film synopsis
“I want to become movies,” declares Samay (Bhavin Rabari), the nine-year-old hero of writer-director Pan Nalin’s endearing semi-autobiographical crowd-pleaser. Samay’s father objects to his film fanaticism; he has no money for movie tickets, and his remote Indian village is nowhere near any kind of film industry, but Samay isn’t about to let that stop him. Armed with his mother’s home cooking, Samay befriends the cynical projectionist (Bhavesh Shrimali) at the local movie theater to learn how movie magic works so he and his friends can create it themselves. As Samay, Rabari has a natural screen presence, and Shrimali plays against him wonderfully. Funny and moving, Last Film Show is a pure love letter to cinema, even opening and closing with dedications to many of the filmmakers who have inspired Nalin, indicating he’s no less mad about movies than his young stand-in.