Review

The Man From Earth is a strange movie. It is a really low-fi science-fiction movie but without anything you’d normally expect from the genre. There are no explosions, no scenes set in outer-space and no time travel or post-apocalyptic setting. But what there is is ideas, and plenty of them.

Set pretty much entirely within the protagonist’s living room the story revolves around him confessing to his intellectual colleagues that he has explored the earth for over fourteen thousand years. What follows is a 12 Angry Men style discussion, with questions, answers and opinions.

Deeply philosophical, profound and intellectually moving. If you like movies that make you think, if you like movies with a message about our species, life and death, religion, the unknown possibilities of life, this film is for you. This is the type of film that’ll linger for a while.

IMDB comment by Sixu

This is exactly how I felt as I journeyed with those in the movie as they listened to the revelations which were suddenly thrown upon then. There were a few times where I wished I could be part of the movie, I wanted to ask questions, listen to the answers and be part of the conversation.

However, the movie is a let down in a few areas. Firstly there is the acting which is definitely sub-par, some of the dialogue was hollow and the delivery was embarrassing in places. I like a movie which is nice to look at, however, this movie features a very bland, Dogme style cinematography with some very awkward shots and composition.

I still recommend this to those who like conversational movies, those which you can discuss the ideas with friends for hours. The concepts will stay with you and haunt you when you’ve got a moment to contemplate on life.