Le Dernier Combat
The film opens to a shot of an abandoned office, where the main character (Pierre Jolivet), who is only identified as 'The Man' in the end credits, is having intercourse with a sex doll.The Man is then seen attempting to salvage parts from abandoned vehicles, but returns to his dwelling empty handed, where he works on building a makeshift aircraft.The Man, who has been observing the survivors, makes his way to their camp, stabs their leader, 'The Captain' (Fritz Wepper) and retrieves a car battery.The Brute rings a bell, and 'The Doctor' (Jean Bouise), instructs him to place the canned goods on the ground and back away from the door.The Brute returns to the hospital with a new box of items, though this time he constructs a device that will keep the door open long enough for him to enter the building.The plan works, however, once back inside the building The Doctor pulls a lever which closes a secondary iron bar gate preventing The Brute from entering.Thinking of all the other abandoned buildings there must be in Paris, Besson decided to create a world where all these places were together, and combined this idea with a previous suggestion that he make a feature-length version of his 1981 debut short film, L'Avant Dernier."[11] Steve Macfarlane from Not Coming to a Theater Near You gave a moderately positive review, stating "While the film's heart is syrupy-sentimental (who's shocked?"[12] Janet Maslin from The New York Times called it "a bravura first film, using the simplest means, yet managing to incorporate humor, pathos, suspense and even a well-articulated definition of basic human needs."[13] Dave Kehr from the Chicago Reader also gave a positive review, stating: "The absence of dialogue ... is a cleverly executed stunt, but it is also an effective alibi for a technically proficient filmmaker who really has nothing to say.