When the end of the world is announced, Robinson Laborde is recovering from a failed love affair, for which he had decided to leave his wife. Despite the looming disaster, or perhaps because of it, he embarks on a romantic odyssey that takes him through France and Spain. With a cast including Catherine Frot, Karin Viard and Sergi Lopez, Les Derniers jours du monde revisits Arnaud and Jean-Marie Larrieu’s favoured themes of freedom, random encounters, and desire in the mode of a Hollywood disaster movie. The film flirts with science fiction, but also resonates with contemporary reality in its depiction of the dangers of a mystery virus. But the main story is age-old: the soul-searching of a man seeking love in a chaotic world. 2009 Toronto International Film Festival 2009 Locarno International Film Festival