[The soliloquy scene
from
the 1985 film
from New Zealand
by director
Geoff Murphy,
"The Quiet Earth",
featuring
Bruno Lawrence.]
The story concerns a man
(Zac Hobson, a Defense Scientist)
who believes he is
the Last Man left alive on earth,
after a silent and mysterious disaster of Physics
appears to have removed every human
being from the face of the planet.
He begins by bravely trying to "carry on",
and to try to discover what has happened.
He looks everywhere for others, but finds no one.
Time passes, and he has been alone so long
by this point in the film
that he has almost gone completely insane
from sheer loneliness.
In this scene
he is wearing a woman's slip
that he found in a closet,
because even the smell
of another human being
has become so precious
(and yet so heartbreaking) to him,
that he simply must surround himself
with whatever he can
to maintain his contact with lost humanity.
Zac Hobson has decided
that he must say out loud
what is in his heart,
even though there is no one to listen.
He furiously patches together
a series of reel to reel tape recorders,
which he can turn on an off
with a remote control.
Then he makes a "crowd"
on the lawn of his estate
of full-length,
life-sized cut-out pictures
of famous people:
the Pope, Queen Elizabeth,
Adolph Hitler, Richard Nixon,
and others.
Then, standing on his balcony,
and addressing this "crowd" of cut-outs,
he denounces his part in the tragedy
that has destroyed all human life.
He wears a toga like a Roman Emperor
for the speech, which he tosses over
the shoulder of his slip.
As he makes his points in the soliloquy,
he punctuates them
with roars of tape-recorded applause,
probably taken from Hitler's rallies
in Germany before World War II.
At the very end of his speech,
the power running all his equipment fails,
the sound of the tape-recorded applause
drags to a stop,
the lights all go out,
and he is left alone in the dark
with his horror and self-loathing.
In his heart, he has just
sentenced himself to death
for his part
in the destruction of the world,
after declaring himself
to be its "President".
Fortunately, after this scene,
his terrible loneliness comes to an end.
+++
"For the Common Good"
I have
dedicated
all
my scientific
knowledge and skill
to projects
which
I knew
could be put
to evil purposes.
"For
the Common Good!",
"they" SAID.
[Zac
presses a button
on his remote control,
starting up
several tape recorders
which broadcast
the sounds of a roaring,
approving crowd.
Then he abruptly
cuts the applause
short.]
How EASY to believe
in "The Common Good",
when that belief
is rewarded with
Status,
Wealth,
and
Power!
How hard to believe in
"The Common Good",
when every fiber of my being
tells me
that the awesome forces
I have helped to create
have been put into the hands
of MADMEN!!!
[The tape-recorders
are turned on again,
and the "crowd" roars
enthusiastically, then
is cut short
by remote control.]
I've been gagged
by the vomit
of my own corruption!!
Is it not 'fitting' then,
that I be President...
of this...
Quiet...
Earth?
[Now the tape
recorders play again.
This time a drum march
blares out,
as if an Execution
may be about to take place.]
I've been
CONDEMNED TO LIVE.
[The taped crowd goes wild,
and chants of "Sieg Heil!"
are repeated.
Then, suddenly,
the power is cut short,
the lights dim,
and the tape recorders
roll to a halt.
All is silence.
The scene ends.]
+++
[The Video segment of
"The Quiet Earth"
(for this soliloquy scene)
can be found online at:
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