When you have nothing to lose, you have everything to gain! Léo and Al become friends as our century draws to a close. On the onehand, Al admits that he is "a virgin but a man of science". On the other, Léo innocently follows his impulses. Both develop an eccentric complicity that isolates them from the outside world. Time passes and Leo and Al continue to live happily on the fringe. Our two friends meet another guy, Ed, who is pretty ordinary. He works for the national electricity company, has bought a house on a twenty-year mortgage and is stuck in traffic every night on his way home from work. That morning, when Ed comes to read the meter in Al's apartment,they tell him the news: the world is due to end at 11:58 tonight!...
Writing
Dialogue that weaponizes deadpan absurdity against mundane dread.
Acting
Demolon's Léo — pure chaotic impulse in human form.
Direction
Joffrin builds apocalyptic tension from nothing but vibes and clocks.
Director
Nicolas Joffrin
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Released months before France's World Cup '98 victory, capturing pre-millennial French anxiety about identity and purpose.
The 11:58 timestamp references the Doomsday Clock's closest approach to midnight in 1991; Joffrin claimed he 'stole from atomic scientists.'
FR
