Filmes de Plástico (which translates to plastic films) is a Brazilian production company based in the outskirts of Contagem, in the greater Belo Horizonte, one of Brazil’s largest capitals. The city is primarily a refuge for the working class, where rentals are less expensive than in the capital, which is one of the most expensive cities in the country. Contagem has an immense population of Black and low-income populations, who live between the city and Belo Horizonte. Hence, Filmes de Plástico is the effort of four filmmakers: André Novais Oliveira, Gabriel Martins, Maurílio Martins, and Thiago Macêdo Correia. Since 2010, the collective has produced some of the most enduring and nuanced works in Brazil’s contemporary cinema landscape, including films such as Marte Um and Temporada. Through their humanistic lens, the small scope of their works allows them to produce and release them quickly. In this context, Maurílio Martins dives into his childhood with O Último Episódio, which translates to The Last Episode.
In his new work, Martins takes us back to the 1990s, a time when Brazil would reorganize itself as a country after twenty-one years of dictatorship. One of the symptoms of the coup d’état was the United States’ interference in the cultural landscape, particularly in the films and TV shows. One of them is Dungeons & Dragons, a TV show based on the RPG that ran for three seasons and 27 episodes. Despite the warm reception in the United States, the cartoon is one of the most well-known and popular in Brazil, due to its showing on national television. In O Último Episódio, Erik (Matheus Sampaio), a thirteen-year-old boy, has a crush on Sheila (Lara Silva), one of his classmates. In one of their flirty conversations, he tells her that he recorded a VHS tape of the legendary final episode of the cartoon, which is an urban legend in the country, with many claiming it wasn’t shown on TV. Thus, Erik and his gang have to film a final episode to get away with his innocent lie.
Accompanied by a voice-over, the film feels like a throwback to the last century in Brazil. In this sense, the director opens his memory boxes and paints them on the screen, stretching experiences that belong to a collective imaginary yet remain personal. Firstly, it is a story that reminisces about the naivety of youth; a silly lie said to flirt with someone, but unveils a grander experience, the proximity to your friends. The central conflict, the production of the titular last episode, is an anecdote to the plethora of complexities of the Brazilian youth. There is a contradictory nature to the heavily Christian friend who loves rock music, but his church affirms it is the devil’s song. Erik’s life is centered around his family, however his father passed away and Erik is unaware of what happened. These dichotomies are common in a country of Brazil’s size, which features different ethnicities, religions, and cultural tastes.
In this sense, Martins creates a capsule of the 1990s. The clothes, toys, and set designs reconstruct a bygone era that plenty of people are nostalgic for, even if they weren’t alive. Hence, the colors of the pink and purple shoes, as well as the infantile clothing pieces, address the sentiment of that period, when children had a unique identity. Filmes de Plástico approach the ludic aspect of life in their films, even if it is a harsh one. Despite the lack of sufficient structure in the simple neighborhood, the director exhales the emotional support and collective upbringing of his childhood, where the village supported a widow and her son. The last scene illustrates the communal philosophy of that place, where everyone gets too emotional from Erik’s place to the street below. Consequently, Martins‘ new film is not solely about the production of a faux-last episode of a popular cartoon, but also a farewell to a different face of Brazil, where the country’s economic crisis was not as potent as people’s communion and creativity.
Filmes de Plástico has a visual identity that contaminates its storytelling with simplicity, authenticity, and hope. In a country where potential is known and never fully developed due to its immense inequalities, the hope of the masses comes from popular culture, such as an RPG cartoon adaptation. Maurílio Martins explores childhood, frustration, romance, and the thrills of growing up with your best friends in a welcoming community. Thus, O Último Episódio is a throwback to a different Brazil, but a remembrance of the never-gone Brazilian hope and happiness.
O Último Episódio has recently played at a number of international film festivals.
Learn more about the film at the IMDB site for the title.
You might also like…
