Last Breath

Costa-Gavras’ heart-wrenching yet pragmatic look at death is stripped of taboo, and instead consists of cleverly placed reminders that life is present even in death. Last Breath studies the anxiety of ageing towards the inevitable with a sense of calm.

Based on the book of the same name, Last Breath is a sobering account of human life and its end, shown through an intriguing discourse between a renowned writer, Fabrice Toussaint and a palliative care doctor, Augustin Masset. Costa-Gavras examines ageing and mortality from the perspectives of terminally ill characters: a wealthy Parisian woman (Charlotte Rampling) who wishes to know the truth regarding the decline in her health, a son who grants his mother her final wish of oysters and a glass of Breizh’Cadet by the sea, and a Roma matriarch (Ángela Molina) who insists that her assisted dying be kept secret. The feeling of immortality in youth is juxtaposed against these encounters in separate occasions, as when Fabrice and his wife observe their grandchildren, and when Doctor Masset recounts a young woman in total denial of her condition.

Costa-Gavras, now in his nineties, treats the subject of death with honesty and directness, revisiting his work’s persistent theme of resistance in his characters via their inherent motivation to fight, and to resolve matters and affairs before letting go. The matter-of-fact tone conjures a documentary-like quality to the narrative, and inspires a full range of (undeniably human) emotion.

– Olivia Hărşan

Trailer

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