Roses Have Thoughts

Some films aim high and miss, and then there are films like 2019: After the Fall of New York, a low-budget, Mad Max-meets-Escape from New York clone that lands squarely in the guilty pleasure zone. Directed by Sergio Martino, this 1983 Italian post-apocalyptic adventure is gloriously derivative, brazenly pulpy, and weirdly engaging. For those who enjoy their science fiction with a layer of 1980s Eurotrash grit, it’s a surprisingly enjoyable ride.

Set in a future devastated by nuclear war, the film opens with Earth divided between the fascistic Eurac Monarchy and a resistance group known as the Federation. Most of the planet is infertile, and mankind is on the verge of extinction. Enter Parsifal (Michael Sopkiw), a stoic, muscle-bound loner hired to infiltrate New York, a now walled-off ruin, and retrieve the last fertile woman alive. What follows is a gauntlet of mutants, laser fights, monkey-men, and techno-fascists, all rendered in splendidly clunky fashion.

Sopkiw, while hardly a thespian, carries the role of Parsifal with the kind of rugged, B-movie bravado that suits the material. He’s not asked to do much beyond shoot, scowl, and occasionally philosophise about the end of the world, and in this regard, he delivers precisely what’s needed. Anna Kanakis brings a touch of elegance as Giara, a fellow freedom fighter, while cult favourite George Eastman steals the show as Big Ape, a half-man, half-beast warrior whose presence adds a delightfully absurd edge.

What makes 2019: After the Fall of New York work, against all logic, is its sheer commitment to its own mythology. Martino and his team go all-in on the production design, using miniatures, recycled props, and fog-drenched locations to conjure a convincingly desolate wasteland. There’s a handmade charm to the film’s effects, which, though clearly budget-constrained, are inventive and often bold in execution.

The screenplay is a mishmash of sci-fi clichés and dystopian prophecy, with characters delivering lines like “The future belongs to those who survive!” in all seriousness. Yet it’s this lack of irony that gives the film its edge. Unlike many modern apocalyptic films, 2019 isn’t winking at the audience, it’s genuinely trying to thrill, to shock, and even to inspire, however clumsily.

Some viewers may find the pacing uneven and the dubbing distractingly flat. The action sequences are more enthusiastic than polished, and the film’s ideas, about eugenics, war, and survival, are handled with a heavy hand. But to criticise 2019: After the Fall of New York for its lack of subtlety is to miss the point. This is an unrefined genre of filmmaking with ambition, heart, and a lot of leather.

In short, it’s a scrappy, synthesiser-soaked slice of dystopian escapism. You might laugh, you might wince, but you won’t be bored. For fans of cult sci-fi cinema, this is a faded gem worth a watch.

IMDB