Review | ‘The Last Episode’ – From ‘Dragon’s Cave’ to the pain of loss: Film from Minas Gerais uses nostalgia to touch hearts

What we learn, what hurts, what keeps us alive: dreaming! Did you also love watching the cartoon? Dragon’s Cave? So, I think you will like this film that we are going to mention now! A production that uses nostalgia with great delicacy and sympathy to portray the realities of a Brazil that, despite facing difficulties, never stops dreaming, arrives in Brazilian cinemas at the beginning of October.

Bringing pop culture, family dramas, and that affectionate look at youth to the center of the discourseThe Last Episode – Minas Gerais’s first solo feature film Maurilio Martins – is a project that connects the pain of loss with the surprises of those who enjoy being enveloped by good stories.

Set in Laguna, a neighborhood in Contagem, Minas Gerais, in the early 1990s, we follow the story of a young man who is on the verge of important moments in his life. One day, he decides to spread some unusual news: he claims to have the last episode of the series Dragon’s Cave – something that puts you face to face with unusual situations.

The pain of lack takes the friendly comedy to dive into dramatic layers. The father, who recurs in the plot, plays a preponderant role in the emotional field, a foundation that helps tell this story. The target of the speech seeks a Brazil close to many of us – workers, dreamers –, which shows itself to be brave when faced with everyday obstacles.

Thus, in a script that works in its simplicity and the tone of nostalgia, we walk through the protagonist’s daily difficulties alongside his mother, the flirtation with his first love, the responsibilities that come with immaturity, in addition to the construction, brick by brick, of great friendships. There is no shortage of lessons in this pleasant feature film which, despite not being able to reach very deep layers with a direction that does not take risks, convinces with the honest poetry – and down to earth – that it proposes.