Introduction
The Decline is a 2020 French-language Canadian survival thriller that examines a chilling question: What happens when people trying to prepare for the end of the world trip for it instead? Patrice Laliberté’s feature directorial debut tells the harrowing yet measured story of a group of ordinary people thrust into deeply extraordinary circumstances. The story’s chilling tension is an exploration of the line that exists between survivalism and self-destruction. It features a runtime just shy of 90 minutes, and is efficient, succinct, and engrossing.
The film is set in the Quebec snowy wilderness and is one of the differentiating features of the film’s bleak atmosphere, moral ambiguity, and grounded performances. It is the first film from Quebec to be produced by Netflix, proving that Canadian cinema is capable of the stripped-down, provocative narratives that the world is in dire need of.
Plot Summary
The film opens by introducing Antoine, a moderately unthreatening family man who is increasingly anxious about the state of the world. He is an obsessive micromanager, whose prepping obsession includes everything from emergency food supplies to escape routes and the practice of a mental conditioning for a potential societal collapse. He goes to the extreme of enrolling into an in-person survival training course with an elite survivalist instructor heotically Alain.
Alain runs his program from an isolated compound deep in the Quebec woods, which is covered in snow. Calm, confident, and welcoming are the first thoughts that come to mind when thinking about his deep-woods demeanor. He brings together a group of six people, which includes an ex-soldier named Antoine and Rachel, a soldier and a former soldier, François, a reclusive heavyweight, David, an eager, competitive survivalist, Anna, a soft-spoken observer, and Sébastien, a naive but kind rookie.
Structured around a pervasive framework of training to respond to emergencies, the group is first taught to emerge to trap wildlife, handle firearms, and store supplies. This is when everything starts to come undone. Order within the group collapses after a training accident kills one participant. In the midst of panic, there is a dispute around what to do next, either reporting the accident to the authorities, or covering it up to avoid outside interference.
This turning point is where the story diverges. Alain, who was a rational leader, starts losing his grip and acting the exact opposite erratically, perceiving the whole outside world as an impending threat. This is around the same time when the population begins dividing into two groups. One tries escaping society to protect the so-called “burden” from the rest of the world and the accident, while the rest are stuck in hiding and wish to isolate themselves.
What comes next is a psychological dive into the depths of paranoia, warfare, dread, and turmoil. The forest morphs into a battlefield, and the compound—a orderly training ground—becomes a deadly snare. As the need to survive takes over, the group shatters into irreparable fragments, and the characters undergo an emotional odyssey to make struggle to survive decisions that become moral paradoxes.
Characters
Antoine – a Regular man turned
Antoine – A Regular man turned
Alain – Leader of the camp, and as a new character to the story marks the
Rachel – an ex soldir and a calm person. She tend to bail out of the hard situation first and can be controlled
François – The strong a silent type
David, Anna and Sebastien – The supporting character
In the composition of the character, the ensemble cast manage to capture the raw emotion of a person caught under duress in an unexpected situation.
Survival and Paranoia
Survival vs Paranoia
The Blend is not only about the struggle to survive in the wilderness but also the psychological fight to survive from fear of the people around you. The movie analyzes the difference between being rational and being overly obsessive. The learning is proactive but becomes a process of free-for-all mistrust.
Control and Authority
Alain’s descent into obsession with order devolves into dictatorial behavior which in-turn illustrates the risks of authoritarianism, in even the smallest collectives. His assumption that he is a lone guiding light and his intolerance to differing views becomes a principal threat to the group’s safety.
Ethical Collapse
The film analyzes how fast people can let go of morals or ethics in the face of an unpredictable challenge. Characters start the film as rational, good people but they are quickly turned into perceived “others.” It poses the question of, “under sustained pressure, what becomes of us”?
Nature as a Mirror
The harsh, and chilling wilderness of Quebec acts as a blank canvas. It mirrors the lack of care one receives from the outside world which is equally devoid of civilized law and order. It reflects the underlying chilling isolation and utter despair amidst the collective group.
Cinematography and Style
The Decline features a minimalist aesthetic. The cinematography is clean and simple. It uses a lot of natural light and soft color palettes. The snow covering every scene enhances the characters’ isolation and vulnerability.
The action scenes, though short, are straight to the point. The violence is sparse, abrupt, and gritty in a way that feels disturbing, unlike the polished action we see in Hollywood films. The sound design includes long silences that are occasionally interrupted by footsteps, the sound of snow, or quiet breathing.
The editing is seamless and accelerated in a way that flows from one climax to the next. It is fast, but not too fast to feel rushed. The film is purposeful and does not dawdle.
Reception
The Decline was praised by critics and viewers alike for the tight and tense story, atmosphere, and seamless blend of character-driven drama and suspense. The film sparked debate, with some viewers seeing it as a commentary on the collapse and polarization of society. Others simply admired it as a well-crafted, chilling thriller.
The praise was especially high for the acting, with Guillaume Laurin as Antoine and Réal Bossé as Alain receiving acclaim. Their performances showcased the ideological struggle at the heart of the film—one character wants to ensure safety by preparing, while the other seeks it through domination.
The movie made history as the first Quebec production to be “picked up” by a major international streamer and as such, it received much more regional and international exposure than most Quebec thrillers ever get.
The Decline is a gripping survival thriller. It is visceral, raw, and claustrophobic, bringing to mind some of the best action cinema from the last 30 years. Instead of lavish embellishments, the film utilizes smart writing and well-defined characters to offer a reality-based experience steeped in paranoia and distrust.
For the consciously minded who voraciously watch thrillers, The Decline is more than just a film; it is a reality check. The depiction of a world coming to an end is skin-deep as the film goes far deeper to emphasize that the ‘end’ starts within ourselves.
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