Zac Hobson discovers and faces this predicament, struggles against the inevitable mental collapse at his plight, and then recovers himself through his own will and resourcefulness.

Grasping his situation, he is by turns euphoric as he ransacks a mall for toys, and bereft as he struggles without human companionship. He stumbles through the until taking up residence in a grand home which he inhabits with cardboard characters – including Adolph Hitler, Queen Elizabeth, Richard Nixon and the Pope ("you had your chance" he tells ‘Hitler’) - and a sound system that allows the cut-outs to ‘applaud’ his every utterance. He attacks a church in an attempt to oust God – "If you don’t come out, I’ll shoot the kid," he yells, pointing his shotgun at the crucifix.

A later US movie, Leaving Las Vegas, has to my mind a similarly well drawn and honest examination of a man who is in deep distress; both films for the most part show the resolute courage of a man who refuses to fake his situation, despite the tragedy of the situation in which they find themselves (in the case of Nicholas Cage’s Leaving Las Vegas character, the situation  he has put himself in).

Zac does eventually find two other human beings, setting up a unique love triangle - "I wouldn’t sleep with you if you were the last man on earth," Alison Routledge tells Bruno’s rival; "I’m working on it!" he throws back - that stumbles onto the cause of the disaster, and a risky repair they can attempt to prevent further disaster.

Both subtle and apocalyptic, its quiet power shows it as a remarkably developed film of a familiar science fiction theme that Bruno Lawrence and director Geoff Murphy  lift by the power of their craft. It works despite an ever-present smack of ludditery, and large chunks of anti-Americanism. Bruno is superb as a resourceful and thoughtful man who must come to terms with the tragedy of his situation; Murphy's imagery is arrestingly powerful in his depiction of Zac’s struggle.

His final scene grabs me every time.