"The Last Suit," the latest film by Argentine director/writer Pablo Solarzhat, starts out on a downbeat note as a family is pushing its patriarch out the door and into an old people's home. But, it then becomes a sweet, dramatic, and occasionally amusing tale of a senior citizen accomplishing a lifelong goal.
Abraham Burtzstein (Miguel Angel Sola) is a retired 88-year-old tailor living in Buenos Aires whose family has sold his house out from under him. They aren't overtly mean to him. They smile and kiss him while pushing him out his own door.
In the middle of the night before he is to move to his new home, Abraham calls a cab and heads out on his own. All we learn is that he wants to go to Poland to accomplish a near-lifelong goal, and that he is carrying with him a garment bag that contains a suit.
"The Last Suit" is all about Abraham's physical and personal mental journey into his own past and towards the place where his life began. Along the way he meets many strangers who dislike him initially but all end up helping him in one way or another. His encounter with Maria (Ángela Molina), the lady behind the desk at a small hotel he checks into, is particularly rewarding. These interactions are what makes it all worth the viewer's time.
Near its end, the final details of the reasons for his trek are revealed. It's all about his long put-off quest to find someone he knew seventy years earlier. The last few scenes are as tear-jerking and manipulative as can be, but when everything is done right by director Solarz and you have a pitch-perfect performance by the lead character, it's fine to just succumb to the manipulation.
| Movie title | The Last Suit |
|---|---|
| Release year | 2017 |
| MPAA Rating | NR |
| Our rating | |
| Summary | A story that could end up a tedious waste of time is instead well worth it because of an outstanding performance by its lead. |
