The Man from Earth (2007): An impromptu goodbye party for Professor John Oldman becomes a mysterious interrogation after the retiring scholar reveals to his colleagues he is an immortal who has walked the earth for 14,000 years.

This is my favorite indie movie of the year. This movie had a very low budget, it has no action scenes, in fact the whole movie takes place in a living room, plus a couple of scenes just outside the barn.

Most of it was people sitting in that living room and talking. I actually think this would make a great play. But the dialog is so stimulating, it never feels tiring or boring at all. The conversation they have is very intelligent without being academic.

This felt like a classic sci-fi story written by Dick or someone like that. It is very much about philosophy, history, religion, but again without feeling boring or academic.

It basically starts with the concept of a 14000 years old man, and it explores the concept in many different aspects. Through history, psychology, anthropology. In the third act there is a huge revelation which I found fascinating, if a bit controversial. It also brings to high level of emotions within the group.

Since this is a low budget movie, there are no stars. However we have seen all these actors somewhere before. We are all familiar with their faces and they all give good performances.

I do have some problems with it. I like the score in general, but I don’t think the faster theme worked for me. This is the one we hear when John first tells them about himself.

Some SPOILERS FOLLOW, so please seek out this great movie on DVD.

I don’t like how they all believed that it was a hoax just like that, when it was obvious that Will was basically forcing John to give up.

Also I am not sure the end scene with Will works. I mean, I like the twist, but I don’t know if the execution works. Their reaction to what happened didn’t feel realistic at all. Also did John know? If he did why wouldn’t he just leave, or even tell them?

I also have a little difficulty believing that he managed not to die for so many years. I mean he does get injured, we don’t know that he cannot die of external causes. But the fact that he was never close to that is fishy.

However these are all minor annoyances. I really like this movie and wish that everybody would go out and watch it.

Rating: 4 Stars