83) Les Derniers Jours du Monde(2009)

83) Les Derniers Jours du Monde (2009) Dir: Arnaud Larrieu and Jean-Marie Larrieu Not Yet Released Date Seen: March 2, 2010 Rating: 4.25/5

, Les Derniers Jours du Monde is bursting with a million different possible narrative directions it could head in all at once. Its alive with the absurd kind of "What if" scenarios that could only be possible for someone that knew that the world--not just his or her world but the world--is ending. Robinson (Mathieu Amalric) has been stewing so long in his own juices after a bad break-up that when the world actually starts to crack open, he has more of an idea than most as to where he wants to go or more practically who he wants to run to. There are a lot of names on his short-list and he'll hit up every one at least once but not always because he wants to but rather because of a mystical entropic force is buffeting him from ex-lover to new lover to old friend and then back to another new lover before starting all over again. In that sense, it only looks like Robinson has every opportunity to rekindle old and new flames and friendships. Sooner or later, he's always drawn back to the one that put him in an apocalyptic state of mind to begin with. The Larrieus, who also co-adapted the film from a novel by Dominique Noguez, have given his narrative arc a humor and a focus that grounds their film's chaotic pacing and it makes this post-apocalyptic drama uniquely arresting. The last scene in Paris is amazing, the perfect way to end a totally idiosyncratic doomsday daydream.