The Last Stop in Yuma County

Num mosaico de filmes de festival, com muitos realizadores a tentar ou a experimentar algo, um refresco absolutamente maravilhoso. Desde os créditos de abertura, um conjunto de personagens, dirigido de forma confiante e inteligente, sobre quem é quem e quando. O filme no estilo de Tarantino, sem os seus diálogos fortes, mas igualmente bem pensado, surpreendente, de humor negro e assassino e maravilhosamente representado pelo «elenco de apoio familiar» excelentemente escolhido. Super ligação do tema com a letra da canção nos créditos finais. Depois de Reptile, outra extraordinária estreia americana deste ano! [Sitges FF] (10/10/2023)

Francis Galluppi, like Sébastien Vaníček, comes through with a superb debut, and both have earned themselves a new Evil Dead. Nice. Almost everything I love in movies is here. There's the attractive setting of rural Arizona, one remote rest-stop (reminiscent of popular hixploitation movies), and a group of random people who find themselves in one place at the wrong time. There's a salesman, an attractive waitress, a pair of robbers, a couple of retirees, a Bonnie and Clyde-like couple, a young cop, and a gas station owner. Gorgeous cinematography, confident direction, a well-developed script with no shortage of twists and turns, well-chosen actors, solid dialogue, a taut atmosphere, suspense that could be sliced and a proper Mexican stand-off like something out of The Hateful Eight. The violence and humour could have been worked on better, but this mix of Tarantino and Coen evoking 70's Thrillers is more than a good genre film.8/10 (11/05/2024)

The Last Stop in Yuma County is practically a mix of the best of Tarantino and the Coen brothers in an intimate, minimalist fashion. And I mean that in a good way. Heated situations are interspersed with fatal misunderstandings, distinctly specific and interestingly outlined characters get a solid and indiscriminate beating, and the film definitely has more than a few plot surprises in store, too. It's kind of a small, playful, fun festival flick. (10/10/2023)

Hats off to Francis Galluppi! I haven’t seen such a confident directorial debut in a long time, and he not only directed but also wrote the script and edited the film himself — bravo! The Last Stop in Yuma County is a fresh and modern hard-boiled crime thriller with a cast of unforgettable characters set in a perfect retro backdrop of a diner-gas station somewhere in the American South. It evokes the best Coen brothers' films and has a strong Tarantino influence, along with touches of noir and western. But calling it just a derivative would be a mistake. The film is elevated by a meticulously crafted script and excellent casting. Although it's a crime thriller that's ruthless to its characters, it also offers plenty of humorous moments that enhance the overall experience. This balance is the film's strongest point because, in the hands of someone with less skill in timing and balance, it could have easily fallen flat. But here, everything is fine-tuned to perfection. I didn’t find a single dull moment and enjoyed every minute of the runtime. Francis Galluppi is a name I won’t forget, and I’m already looking forward to his next film. In the meantime, I’ll definitely be rewatching this little gem. (09/10/2023)