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.
Review of La última mirada
