“The Last Suit,” directed by Pablo Solarz, introduces Abraham Bursztein (Miguel Ángel Solá) as a relatable, 88-year-old man on the brink of being placed into a retirement home by his children in a Buenos Aires suburb.
The resourceful Holocaust survivor leaves the day before move-in and takes off on a journey that the audience won’t completely understand until later in the film.
Abraham’s memories from the Holocaust and from the period soon after it are shown in classic sepia and intertwined with current happenings as the film progresses.
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The first stop in Bursztein’s journey is Madrid, where he visits his estranged daughter and asks her to fund the rest of his trip after his hotel room is burgled.
The story is studded with characters who either show us a different side of Bursztein’s character or give us a glimpse into his past, starting with his sister in Madrid and his fleeting friendship with Senora Gonzalez (Angela Molina) at the hotel. His meeting with a German anthropologist alters Bursztein’s feelings about Germany that lingered after the war, and the kindness of a Polish nurse delivers him to his tearful destiny.
“The Last Suit,” which closes the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival, begins with a seemingly sad octogenarian and ends with closure that the audience at first doesn’t even know Bursztein needs. The rough edges of this tough Argentinian are slowly softened to reveal a man finding what he has searched for his entire adult life.
Atlanta Jewish Film Festival screening: Feb. 15, 7 p.m., Cobb Energy
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