The Last Frontier

This short shows one possible future. A society where "privatization" has run amok and the homeless problem has been turned over to private corporations.

The ideas presented are interesting if somewhat bleak and if your idea of a brilliant movie is a dreary, depressing, black and white film that dwells on a societal problem without presenting any real new insights and without any real hope, then this is your must-see movie of 2003.

"The Last Frontier" is a not-so-subtle take on corporate America stripping away an individual's identity. Unfortunately, director and writer Bob Hercules feels that this lesson is best delivered via a ball-peen hammer to the face. All lack of subtlety aside, the actual aesthetic of this film is underwhelming as to make the viewing of this film a chore even at twenty minutes. Don't look for the acting to save this one either, as every single homeless person shown in the film are so unconvincing in their roles that you almost wonder if instead this film's a commentary on desperate actors. The only highlight is Ernest Perry, Jr.'s turn as the TV man, even though the existence of the character itself is another annoyance and additional layer of an over-arching problem with this film - completely artless social commentary. 3/10.

Bob Hercules uses the metaphor of a homeless man as a brilliant analogy for the quest for individuality in an increasingly corporate and structured world.

His point can be summed up in this quote from the movie: "If you've lived your whole life in a cage, the world outside the cage seems terrifying."