El último traje

We saw this surprising and completely successful film at a recent festival. El último traje follows the journey of Holocaust survivor Abraham Bursztein as he drags himself and his bad leg from Argentina to Poland against the strong wishes of his family. Despite his age (late 80's), general grumpiness, and inexperience as a traveler, Abraham finds help from a number of remarkably well-realized characters along the way. The excellent (and quite handsome) actor Miguel Ángel Solá put on 20 years of makeup to look every bit his character's age, and manages to infuse Abraham with human qualities that make him appealing almost despite himself. The one drawback of the film is an unnecessary and distracting King Lear plot contrivance. But overall, this solitary journey to the past - paralleling and contrasting with another recent, similar solitary journey in the excellent film "Remember' - is first-rate. The end had my wife and me bawling. Enjoy it.

What's good about this story it's how realistic it is. The main actor was quite lucky about all the people he meets along the way who helps him. I personally know of another Jewish immigrant, In his 80s, who flying from Buenos Aired to Warsaw got lost at Madrid airport. So he was sent back.

"The Last Suit" (2017 release from Argentina; original title "El ultimo traje"; 91 min.) brings the story of Abraham Bursztein, a very old and ailing Jewish tailor. As the movie opens, Abraham's family is getting ready to move him to a retirement home, against Abraham's express wishes. When his housekeeper asks what to do with a certain suit she finds, he decides on the spur of the moment to trek out to Poland. He waits for his family to leave (expecting to pick him up the next morning to take his to the retirement home). Instead, Abraham takes off for the airport, where a flight to Madrid is the first flight to Europe... At this point we are less than 15 min. into the movie but to tell you more of the plot would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

Couple of comments: it took me a while to get into the movie, to be honest. At first we don't understand what is so important about that suit, and why exactly he wants to go to Poland, but of course all is revealed in due course. The core of the movie is Abraham, in frail health, getting from Buenos Aires to Poland via planes, trains and automobiles. Braham is played with grace and humor by noted Argentinean actor Miguel Angel Sola. And any movie that finds a spot for Natalia Verbeke is a winner for me!

I recently saw "The Last Suite" at the 2019 Jewish & Israeli Film Festival here in Cincinnati, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this years. More often than not, the festival's programming committee puts together a great slate of interesting and thought-provoking films. If you have a chance to see "The Last Suit", do not miss it!

I loved this movie, an unexpected gem. Brilliant acting from Miguel Ángel Solá as a Jewish holocaust survivor who seeks to fulfil a promise from his time in the ghetto.

An intensely emotional story, beautifully told. Acting, cinematography, soundtrack, story arc, pacing were all highest quality. A journey you won't soon forget.