The End

In Joshua Oppenheimer’s post-apocalyptic story, a wealthy family, living underground in a palatial bunker, goes through its daily motions. Mother (Tilda Swinton), Father (Michael Shannon) and their 20-year-old son (George MacKay) — who has never seen the outside world—read, redecorate the rooms, swim laps and keep up appearances, even with no one looking. They’ve survived the destruction of the civilized world—a crime in which Father played a key role—and have been able to avoid contemplating the damage they’ve done. And then, a stranger arrives. How can they express their feelings, hidden underground? They sing. What? Oppenheimer has created a Golden Age musical for an unthinkable era, a time not so different from ours. Modest and extravagant, a miniature and a megalith, The End is a considered masterpiece. (Telluride Film Festival)