The Last

The vast Gran Chaco natural region in Paraguay is under serious threat from large-scale deforestation and wildfires. Filmmaker Sebastian Peña Escobar travels with the German entomologist Ulf Drechsel and the Paraguayan ornithologist Jota Escobar to this vulnerable, flammable area, which looks like an apocalyptic landscape with red dirt roads and dry thorny trees.

Along the way, the men philosophize and discuss the state of the region, humanity and the earth in general. Almost cheerfully and with heavy irony, the three men in this buddy movie come to the harsh conclusion that we are doomed. The black humor and dynamics between the scientist friends and the curious filmmaker are positively infectious.

The journey becomes increasingly feverish, partly because of the rugged landscape and the conversations themselves, but also due to the progressively reddening images and intense, at times nightmarish, sound design. But at the same time, this film about climate change is an adventurous declaration of love for nature, which is as fragile as it is resilient.