A love letter to the villages and towns of the wine- and grappa-producing Veneto region around Venice, this comedy-drama has humour, a heart and a melancholic streak.
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Sossai hasn’t made a movie that sentimentalizes alcoholism, but he has managed to suggest the mistakes, busted dreams, dashed hopes and futility of getting ahead that makes the bottle such an appealing escape.
The Last One for the Road 2025
Le città di pianura
Two fifty-something drifters, Carlobianchi and Doriano, aimlessly stray from pub to pub in Northern Italy while obsessed with having one last drink for the road. They encounter Giulio, an insecure architecture student, who joins them as they journey deeper into the region's drinking holes. Fresh off sweeping Italy’s prestigious David di Donatello Awards with eight wins, including Best Film and Best Director, Sossai’s feature is far more than a drinking comedy.
While the premise promises comedic larks, the heartwarming roadtrip tale is dipped in sarcasm and melancholy. The film is less interested in the unhealthy relationship with alcohol than the questions it has about national identity and civilisation decline.
As we spend more time with the characters, we learn more about their shared history which comes to mirror their beloved Veneto region. The abandoned rural spaces left behind by industrial prosperity become a striking backdrop for the duo’s frustration with, and incomprehension of, the modern age. While they remain anchored in their nostalgia, young Giulio is profoundly affected by learning about the history they left behind.
– Jerome Cargill