One of the first things that struck me was the atittude toward death that the film takes. It quickly becomes apparent that the father makes no attempt to disguise or hide death from his son, unlike in most other films where every effort would be made to shield a child from it. You realise that the situation they are in demands a different outlook on death, no just because it is so apparent, but because of the hoplessesness of the situation. Although the pair have the goal of reaching the coast and heading south, this is more for the mere comfort of having something to work towards than that out of genuine hope that it will improve their situation. You are forced to accept that it is no longer about whether or not you will die, simply about how and when you will.

This is presented most strickingly in the flashbacks detailing events both before and after the apocalyptic event, culminatimng in the man's wife, stoney-faced to his desperate pleading and reasoning, taking off her warm clothes and walking out into the freezing night because she cannot continue lviing in such a hpless situation. This was the most moving part of the film for me - the fact that this woman has simply run out of reasons for existing; its not that she wants to die, simply that she no longer wants to continue living. This is echoed in the 'present day' in the form of a revolver the father carries at all times, and keeps loaded with their last two bullets.

The main struggles continually with maintaining what he has always told his son; that they are the 'good guys'. On a number of occasions he has the option to leave people to die, or kill them himself and he must choose between his ruthless survival instinct and his almost forgotten humanitarian morality - often voiced by his son. Throughout the film, he sees himself as the one protecting, guiding and teaching his son his son that the world wasn't always so evil, its not until much later that he realises actually his son is the only thing keeping him sane and giving him the will to continue and the one who is keeping them both 'human'.

The concept of what makes us human reappears a number of times in the film in a number of forms. There is the father who although seeking the best for his son finds himself comitting inhuman acts. The son, despite having no experience of pre-apocalypse civilisation stuggles continually with concepts of humanity - often finding himseflf asking whether they are still the good guys. The canibals forsake their humanity in favour of survival - revealed shockingly when the father and son break into a sealed celler to find it full of naked, half-starved people, many with brutaly severed limbs, being kept for food. This is the only point in the film when the father shields the sons eyes.

Unlike many apocalyptic films, there is no end in sight, the situation is entirely without a silver lineing. However, although sad and in places even destressing, it is not depressing. It will challenge the way you think and I sincerly recomaned it.