The End of Man 1971

A mysterious man Finis Hominis emerges naked from the ocean and quietly sets in motion a chain of events that reshapes life in a small coastal town, then ripples outward to the country and eventually to the world.

As he wanders through the town unclothed, he begins to affect people in unexpected ways. He helps a woman in a wheelchair walk by startling her into running, and he later intervenes to rescue a woman and her child from attackers simply by his startling presence. His actions draw attention, and his arrival in the community becomes a strange catalyst for change.

He moves into a well-decorated home of a woman, who, upon seeing him, retreats to her wardrobe and selects several outfits for him to wear. The ensemble—the ornate turban, the sash, and a pointed baton—transforms his appearance as he strides through the streets of Santos, gathering more followers and admiration with each step. He does not react to the growing adulation with surprise; instead, he accepts it with a calm, almost blank, deadpan demeanor that unsettles as much as it fascinates.

A pivotal moment unfolds in a church, where he approaches the altar, fills a chalice with holy water, and drinks from it. A priest watches intently and Utters, > “Finis hominis.” The man asks, “What?” The priest repeats, > “Finis hominis, the end of man.” The exchange underscores the sense that something larger-than-life may be at work, blurring the line between faith, myth, and spectacle.

When questioned by the police after an assault on a photographer, he pauses and states his name, a moment that cements his enigmatic identity in the public imagination. From there, his rumored miracles—saving an adulteress and a young girl—propel him into the realm of a messianic figure. Crowds multiply as he travels, and leaders around the world warn of the dangers and potential supernatural powers attributed to him.

As the phenomenon grows, he announces that the time has come for him to depart and delivers a farewell speech from a mountaintop that is broadcast to audiences worldwide. In the final scene, two men in white uniforms watch his approach and remark, “Here he comes. I told you. He always returns.” The camera pulls back to reveal the haunting irony: Finis Hominis has returned to the place where it all began—the confines of an insane asylum.