Carlobianchi and Doriano, two broke, rogue-ish fifty-somethings with a ‘never skip the last drink’ philosophy, meet Giulio, a shy architecture student adrift in life. What starts as a chance encounter turns into a chaotic road trip through the Venetian plains - where bad advice, hangovers, and unexpected friendship redraw Giulio’s plans for life and love.

The Garden Cinema View:

There’s a touch of Aki Kaurismäki as well as Wim Wenders in this drunken and circuitous road trip. Our Quixotic heroes are Carlobianchi and Doriano, petty crooks and serious drinkers who appear transplanted from another decade (Carlobianchi resembles a particularly dishevelled Bruno Ganz). There’s Kaurismäki’s boozing and Americana, as well as Wenders’ endless roads and expressive lighting. A young architect student they pick up along the way might have stumbled out of Alice Rohrwacher’s La chimera.

Massimiliano Kuveiller’s 16mm cinematography helps bind The Last One for the Road to these cinematic forebearers. His unusual angles and soft Veneto vistas imbue each scene with a whimsical charm. And whilst there’s a melancholy to this slightly worn out pair, it’s played with a mischievous, rather than maudlin, sensibility.

A disarmingly delightful, quasi Beckettian odyssey powered by gallons of beer and grappa.    

Cast:
Filippo Scotti, Sergio Romano, Pierpaolo Capovilla