Bouli Lanners' The First, The Last is a the type of film that defies strict genre classifications, being a film that blends aspects of the American western, Gothic thriller, crime drama, and absurdest comedy into a fascinating, albeit somewhat flawed package. Set amidst a barren, industrial wasteland somewhere in France, The First and The Last is the story of Cochise and Gilou, a pair of aging bounty hunters, who have been hired by a wealthy man to obtain a cell phone containing sensitive information. The phone is in the possession of Esther and Willy, two teenage homeless vagabonds, who believe the world is coming to an end. The First, The Last is a dualing narrative which simultaneously follows these two sets of individuals, each of which are dealing with their own unique brand of troubles. A chase movie of sorts, The First, The Last is a film which features a serviceable story, nothing more, being far more focused on the thematic concerns of its characters, each of which is struggling with darkness of some sort. In The First, The Last nearly every character is adrift is some fashion or the other, an existential exploration of sorts, which finds the filmmakers commenting on the importance of living life to the fullest. Through the course of the narrative, Esther and Willy get separated from each other, leading Willy to be fearful for her safety and question his ability to move forward and fight for her. Meanwhile, it becomes apparent that Gilou is suffering from a heart condition that threatens his life, leading him to existential reflection. All these characters are seeking some form of reassurance and/or guidance, and the filmmakers tackle this concern in both sublte and not-so-subtle ways, with the injection of a character who goes by Jesus providing guidance specifically to Willy who feels lost and alone after being separated from Esther. My favorite aspect of The First and The Last is the aesthetic which the filmmakers are able to create, with dimly lit skies and dark clouds hovering over the vast, empty landscapes. Nearly everything in this film is gray, dark-brown, or dying, as the film's visual palette evokes the pain, drifting mindset of its characters, with the whole film having a foreboding sense of doom centered around its adrift characters. Towards the end of the film, when characters' such as Gilou find a sense of worth and optimism is when the color palette slowly begins to lighten, sunlight begins to creep into the stark setting, with the cinematography visually expressing the arch of these characters who have gone from darkness to light. Featuring a strangely compelling narrative full of cowboys, teenage runaways, grizzly bounty hunters, and Jesus, The First and The Last is able to avoid many schmaltzy moments centered around its thematic ideas of optimism and "living life to the fullest" thanks to its strange, singular study of the importance of making the most of life.
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AuthorLove of all things cinema brought me here. Archives
June 2023
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