The Last Journey  

The Helene and Stephen Weicholz Global Film Series

In Swedish with English subtitles
Sweden / Not rated / Directed by Felip Hammar and Fredrik Wikingsson / 2024 / Documentary / 95 minutes

Selected as Sweden’s entry for Best International Feature Film at the 97th Academy Awards. When French teacher Lars Hammar retires, he envisions a delightful “third age” with travel, wine, and experiences together with his wife, Tiina. However, instead of indulging in life’s pleasures, Lars becomes increasingly passive and lacking in willpower, to the great frustration and despair of both Tiina and their son, Filip. That’s when Filip gets an idea: to take his frail old father to his beloved France and let him revisit the places he has loved most in life. By retracing the same road trip the family used to take when Filip was a child and secretly orchestrating some of life’s most delightful moments, he hopes to reignite Lars’ zest for life. With the help of Filip’s best friend Fredrik, some hefty doses of optimism and creativity, and an old orange Renault 4, the adventure can begin.

Join us for a brief post-show talkback with film series curator Dale Pollock, as he discusses the movie in deeper context.

THEME
“The theme for this year’s series is Family, in its many forms and permutations. This selection of international films focuses on the fragility of family relationships when they are tested from within or from outside pressures, and how they remain resilient.” - Dale Pollock

About the curator
Dale M. Pollock, a writer, film producer, filmmaker and author, has served as head film critic for Daily Variety, chief entertainment correspondent for the Los Angeles Times, Dean of the School of Filmmaking at the (then) North Carolina School of the Arts, and Professor of Cinema Studies at NCSA, among other illustrious roles. He was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in the early 1980s, wrote Skywalking: The Life and Films of George Lucas, and his first work of fiction, Chopped: A Novel, is available in print, e-book, and audiobook. Pollock continues to teach Continuing Education classes at UNCSA, along with programming the Weicholz Global Film Series as part of An Appalachian Summer.