Last and First Men
| Release Date: December 10, 2021 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
80
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 11 Critic Reviews
Positive:
9
Mixed:
2
Negative:
0

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
VarietyGuy LodgeMar 7, 2020
A ravishing 70-minute audiovisual essay on human mortality, extinction and legacy — all the more poignant for being its maker’s final creative statement. Read full review
100
The PlaylistJack KingFeb 28, 2020
This experience is one of rare, absolute immersion. Read full review
91
IndieWireEric KohnFeb 28, 2020
Guided by Jóhannsson’s ethereal score, this dazzling apocalyptic immersion blends cosmic 16mm black-and-white images of Yugoslavian architecture with a deadpan Tilda Swinton voiceover, resulting in a profound lyrical rumination on the end of days. Read full review
90
Screen DailyFeb 28, 2020
Last And First Men is a stunning work of beauty and horror. Read full review
83
The Film StageEd FranklFeb 28, 2020
This is Jóhannsson’s first and last film, and its hard not to recognize that this is a director who arrived fully formed as a visual artist. His dreamy combination of sound and images, the editing and pacing, and his use of Sturla Brandth Grøvlen’s grainy 16mm cinematography combine with strange potency. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterDeborah YoungFeb 28, 2020
Halfway between fiction and documentary, Last and First Men is a visionary work about the final days of humankind that stretches the audience’s ability to imagine not only an immense time frame reaching over billions of years, but huge steps in human evolution. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleJosh KupeckiJan 26, 2022
Last and Future Men is a haunting film of melancholic beauty, but hidden within are stubbornly persistent elements of hope. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineWilliam RepassDec 13, 2021
The push and pull between gradual buildup and apocalyptic rupture allows the film to infiltrate the mind and recalibrate our sensitivity to time. Read full review
70
The New York TimesBen KenigsbergDec 10, 2021
Johannsson’s stark, uncompromising passion project is always striking to the eye even in moments when the narrative lulls. Read full review
60
The GuardianPeter BradshawJul 30, 2020
Last and First Men is an interesting if minor work, perhaps comparable to Nikolaus Geyrhalter’s Homo Sapiens or Michael Madsen’s Into Eternity. Read full review
60
EmpireKambole CampbellJul 28, 2020
An unconventional and imperfect first work of a career that would have been fascinating to watch unfold, Jóhannsson’s images are just as strong as his typically excellent, haunting musical composition. Read full review
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80 Critic Reviews

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