childhood, dreams and the ending of ‘Dragon’s Den’

“The Último Episode”, a new feature film by Maurílio Martins, premiered on Thursday (9) in Brazilian cinemas and is already raising expectations among cinephiles and fans of Minas Gerais cinema. Set in the Laguna neighborhood, in Contagem, 1991, the film follows Erik, a 13-year-old boy who tries to impress Sheila, the new classmate he is in love with, by lying that he has a tape with the legendary ending of the cartoon “Dragon’s Cave”. With the help of his friends, he gets involved in mischief to try to create this episode, living a story of discoveries, friendships and maturity.

The script written by Maurílio Martins and Thiago Macêdo Correia rescues the peripheral daily life of Contagem, focusing on simple and nostalgic tones, and pays homage to both community relations and the pleasure of creating images, nudging the self-taught desire to make cinema.

The production carries the brand of Filmes de Plástico, a collective responsible for recent authorial successes and for portraying the life and conflicts of Brazilian outskirts.

The film is also partially autobiographical, as the director reveals: there are direct references to Maurílio’s childhood in the locations, characters and situations of the neighborhood where he himself grew up.

The cast features young talents such as Matheus Sampaio, Tatiana Costa and Daniel Victor, in addition to the participation of members of Filmes de Plástico, such as Gabriel Martins and André Novais Oliveira.

“The Last Episode” relies on emotion, humor and a lot of complicity to bring back the nostalgia of the 1990s and the adventures that characterize youth.