luc besson first work be also his first foray in science fiction and a genre to which he will return fourteen year later with the fifth element ( 1997 ) . even if this film be strongly influence by hollywood cinema and it be still highly enjoyable . back in 1983 and le dernier combat reveals besson own approach of science fiction . he take back a threadbare topic and his effort be discernible to make a stylish work . shot in widescreen and black and white and a disaster have destroy virtually all the population from earth and we will never know what be this disaster and why men can not talk any more . some barbarian horde be form . in parallel and a man ( pierre jolivet ) live on his own and arrive in an unrecognizable paris where he be receive by a doctor ( jean bouise ) . there be no word in besson work . the character action and the progression of the event go through look and gesture . although the start point and the backdrop be unnerve and the film have never the look of a despondent one . it seem that the man and the doctor try to reproduce gesture and action link to mankind before the disaster . the film open with the man have sex with an inflatable doll . later and the doctor try to make him speak through a machine and he be a painter in his spare time . it all the more intriguing a these painting seem to come from the prehistoric time . follow this reasoning and one could argue that the beard giant ( jean reno ) embody evil and a threat to the effort deploy by the man and the doctor to regain what finally make a human be . ditto for the gang of baddie at the beginning of the film . the pessimistic whiff that such a film could convey isn not really at the fore and give way to a glimmer of hope . personally and the film could have gain with no music at all and except the one the man can hear with his cassette recorder . luc besson be to make good and still entrance film like this one and he also boost pierre jolivet career a a director who will leave a patchy work behind him in the future represent force majeure ( 1989 ) and simple mortel ( 1991 ) and ma petite entreprise ( 1999 ) or fille uniques ( 2003 ) .