Review by John Delia, Sr.
Touching and heartbreaking the story of The Last Suit (El Ultimo Traje) comes to the USA with superb acting and excellent direction. It’s that special journey drama with heart that many filmmaker have attempted, but only a number have accomplished. Add Pablo Solarz to the group, because what he has achieved with The Last Suit should make him a member, it’s that good. The Last Suit is remarkable, seek it out and enjoy.
It’s the 1940’s Poland and the film opens at a ballroom with the band playing their rendition of “Hava nagilaâ€. At the completion of the music the film switches to modern day Argentina where we find 88-year-old Abraham (Miguel Angel Sola) is spending his last day in his house that has been sold. Surrounding Abraham are his great grandchildren as they take one last photo to take with him to hang on the wall of his apartment in a retirement home. His daughters are there to keep him calm and to help Abraham to accept the fact that he can no longer live unattended. He’s bad leg that was injured during his escape from a Nazi concentration camp in Poland has now put his life at risk and he must have 24 hour attention.
The oldest daughters tell Abraham that they will be by in the morning to pick him up and he accepts their decision. Paulina (Norma Argentina), his housekeeper and aide, holds up a suit bag and asks him what he wants to do with it. The next morning prior to sunrise Abraham leaves the house before his daughters can pick him up for the retirement home. He is carrying a suitcase and the suit bag. So beings a journey that will take him from Buenos Aries, Argentina to Poland hoping to find Piotrek (Jan Mayzel) the person who saved his life.
Director and writer Pablo Solarz does a terrific job of setting the scene, flashing back to different periods and showing the relentless determination of his main character. Throughout the movie he introduces characters that help him tell Abraham’s story and each person who comes in contact learns life lessons. It’s one of those special movies that inspire rather than set you up for a maudlin soap opera.
The acting, especially that of Miguel Angel Sola who takes on the conflicted character. He shows Abraham’s adverse attitude that he’s been “yanked†out of his home he’s had for 50 years and leaves cherished memories behind. But, the strongminded man has the will to make one last attempt to visit the person who saved him and for that he’ll risk everything. Throughout the film Sola has to show several sides to Abraham’s personality and slowly reveal the sadness that his memory holds, the will to deal with the unexpected and to make peace with himself.
He works well with his support characters that make his character work. I like Julia Beerhold as Ingrid a young woman who runs into Abraham in Paris. She’s a Good Samaritan who helps with the translation from French to Spanish so Abraham can explain why he will not step on German soil, one of the train changes that have to be made between Paris and Poland. The character she plays is perfect for the storyline as she’s a German and his hatred for them goes extremely deep. But the writers put a little twist into the film that will add a bit of whit, astute reasoning and a bit of charm.
The Last Suit has not been rated by the MPAA, but contains Language and some rude behavior.
FINAL ANALYSIS: A bittersweet film that captivates. (5 out of 5 stars)
Additional Film Information
Cast: Miguel Ãngel Solá, Ãngela Molina, MartÃn Piroyansky. Natalia Verbeke, Julia Beerhold, Olga Bolasdz, Jan Mayzel
Directed and written by: Pablo Solarz
Genre: Drama, Foreign
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Running Time: 1 hr.26 min.
Release Date: March 23, 2018
Distributed by: Outsider Pictures
Released in: Spanish, Yiddish, German and Polish with English subtitles