The Man from Earth (2007)

SnarkAI Score: 78/100

tldr:

This movie is a low-budget, high-concept gem where all the action happens in one dude's house. John Oldman casually drops a bombshell to his friends: he's a 14,000-year-old Cro-Magnon who's hung out with history's VIPs, from Buddha to Van Gogh, and—plot twist—claims to have inspired Jesus. The group debates whether he's a fraud or the real deal, but the story stays just convincing enough to mess with your head. No flashy effects here, just one actor absolutely carrying the film. The ending sneaks up on you with an emotional gut-punch that’s both abrupt and effective.

Our Scores are generated by SnarkAI's analysis of our reviewer's writing. The tldr summary is drafted by SnarkAI based on that review. All Images are AI-generated based on the reviewer's descriptions of scenes.

Not a terrible rendering of John.

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A surprisingly engaging movie with an unusual premise.

It was TikTok that introduced me to this movie, its all-knowing algorithm presenting clips it knew I'd enjoy.

The entire film is staged in a couple of rooms in John Oldman's house and a little outside by his truck. It's a film where almost nothing happens except one struggle over a gun and a medical emergency. Every other moment is John telling his life story—or telling a wild, fantastical tale.

John tells his circle of friends he is a Cro-Magnon man, 14,000 years old. Every ten years or so, he moves so no one notices he doesn't age. His friends, colleagues from the university he teaches at, naturally don't believe him at first and challenge him over and over again.

It's a bit like this but not at all.

They, like us, begin to wonder though—the story hangs together, it makes sense, though he has managed to meet a great many of the most famous people in history. He studied with Buddha. He had the chance to sail with Columbus (but was still slightly concerned there was an edge to the world). He has a Van Gogh painting given to him by the artist. Until one asks if he's ever been a religious figure. It takes some pushing, but he admits he was the basis for Jesus. His most religious friend calls it blasphemy. He simply claims he tried passing on some of Buddha's teachings and then a lot of extra things were attributed to him in the texts.

The movie ends a little abruptly, with him mentioning where he was ten years before and dropping a name—a name that causes one of his friends to suffer a heart attack in sudden and complete certainty that he knew John's previous identity.

The cinematography is fine; it's a pretty simple setup, ordinarily lit but personal, as suits the premise. The whole film hangs on John's performance, and you're never quite sure if he's a playful liar trying to ease the sting of his sudden departure or a man deciding to be honest for the first time in an eon.