Global Warming, Systematic Oppression, and Drunk Driving in Italy

A quick look at CCFF Day 4! [5/5/2026].

I almost didn’t make it today, to be honest.

What my readers may or may not know is that my commute to the Music Box during CCFF is almost 2 hours each way, with a bit over an hour driving to my cheap parking spot (thank you, SpotHero) and 30ish minutes of travel by scooter. This whole week, I’m overstretched across stress over gas prices, the six to seven hours of sleep per night, my diet of Music Box popcorn and Not Much Else, stress over gas prices again, trying to network without being cringey, trying to write without forcing it like stale toothpaste, and, oh yeah, all the delicious movies that keep sustaining me. I’m not cooked yet, but I’m getting there, and I love it. It’s exhausting work, rewarded with only film gems and smiling connections.

For this reason, today’s reviews are as straight to the point as I can make them. I thought that might be the case today anyway, as going in the day felt light. Instead, I’m surprised to find so much in today’s films to sink my teeth into… if only my jaw was better practiced.

The Last One for the Road (road trip drama)

A simple road picture about two older friends taking under their wings (read: kidnapping) a bottled-up young man, The Last One for the Road examines Italy’s relationship to changing times through the lens of drunk charismatics. There’s a lot of social/political context I am clearly missing here, but I was able to draw enough connections to understand the main idea of what the film is going for.

This is certainly a fun hangout as well. The two older leads reveal lovely (if lightly selfish) characters through their slurred speeches about the good old days and their confusion with modernity. Some images, such as a great car/train sequence that buttons the film, will certainly stick in their evocation of nostalgia and the everlasting pursuit of a final climactic drink to end the night, to end a life, to end an era. If you’re looking for a bit of charm with some light questioning about the purposefulness of a full life, you can do much worse than having The Last One for the Road.

⭐3/5

When a Witness Recants (documentary)

Baltimore. 1983. A middle school. A 14-year-old boy. Murder. Trial. Witnesses. Verdict. 3 innocent teenagers put away for life.

Baltimore. 2019. A prison. An attorney. Discovery. Witness recants. Apology. Three innocent now-men set free.

Baltimore. Today. Where do we go from here?

A Witness Recants documents the true story of the murder of a young boy, and the witnesses who, under pressure from the police, identified three innocent boys as the killers. 36 years later, their story is found, and they are set free, with a witness finally revealing the lie. A powerful, terrifying look at systematic oppression and injustice through the lens of its effect on and from cowardice. Speaking the truth is not easy, but it is necessary to eliminate the unfairness of a system that would have us lie for its benefit. Unlike CCFF’s past crime documentaries (think Power or Zodiac Killer Project), When a Witness Recants provides us with something simultaneously personal and about the systems rather than the individuals. We all must take a collective responsibility for the system; When A Witness Recants points out how even one person can make such a difference.

⭐4/5

Time and Water (documentary)

Framed as a time capsule for the years to come, Time and Water brilliantly examines and then dutifully sits in the fears and hopes aimed at time itself. Composed of footage from the life of an Icelandic writer and beautifully composed together by director Sara Dosa (Fire of Love), this poetic montage collapses the life of individuals, namely the writer, his grandparents, and his children, into a kaleidoscopic collage with the life of the glaciers of Iceland and the effects of global warming upon a community. Concerned with every thought on the future that anyone has ever had on a global, national, or individual scale, Time and Water asks us who we are in the face of this crisis. There’s not a complete diagnosis; there is just a warning of the breakdown in the cycle of life and death that makes both our planet and our lives continue their paths.

The emotions that make Time and Water so raw, in its beautiful, immaculately composed montages of Icelandic beauty and familial joy, are simple but poignant, and should be experienced by anyone who wishes to feel more human. Go see this documentary. Love your ever-aging family and friends. Take care of your beautiful planet.

⭐5/5