Spanish filmmaker Daniel Sánchez Arévalo makes the leap to television series with Las de la Última Fila. In his own vein of intimate and thoughtful comedy, he presents a brilliant series. On September 23, he arrives on the Netflix platform with a delicious and moving feminist work. That makes you want to cry, dance and laugh at the same time, like life itself. And always together.
Five adult women who have been friends since childhood maintain their bonds of friendship over time. Every year they make a trip where they meet again, and return to the same starting point. Where everyone shares their lives and supports each other. The escape represented in the series is triggered by different circumstances. One of them has cancer.
However, even if the elephant in the room is cancer, it's not the cornerstone of The Last Row's plot. What is relevant is not that, but that life is the greatest journey. Savor each bite putting all your senses into it. And what better than sharing that banquet with your best friends since childhood? With your companions in the last row.
Stars: Javier Rey, Maria Rodríguez Soto, Ell
The soundtrack that livens up the trip is perfectly selected. Among all the songs that put music to each vital moment represented, those of Rigoberta Bandini are the ones that sound the most. And also one of the ones that best fit the plot line. A singer who, with songs like Perra or Ay Mamá, has also become an indisputable feminist icon.
As Bandini says, the protagonists of the series by Daniel Sánchez Arévalo stop the city. Life seems to stop for a few hours as you sit down to share their journey with them. Because watching The Last Row is just that, sharing and empathizing with five unique women. Today we have the need to let go of ballast, to stop and enjoy every detail that surrounds us and happens. Life is a kinesthetic experience that should not go unnoticed.
Olga, Alma, Sara, Carol and Leo are five best friends. Their lives may perfectly be a reflection of your realities. Nothing far from possible. Not too complicated. But a reflection in the form of a beautiful prism that outlines problems, circumstances, happy situations and many other circumstances that are the ones that end up shaping each person. It is impossible to get off the screen and stop laughing with them. The entire script written by Daniel Sánchez Arévalo for The Last Row is as addictive as adrenaline. Like the adrenaline generated by the simple fact of living.
However, this would have been impossible without the stellar work of its five leading actresses. Each is impeccable in her interpretation of her, separately and together. Because the connection that exists between them goes beyond fiction and the screen.
Olga is played by Godeliv Van den Brandt, an actress who has gone unnoticed in Spanish cinema, but who has been perfectly chosen for her role in the series. She thought that she had a secondary role in conventional series like Valeria. It is in this leading role where she shines with her own light.
The second essential piece that makes up Las de la Última Fila is Alma, performed by Mónica Miranda. This actress, recently known for the TVE series Dos Vidas, also reaffirms herself with this work. Her interpretation is irreplaceable, as are her looks. Without needing to say a word, the actress is able to transmit to the viewer from her most sincere unconscious smile, to the tear that escapes without warning.
Another actress, María Rodríguez Soto, had one of her best roles in The days to come. An intimate and moving film where the actress develops her own pregnancy in front of the camera, together with her real husband David Verdaguer. A brilliantly immersive and emotional experience. In this series, her role takes a 180º turn, showing how great an actress she is. Chameleonic and outstanding.
On the other hand, Mariona Terés plays Leo. Known for his roles in acclaimed series like Veneno (Atresplayer, 2020). However, in The Last Row he abandons the secondary role and is unquestionably in the foreground. Providing the necessary touch of humor to turn the Netflix series into a sensational and heterogeneous plate of flavors.
Finally, the last essential piece of the quintet is one of the favorite actresses of the filmmaker Jonás Trueba. Who embodies the role of Sara. Itsaso Arana is already perfectly known for her impeccable performances in La Virgen de Agosto or La Reconquista. She had also previously worked with Daniel Sánchez Arévalo on his film Seventeen. In The Last Row, she once again demonstrates her great potential without disappointing.
Rigoberta Bandini in her song Julio Iglesias sings the phrase: "We kissed with life and our gums bled." And life has a bittersweet taste. And all the pleasure that the most anticipated kiss can bring you can also leave you with an unpleasant aftertaste. Life is made of ups and downs. Of moments full of laughter and tears. But the most important thing is that the pleasure experienced by living it always remains in the memory.
One of the most enriching aspects of life is music. Dancing is even considered therapeutic in certain aspects. And it is that getting carried away by the chords of a song is one of the greatest shared pleasures. Alone or accompanied. In the case of the series by Daniel Sánchez Arévalo, music is an essential touch of color for the narrative. In the same line, accompanying and also building each sequence of Las in the last row. With songs selected with precision and care. Diegetic and extradiegetic soundtrack that generates an immeasurable enveloping affective atmosphere.
The cult film and feminist symbol Thelma and Louise (Ridley Scott, 1991) was an example of unquestionable sisterhood. From then until now, multiple audiovisual works have addressed this conception.
Films like The Hill Where the Lionesses Roar are a piece of brotherhood that has survival as its fundamental basis. In the case of the new Netflix series, sisterhood is breathed in each episode, at all levels. The friendship between the five protagonists is as real as it is moving. With its lights and shadows, without pastel brushstrokes that sweeten a realistic relationship of friends.
The series The last row is pure truth. It is the beautiful result of letting the characters evolve unstoppably. Both independently and together. The narrative formula is exquisite. And the constructed sequences are all genuine. Each episode leaves a taste in your mouth that encourages you to continue watching the next one. Looking for more honest laughs. Of tears that purify.
“We wake up happy, and we don't care what you think”, Rigoberta Bandini and Amaia sang, reconstructing the traditional song of Miliki and the Clowns on TV. Because today's girl has to dance. And we women have to dance. At our own pace, without chains and with whomever we want. And shout very loudly, to the point of shouting that “feet, why do I love them, if I have wings to fly”.
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