Last Conversation

Colour, 35 mm
Netherlands, 2008, 75 min
Section: Variety Critics’ Choice

Synopsis

Best known for video and installation work, Heerkens makes his feature directing debut by mounting 25 miniature cameras on a Jaguar XJS and shooting one of Europe’s finest actresses, Johanna ter Steege, in a one-sided, one-take phone conversation with the married lover who’s just jilted her. A successful lawyer, Anna gets a call from recent ex Laurens (de Maesschalck, heard only as a muffled voice) while she’s driving. The conversation begins fairly coldly and politely, with an undertone of bitterness that gradually develops its own bouquet as Anna allows herself to fall into habitual behaviour patterns, checking herself as they continue to talk. Heerkens’ meticulous conception and ter Steege’s stunningly nuanced performance offer a fresh, engrossing variation on the conceit essayed by Anna Magnani in Jean Cocteau’s La Voix humaine.