Set in ‘La Cañada Real,’ a shanty town near Madrid, Isabel Lamberti’s striking neorealist drama revolves around the Gabarre-Mendoza family, forced to leave their self-built homes because the land they’ve been living on has been sold and is slated to be levelled for construction. As this process slowly unfolds, the different members of the family struggle with lives now thrust into uncertainty. Rendered with authenticity of an observational documentary, and using — in the finest neorealist tradition — several non-professional actors, Last Days chronicles the entire ordeal, from the moment the police burst in to inform them that the land they are occupying has been sold, to their preparations to pack up and leave the only home they have known for many years. Responses vary: the father, David, a hardworking scrap-metal dealer, reacts by angrily at the prospect of his family being broken up by the move; his wife, Agustina, falls into despondency; son David Jr., sets out to find a job cutting hair at a beauty salon in central Madrid. All the while, the family and its neighbours hope for a reprieve, but will it come? Showcased in the New Directors section at the San Sebastian Film Festival and selected in the ACID program at Cannes, Lamberti’s debut feature announces the arrival of a very talented and engaged new auteur. 

- Tom McSorley

Screening

Saturday, March 20 - Sunday, March 21