The Last One for the Road: a leisurely Beckettian bender through northeastern Italy

The first thing to say about Carlobianchi (Sergio Romano) and Doriano (Pierpaolo Capovilla) is that they probably shouldn’t be behind the wheel. At the start of The Last One for the Road, they are snoozing in the front seats of their car. The scene is bathed in red, and the pair are oblivious to that light turning green, until the beeping horn of an irate motorist rouses them from their slumber. “Shall we have one last drink?” Carlobianchi groggily asks his friend as they drive off.

That “one last drink” is a can being perennially kicked down the road in Francesco Sossai’s disarming film. Carlobianchi and Doriano begin with the intention to drive to the airport to meet their old partner in crime Genio, who buried his loot and fled Italy years ago, but this plan is stymied by their inability to recall what airport he’s flying into, and their tendency to be waylaid by their thirst.

The Last One for the Road is a leisurely picaresque that takes us through the Veneto region of Italy. Many filmmakers have exploited the cinematic potential of the region’s capital Venice, but Sossai operates far from the tourist hotspots. This is an unflattering portrait of a country in which communities and traditions have been bulldozed in the name of progress. Carlobianchi and Doriano want to revisit their past, but they find it’s not there any more; a beloved restaurant is now closed, and everywhere you look there are abandoned buildings. Shooting on 35mm and Super 16mm, cinematographer Massimiliano Kuveiller has a wonderful eye for the texture of these desolate spaces, and for the characterful faces of this cast. At times, the film’s aesthetic recalls the melancholy world of Aki Kaurismäki.

In what is primarily an actor-driven film, Sossai has come up trumps with Romano and Capovilla, whose shambling antics and circuitous conversation recall Waiting for Godot’s maundering tramps. Their irrepressible spirit keeps the tone light even as their situation appears bleak, and they certainly have a positive influence on Giulio (Filippo Scotti), the timid student who rides with them. Unlike many road movies, however, there is no grand culmination or epiphany here; in fact, Sossai makes a point of avoiding such revelations.

Words of wisdom are obscured by the noise of a helicopter or a closing door, while the inability to recall a profound insight from a drunken conversation is a running gag. If this dissolute pair have any lessons to impart, it’s that living day to day, drink to drink, is the only way to keep going in a society that’s on the road to nowhere.

► The Last One for the Road is in UK cinemas 10 July.