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Last Film Show

Play trailer 1:54 Poster for Last Film Show Released Dec 2, 2022 1h 50m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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95% Tomatometer 37 Reviews 83% Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
Samay, a 9-year-old boy living with his family in a remote village in India discovers films for the first time and is absolutely mesmerized. Against his father's wishes, he returns to the cinema day after day to watch more films, and even befriends the projectionist, who, in exchange for his lunch box, lets him watch movies for free. He quickly figures out that stories become light, light becomes films, and films become dreams. Samay and his wild gang of friends move heaven and earth to catch and project light to achieve a 35mm film projection. Together, they use an innovative hack and jubilantly succeed in making a film projection apparatus. But following your dreams often means leaving things behind.
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Last Film Show

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Critics Consensus

A love letter from a cinephile to all cinephiles, The Last Film Show pays unabashed homage to life, light, and the almost extinct 35mm experience.

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Critics Reviews

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David Stratton The Australian For those who love cinema this beautifully photographed and very well acted film will be a joy. Rated: 4.5/5 Sep 8, 2023 Full Review Namrata Joshi Screen International Cannily mixes the nostalgic celebration of movies like Giuseppe Tornatore’s Cinema Paradiso with the feel-good underdog trope of innumerable films best highlighted by Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire. Dec 23, 2022 Full Review Sheri Linden The Hollywood Reporter Bursting with life. Dec 9, 2022 Full Review Joshua Polanski Boston Hassle India’s entry at this year’s Academy Award for Best International Film, Chhello Show, or Last Film Show, is one of my favorite films of the year. Jul 10, 2024 Full Review Bhuvanesh Chandar The Hindu India’s entry to the Oscars is filmmaker Pan Nalin’s love letter to cinema, which earnestly captures the evolution of the art form and the magic of dreams. Nov 17, 2023 Full Review David Griffiths Subculture Entertainment A remarkable film which made me cry a number of times as I remembered back to when I fell in love with cinema. A true masterpiece. Rated: 5/5 Sep 19, 2023 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Laurie F Charming, moving and beautifully shot. A wonderful performance from the young lead. It's a rather simple linear tale, overtly emotional but so full of heart that it's impossible not to love it. See it on a big screen, It deserves it. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 09/19/23 Full Review Ron A Truly engaging, masterful cinema, and authentic. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 09/16/23 Full Review Peter W Overall, this is a terrific drama with many uplifting and touching moments. It's impossible not to be delighted while watching this young boy's introduction to the magical world of cinema and the birth of his desire to make films.  I love the writing for this film, which includes dialogue that feels real and natural. The leading performance from Bhavin Rabari as Samay is also tremendous.  Visually, this film can't be faulted, nor can its Indian locations and smooth filming style.  As the credits roll, it's impossible to deny that Last Film Show is a touching, memorable experience. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 09/02/23 Full Review Sarthak B I want to become a film. This is Gujarati cinema at it's peak. It really sets a new bar of expectations for me now as to how even the lowest of budgets can produce a film of this quality. Gujarati films recently have just been narrowed down to either being romance dramas or comedies (the only exception being Raado (2022)). You really can't expect anything else from a Gujarati film and for a while, even I thought that this was good for a regional movie industry as almost every film that was produced was at the very least watchable and a good escape from the normal rush of life. I myself preferred to watch Gujarati film every once in a while to satisfy that inner urge to find escapism from my day-to-day routine. Now, after seeing this film, I am really starting to despise those films. This film understands what films essentially are and what they mean to some people. The director knows not everyone in the state is going to like it and he simply does not cater to them. He just makes sure that the target audience he's going for gets the best experience they are going to get at the movies (and he succeeds at the task with flying colours). I won't spoil anything about this beautiful film to you and I will just urge you to watch this beautiful piece of art in the biggest screen possible. Not just because this film is India's official entry for the 2022 Academy Awards but because it is a step up than the regular regional films we've been getting lately. I personally connected with the film on a core level and was just crying in the climax with how beautifully it ends. The film ends with a shining ray of hope that if you like something, you've dedicated yourself to it, and you've understood everything there is to, you will get to it eventually. The road is not going to be easy, and there will be great hurdles in the way which will make you want to quit (even though you've come this far) but the stars eventually do line-up for you and give you that one chance which completely changes your life. Whether you take that chance or not is upto you because stars may not line-up for you again. I salute the makers of this film for making this and giving me the experience of a lifetime; of cinema. One thing that I would like to point out is that the film is, at times, too similar to Cinema Paradiso (1999). If you've seen that film, you'll instantly start spotting the similarities it has with the film and that can drag you out a little bit from the film. However, it does have major changes near the end of the film where it manages to make an identity of it's own in realistic and brutal ways which, I thought were beautiful. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/13/23 Full Review isla s This film reminded me both of Slumdog Millionaire and Cinema Paradiso - its a bit like an Indian Cinema Paradiso I suppose. I liked the fascination with colours and I thought the young child playing the main character (Samay, played by Bhavin Rabari) did a very good job. I would certainly recommend this film, yes. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member A very sweet, touching and tender film, which is a declaration of love for cinema! A mixture of children's adventures, stories about fathers and children and the movie "Minari"! I recommend it to everyone! Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/04/23 Full Review Read all reviews
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Movie Info

Synopsis Samay, a 9-year-old boy living with his family in a remote village in India discovers films for the first time and is absolutely mesmerized. Against his father's wishes, he returns to the cinema day after day to watch more films, and even befriends the projectionist, who, in exchange for his lunch box, lets him watch movies for free. He quickly figures out that stories become light, light becomes films, and films become dreams. Samay and his wild gang of friends move heaven and earth to catch and project light to achieve a 35mm film projection. Together, they use an innovative hack and jubilantly succeed in making a film projection apparatus. But following your dreams often means leaving things behind.
Director
Pan Nalin
Producer
Marc Duale, Dheer Momaya, Pan Nalin
Screenwriter
Pan Nalin
Distributor
Samuel Goldwyn Films
Production Co
Virginie Films , Monsoon Films Private Limited, Incognito Films, Jugaad Motion Pictures
Genre
Drama
Original Language
Gujarati
Release Date (Theaters)
Dec 2, 2022, Limited
Runtime
1h 50m
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