Clevercell
Very disappointing...
FirstWitch
A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.
Geraldine
The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.
sadenoo-665-566356
This is not at all what I expected. The film depicts what happens to one man who finds himself as the last survivor of the planet after a nuclear exchange. Emerging from a bunker, where the radiation has killed off everyone else, he comes out of a military bunker, begins his search for other life. This film is especially important today with the Nuclear threat being greater than it has been in 30 years. The hero is washed ashore on some Far Eastern Island, has food and shelter and nothing else, no animals, nothing. Is alone and isolated. I wondered as I watch it, How would I have coped. By the time the film was half over, I had an overwhelming respect and appreciation for my wife, and dog. I don't think I will ever be the same after watching it.
marshalskrieg
The Noah is a tale of humanity's sole survivor after world war three. We find our 'protagonist' (the term barely applies) alone on an island beach, he is an old dog US soldier. Soon he succumbs to the agony of total loneliness, and this is the film- we are exposed to his delusional and hallucinatory world, made up mostly of nostalgic political/military themed reminiscences. This is the last movie role for Robert Strauss (a sturdy character actor who was all over the silver screen during the 1950's). Strauss is the only actor in the movie, a challenge that he pulls off superbly. The film was made in Puerto Rico in 1968, was never theatrically released, and was first seen in 1975- this is a very obscure film.The beginning and ending suited me nicely, be sure to look for the various cultural icons that are generously sprinkled throughout (The famous Rita Hayworth WW2 pinup poster, busts of chairman Mao, etc.) The ending does contain suspense and a haunting moment, but I don't think anyone under 35 yrs of age will 'get it'. I gave The Noah five out of ten stars because this film needed to have about 15 minutes edited out, its a tad boring or tedious sometimes.
gengar843
This is a movie about America and generational shifts. The fact that it was originally shot in 1968 should give you a clue. Plot: old-school army veteran is stranded alone on an enemy (communist China) island outpost sometime after nuclear holocaust (presumably). There are several plot-lines which must resolve during the course of the film.The first is, How does a man - any man - deal with absolute loneliness and the hopelessness associated with knowing that no one else exists in the entire world? Of course, this a step or two beyond Tom Hanks' Cast Away, as there is hope for Hanks, even if the pathos at that movie's end is also debasing. For Robert Strauss, the tour-de-force participant and titular "The Noah," the resolution is quite dramatic if entirely expected. I won't spoil the actual progression of Noah's self-awareness or madness, as the case may be, but I would like to comment that it's not as cleverly done as Cast Away. On the other hand, the impact of The Noah is exceptional, and with subtlety.The second resolution must be, How does a World War 2 dog-of-war deal with the modern (for 1968) age? This is handled on several levels, some with skill, some with a ham fist - your view on which are which will likely be tied to your birth year. Those of "the greatest generation" will possibly feel a great sympathy for the lead character, while those of the "hippie generation" could find themselves alternately awed then nonplussed (younger than that, and you'll be lost, except as it concerns fictional empathy). Not that director Daniel Bourla gave Strauss much more material than playing off old audio tapes from history; or that the screen writing called for a narrow range of emotions, from crotchetiness to self-pity. This is the main weakness of the film itself.The third resolution must be the filmmaker's (and thus your) view of America, especially in juxtaposition with communism. Will you be disgusted, cheered, or bored by the "army" of Chairman Mao busts? Where will you fall in the melange of flags, uniforms, culture shifts, and overarching philosophies? I found the movie to be quite schizophrenic in this regard, and that added another stratum of complexity to an already meaty subject. Just to mention one scene, after the "graduation" the "natives" become restless and it appears that a revolution is brewing; the manner in which The Noah attempts to meet this challenge is fascinating but at the same time quite excruciating since there is little doubt on the end-game and therefore not a lot of tension.Other implications from 1968 are apparent here and there: (1) the obvious counter-cultural message from Friday and Anne-Friday; (2) the overbearing war soundtrack; (3) the selection and arrangement of historical excerpts. Most of this is a bludgeoning message and therefore may be disregarded as so much era-centered squealing.On the very plus side, the finale will mark you. It is deeply etching and undeniably disturbing. It is not that it ices a cake, but that it is the cake. We learn in fact that the entire movie was a baking process leading to a product, which is the final few minutes. It will make you judge the rest of the film that much more harshly, but maybe that's good.
j_chy
I think that someone was trying to be allegorical. They Failed.The first 2/3 of the film are mildly interesting as Noah invents friends and something resembling _DRAMA_ shows up, you almost feel as if maybe a _PLOT_ might ensue. There are nascent _CHARACTERS_ and some minor _CONFLICTS_ hinting that a larger conflict could occur. (Protagonist is up the tree, we know that rocks can be thrown at him.. and we are eagerly anticipating the first volley...) But then....nothing happens.The final third of the film degrades into a cacophony of a history-buff's self-serving game with an audio tape recorder. All links to plot, allegory, drama, character, conflict, and sanity are severed. Maybe this is supposed to represent Noah's ever-less-grounded state of mind, but the degree of his grasp on reality was well-established earlier in the film and the noise becomes as annoying as a Phillip Glass composition.Now to 2 small details worth mentioning: 1)There are some weak humorous points such as Noah's ability to construct a latrine or Noah's resemblance to one of the Marx Brothers. 2)The in-your-face allusion to The 10 Commandments was out of place and over the top.
