness the dawn of civilization, only to witness what seems to be its final sunset. The opening scenes depict the main symbol of the country in ruins - the Eiffel Tower, lying in a lifeless land. The survivors are afraid to venture beyond the city walls. Now, human life resembles a massive anthill with bustling markets and barely habitable homes. The world resembles a standard post-apocalyptic setting or some desolate planet from "Star Wars". However, this feels more like a sketch than a fully-realized reality. Much remains shrouded in secrecy, including the workings of the government and the state of other countries. Otherwise, how else could the protagonist stumble upon a brave team of Americans striving to once again save humanity from imminent destruction?
In this setting, we can expect a fairly typical road movie. The main character quickly finds a companion and embarks on a distant adventure in search of answers. Along this journey, danger will come not only from the external world beyond the wall, but also from government robots following the trail of a deserter-astronaut. Everything here is quite standard, especially considering the small budget. Cars levitate, CGI rockets fly into space, futuristic weapons hit their targets, and the Red Moon constantly looms in the background, imposing with its size. The journey itself almost completely ignores the surrounding world, revealing very little about it, and instead focuses on the main characters.
However, this does not hinder "Last Journey of Paul W.R." from surprising and deviating from the typical science fiction plot about the end of the world. Science quickly takes a backseat and the story transforms into a discussion about ecological issues wrapped in simple philosophy and light mysticism. It turns out that the Moon has already appeared in the Solar System and has a connection with the main character, not coincidentally making him the chosen one. The ending also takes an unexpected turn for the genre, ultimately turning the story into a moral tale. Kindness and faith, rather than bravery and inventiveness, save people here. The authors do not delve deeply into reflections on the problems of humanity and its desires to improve its own life through destruction without considering the consequences. They simply extract the cream from the obvious. But this allows the film to be more accessible, keeping it within the realm of entertaining science fiction without pretensions to something greater.
Despite its presumed scale, "Last Journey of Paul W.R." is a very modest film. There is no budget here to create a huge and elaborately constructed future world, but through its thrilling adventure, it manages to captivate. Much rests on the small details that adorn the interesting setting. The atypical ending for science fiction also assists the film. It allows it to avoid becoming another story about saving the planet from an impending threat with rugged men in bulky spacesuits. Moreover, catastrophes of this kind are extremely rarely shown through the lens of a modest European perspective, rather than the grandiose spectacle of Hollywood, thus helping to smooth out any shortcomings.
"Last Journey of Paul W.R." will appeal to fans of road movies set in an interesting future and fans of contemplations on the flaws of humanity.
