Walk or die

The bulk of Francis Lawrence's filmography is monopolized by the franchise of The Hunger GamesAt first glance, no one would think of him as an author with recurring obsessions, but there is a certain poetic logic to his interest in bringing his work to the screen. The Great WalkPublished in Catalan byMales Herbes, an early Stephen King novel, also presents a dystopian scenario where young people are offered as sacrifices. However, in this case, we are not in a fantastical realm, but in an alternate version of the United States (to which the current context lends an undisguised Trumpian air), where an annual competition is held in which 50 young people (one from each state) are chosen for an endurance test meant to serve as an example and moral elevation. It consists of a march with rules as simple as they are merciless: the moment they falter or stop, a soldier will shoot them in the head. Only one walker can remain, who will receive a monetary reward and the granting of a wish.

It's worth celebrating that Lawrence doesn't stray from this premise, focusing on describing the situation, from its most painfully physical and scatological aspects (when was the last time we saw shit in a Hollywood movie?) to the unexpected camaraderie and frictions of a path towards extinction that, from the noble codes of genre cinema, advances in parallel to titles like Gerry by Gus Van Sant or the bitter Punishment Park of the recently disappeared Peter Watkins.