Contagion.

[Matthew]

www.imdb.com/title/tt1598778/

First post-apoc film of the year for me and it was a good one.

Its a thriller that tracks the spread and reaction to a virulent new strain of bird flu and how the various international bodies combat it.

I would guess that you could pick holes in the details but you need to remember that this is a Hollywood film and as such its actually got a far more 'authentic' feel to it than perhaps you might expect and its certainly does not have a conventional story 'arc'. It takes a big theme and gives it a fair treatment (no pun intended).

I would recommend it.

[edwin]

I suppose it would be a spoiler to ask if it ends "Phew! that was a close shave." or "Eek we're all alone"?

[Matthew]

I suppose its not a massive spoiler to say that the ending is not very dramatic although there is a clever little twist right at the end.

Essentially its a docu-drama about how a deadly strain of the Bird flu might show itself and be dealt with and all the mess that goes with it.

Thinking about it, its actually quite a brave move on the part of Hollywood because it certainly does not follow the usual formula and I have read of people who went to see it feeling a little let down because it does not really have any sort of conventional plot with good beating evil after the usual twists and turns.

But for anybody with an interest in pandemics or societal breakdown its worth seeing.