La última mirada (2006) User Reviews

Beautiful, provocative, enduring story

[efcarter · 8/10 · 8 January 2007]

I saw this film at the Palm Springs Film Festival last weekend. The story is about accepting change in our personal lives, change that we cannot control. We can either spiral downward while blame others, or we can move forward, accepting the challenges we are faced with. The story follows two main characters; one is an older male, a painter, (Homero) and the other is a young girl (Mei), left behind by her mother. The painter has a difficult time accepting that he is going blind from an inherited condition, while at the same time he is visiting his father in a rest home that is already blind from the same condition. He does everything he can to not let his father know that he is going blind, even so far as to memorize passages of books so he can pretend to read them to his father during their visits. When he is told he only has about one week left to see he decides what "view" would bring him the most happiness and he pursues the task of seeing that view. Mei is a daughter of a prostitute and does not know her father. Her mother leaves her behind and goes across the border. Mei is left in a brothel and works as a maid to pay for the room and board for her and her grandparents. Mei lies to a potential boyfriend about her background but loses him after all because of the lies. While working in the brothel as a maid she is forced into new situations she would not otherwise choose. Homero and Mei's paths cross and the last five minutes of the film are beautiful, provocative and enduring. Both characters finally accept the challenges in their lives and make decisions to stop their emotional downward spiral. This film has renewed my faith in films made in Mexico. The last four I had seen were full of blood and gratuitous violence so I did not have my hopes up very high, I must say I was very pleasantly surprised. I thoroughly enjoyed this film.

Subtle which 'states' a long journey between an older man and a very young lady

[jordondave-28085 · 8/10 · 15 July 2023]

(2006) The Last Gaze/ La Ultima mirada (In Spanish with English subtitles) DRAMA

Produced, written and directed by Patricia Arriaga-Jordán, plot less, and not for everybody since it's very subtle which 'states' a long journey between an older man and a very young lady destined to be together with viewers wondering when. Homero (Sergi Mateu) whose a renowned respected painter who while enjoying some of the best days of his life, suddenly experiencing his life collapsing before his eyes while teaching a painting class. And then finding out that the result of his "luminous chromatic" blindness was hereditary, he becomes isolated, ignoring phone calls as well as distancing himself from seeing his father until nuns at a mosque eventually convinced him to go and do that! During all this, a young lady, Mei (Marisol Centeno) whose the daughter of a free spirited prostitute gets sent to a brothel along with her grandparents to work as a maid while her mother goes away. Because of a lack of education and problems with her boyfriend, her problems started stemming from being bad to worst. Because the beginning of the film showed what appear to be some blood stains on some bed covers as well as some sheets before cutting back and forth between the two main characters, the correct way to watch this one is by fast- forwarding while playing to see the end before watching it again from the beginning since viewers assume that it's going to be something bloody and grotesque only to be that it really isn't the case after all, but the film still drags it's viewers to a long path to get there except that 'others' such as myself can see this film as an impoverished young girl with high moral standards despite coming from a very negative upbringing since not all girls of some of the poorest parts of Mexico are not all prostitutes, some strive to become respectful and sometimes to seek someone who can grant those girls with a little respect is sometimes the only way to start. More like a 75% but I'm going to give it an 80%!

Gorgeous Mexican film on art, desire and entrapment

[asp227 · 10/10 · 22 February 2007]

I saw this beautiful film at the Chicago Film festival and I highly, highly recommend it. First off, it is a deeply moving story that revolves around two characters in a small Mexican town: Mei - a young girl who works as a maid in a brothel - and Homero - a painter losing his sight who can only see the color red for a few more weeks before he is about to go completely blind. The story focuses on the contingency and chance crossings of their paths before they actually meet in the final scene, which is ABSOLUTELY brilliant. But more importantly, the movie's exploration of the two characters' subjective, fantasy relations to an impending, terrifying entrapment (blindness and servitude respectively) is unparalleled in Mexican cinema. Second, the movie is visually lush and gorgeous and is a constant delight to watch. But perhaps most importantly, and of special significance to anyone used to watching Mexican cinema over the past decades, Arriaga's movie is, I would say, the ONLY mature Mexican cinematographic inquiry into the relation between art and sexuality I have seen over the past years. It sheds the crass sexual clichés to which Mexican audiences have become accustomed, and takes an honest, compassionate look at the nature of desire - particularly, and uniquely, the growing feminine sexuality of the adolescent Mei as she comes to terms with her own desires, surrounded by a world where sex seems to be some kind of ritualized violence. Besides the many other things that make this film a profound pleasure to watch, for this alone, as a Mexican moviegoer, one gives thanks.

Guillermo step aside¡¡

[mooviefan-891-879574 · 9/10 · 29 May 2011]

Lets start by saying that this film was written, produced and directed by Patricia Arriaga Jordan, sister of Guillermo Arriaga ( very famous for his scripts of Amores perros, 21 grams and Babel). When I first read about this film I was looking forward to watch it in the cinema but it never got a theatrical release ( or if it did it was very limited) Now, that is such a shame because this movie is in many levels superior to other films that get more attention just because they are nominated for Oscars. This is a simple story in its structure but very complex and deep in character development.

Its one of those movies that truly stays with you, every single element of the movie is there for a reason, there is not a single bad scene on the movie. Performances ( specially Marisol Centeno) are real, moving and bi- dimensional).

It also has the virtue of not letting you know how its going to end. You think you know, but in the end turns to be something different and absolutely beautiful.

In a few words, this is an excellent film, a must see for all the people that says that there are no good Mexican movies. Definitely deserves more recognition. Kudos to everyone for this wonderful film