One Last Evening

Viewer Advice: Strong impact themes.

Moving cities is the perfect excuse to throw a party … and unpack some awkward home truths.

Clemens and Lisa are moving from Hanover to Berlin as Lisa’s medical career takes off. For Clemens, it’s a desperately needed fresh start: once a hot up-and-coming musician, he’s now lost in a depressive slump. On their last evening in town, the millennial pair host a housecooling dinner with friends in their apartment. Of course, some invited guests don’t show, while others bring their own problems – and a few unexpected strangers add to the chaos. Over one sultry summer night, fuelled by booze and surrounded by packing boxes, old wounds tear open and secrets emerge.

Lukas Nathrath won a Locarno Pro First Look award for his shoestring-budget debut feature, shot over a week in an empty flat during the mid-2020 lockdowns. This naturalistic dramedy went on to become an audience favourite at Rotterdam, where it screened in competition. After having workshopped the story through extensive, improvised rehearsals, the director and his tight-knit cast sell the snappy dialogue and perfectly summon the sense of anxiety at the cusp of maturity. The simmering frustration is so oppressive you could cut it with a knife – that is, if Lisa and Clemens can even find one in all these boxes.

“A scathing portrait of a success-obsessed society whose members mostly don’t live up to their promise, especially in their own estimation.” – Variety