The film “Last Sentinel”, released in 2023, is a kind of post-apocalyptic utopia, which is presented to the viewer in all its beauty and in all its despair. To a certain extent, the atmosphere itself resembles the current situation in the world, however, in a world filled with despair and suffering, hopelessness and fear, there is also some ray of hope that, nevertheless, some bright future may be coming.
What is the movie “Last Sentinel” about?
The storyline revolves around a relatively small group of military men who are trapped in a long-abandoned tower – a former military base. In turn, the tower is located far from the whole civilization, therefore, the military are completely remote and detached from the world. And all this takes place in the relatively near future, in 2063. And right there, the view of the viewers is presented to a small, in poor condition, an outpost that was abandoned a long time ago and on which there is actually nothing unusable. On the tower itself there are several fighters of a special unit, literally taken aback and crazed from longing and hopelessness that has fallen on them. At the same time, all outsiders are completely absent at the military base, there is not even a single living being. However, this fact does not allow you to fully be in a calm environment, because literally everything around is saturated with an exclusively negative atmosphere. The main thing is also hidden – the state of horror that crept deep into everyone at the base. For example, no one can know for sure what the military will face in the future. And these can be both their own, representatives of humanity, and enemies, who are completely unknown, mysterious and frightening.
The meaning of the film “Last Sentinel”
Behind the scenes is the fact that humanity is actually doomed. It faced the fact that it was completely destroyed, leaving only two islands, on which the pitiful remnants of culture and civilization huddle. Just on the way between these islets, the indicated military base is located, or rather, what can be called it to the extent that it is considered.
The very fact of the presence of a certain mission, which is entrusted to the military, is of interest. They are there for a reason, but they carry a thermonuclear device with them – a bomb that should be activated if the enemy approaches. And here the most important thing is that humanity is ready to immediately destroy everything and everyone, if only something unknown and different approaches them. People could not appease their own warlike nature, trying to eliminate everything that could threaten him. There is not a single attempt to establish contact, to become interested, to find some points of interaction and to establish the formation of new relationships, albeit fragile and temporary. On the contrary, the will of humanity is to completely destroy everything that is not itself. Consequently, having shown in himself the worst features, qualities that contribute to his complete and speedy destruction.
And now the fear is just connected with the fact that the watch is actually over. But the soldiers remain, and this fact drives them into an even more depressing state. They do not know whether they will be replaced or not, just as they do not know what is left of humanity in general. The only thing that remains with them is the hope that a person will come to replace them, and not an enemy.
In addition to this, tension also introduces a certain state of detachment, anger, which, in addition to the usual fear, enters the soldiers themselves.
The oppressive environment regularly breaks the psyche of all soldiers. And every moment they begin not only to perceive as enemies of an external enemy, which is located far beyond the station itself. In parallel with this, they begin to openly hate each of the soldiers themselves, consider themselves as enemies, all those who are located in the building. The main thing is the unknown, it is this feature that contributes to the violation of the psyche. And this psyche pushes to a desperate step – to try to activate the weapon ahead of schedule.
Explanation of the ending of the film “Last Sentinel”
In the finale, suspense and detachment remains at the highest level actually. And it even turns into some drama, because the soldiers do not know and cannot imagine what will happen to them themselves. It is not even known whether they will survive or not. They are no longer so much worried about the fate of the people themselves, the remnants of humanity, as they are themselves. Yet, the desire to live gradually takes over, hence crowding out all other states, such as responsibility for other lives. And now, the decisive moment comes – whether a nuclear bomb will be launched that can put an end to humanity.
Ultimately, the whole fate of people is on the verge of death, depends directly on a handful of those who, one way or another, keep the button of nuclear weapons at hand. Directly, as now, as in modern conditions, which must be noted for every modern society, in the structure of all human as a whole. And people will have to make the same choice now, and the final decision will be made soon.
