They say you always remember your first time as a cinephile. I am pretty confident that we all remember the first time we experienced our first theatrical experience. Whether that experience led to becoming an actor, director, writer, or critic, the first experience in a cinema had an incredible impact on the love for a film I carry as a badge of honor today.
Pan Nalin’s Last Film Show celebrates cinema and the cinematic experience. A film that captures the emotional impact film can have on someone and it’s one of the most beautiful films of the year so far.
Last Film Show tells the story of Samay (Bhavin Rabari), a 9-year old boy who lives with his family in a remote village. Samay is taken to the movies for the first time, and as many of us can attest, his life is forever transformed. Samay makes it a purpose to sneak into the movie theater on his own as much as he can. The art of storytelling through moving pictures becomes his end all be all. Unfortunately, Samay is forcefully removed until he encounters a film projectionist named Fazal (Bhavesh Shrimali), who allows Samay to watch films as long as he trades the food his mother makes him in order to watch the movies.
As an avid fan of Cinema Paradiso, Pan Nailin’s Last Film Show comes off as a spiritual sequel to that film. Similar to Paradiso, the film’s heart is the established relationship between the child/projectionist, in this case, Samay and Fazal. In Samay’s case, his strained relationship with his father continues to grow as his father holds a distaste for film. Outside of the religious film he takes the family to, he despises cinema and forbids Samay from going to the movies. While Fazal makes ends meet by running the film projector at the theater, the two use the theater and film as an escape mechanism.
A unique aspect of the film is that it touches on the change of using reels in the projector to a new digital system and its consequences on the film itself and those involved in the theater industry. While casual moviegoers will credit digital to bringing the best quality of a movie to the big screen, there is no better experience than watching a classic film in its original format.
Pan Nalin’s direction is impeccable as he can incorporate a dive into the lives of Samay and his family while showing the importance film provides to Samay. No better moment in the movie shows that symbolism than Samay curling up with the actual film reels itself. Swapnil S. Sonawane’s cinematography throughout is some of the best of the year, as it captures the Gujarat region of India impressively. However, no shot is as powerful as that.
Bhavin Rabari’s performance is the film’s standout and may go down as one of the best child performances of the year. I was around the same age when my passion for film began, and Rabari effectively exudes that excitement one has when one goes to a theater. It’s as authentic a performance as 2021 will bring us.
Last Film Show is one of the best films of the first half of 2021 and a standout of this year’s Tribeca Film Festival. An achievement for Nalin, it’s a tribute to the love of cinema and one that will remain with you even after the film’s conclusion.
