Twelve years ago, a plague swept through, wiping out most of the population; in San Francisco, only 186 people remain. Two of them use jury-rigged batteries to power a camera and make a documentary. We see a variety of approaches to survival, from the artist and engineer who trade for their needs, to the surfers and woodsmen who fish and hunt, to the scavengers, and a communal farm. We also see how the community deals with those who threaten it, and how the youth are growing up with different values from those who knew our world.
It's an intriguing idea, ingeniously done (on a scant budget), but you have to swallow a good many implausibilities too, along with some variable improv.
– ,
Time Out,
30 Sep 2006
fresh:
Continually tickles the mind while leaving a heavy lump in the chest, establishing and sustaining a unique low-key tone of mystery and dread.
– Robert Koehler,
Variety,
23 Nov 2006
rotten:
The performances in the film are so remarkable it's easy to ignore the implausibilities that surface. But even as its self-aware approximation of the doc format startles, Ever Since the World Ended lacks vigor.
– Ed Gonzalez,
Village Voice,
9 Jan 2007
fresh:
Ever Since the World Ended is a faux documentary with a twist, a rudimentary yet fascinating record of remembrance and reconstruction.