Frightfest 2024: ‘The Last Ashes’ Review
Stars: Sophie Mousel, Jules Werner, Timo Wagner, Luc Schiltz, Philippe Thelen, Marie Jung, Jean-Paul Maes | Written by Loïc Tanson, Frederic Zeimet | Directed by Loïc Tanson
The Last Ashes is a competently directed, visually stunning, and superbly performed entry in this year’s FrightFest (2024). It is led by debutant director Loïc Tanson, who is at the helm of this Euro-Western folklore horror flick.
Set in the mid-1800s, this story plays out against the political backdrop of Luxembourg wrestling for its freedom from Dutch rule. At first glance, this story is a revenge thriller, but on closer inspection, it is more than that. Rather, it explores the theme of emancipation from a variety of perspectives.
Told in two distinct parts, we first meet our protagonist, Hélène (Sophie Mousel), as a child living in a remote, isolated commune led by the Graff family patriarch (Jules Werner). While Luxembourg is ravaged by war, famine, and disease, the Graff family have taken in families, offering them food and protection provided they blindly obey their customs and laws lest they face the Graff family’s wrath. One such custom is to offer their daughters to bear children for the sons of the Graff family and, as Hélène comes to learn that her sole purpose is to procreate, she decides to flee the commune with her parents in tow but who are sadly gunned down during their escape.
Fifteen years later, Hélène is back with a vengeance. Now free from colonial rule, Luxembourg seeks to connect its countrymen by building a railway across the landmass, which is met with much resistance from the Graff family as the tracks encroach on their land, threatening their way of life. In response, the Graffs vow to do what they must in order to preserve their utopia. The tinder box has been filled, and all that Hélène has to do is light the match. As she puts her master plan into action, the audience is taken into a climatic third act.
Between Tanson not shying away from exploring the film’s dark themes and Sophie Mousel’s powerhouse performance, the team behind The Last Ashes delivers a well-constructed feature film so visceral that the audience will experience every molecule of hate, anger, and resentment that Hélène and her compatriots feel which is amplified by a few notable directorial choices such as filming the first part in black and white and the second in colour. It cleverly showcases Hélène’s journey from grim beginnings to a more hopeful future.
Although, the film’s slow pacing does hamper the viewing experience over the 2-hour run time, it is not difficult to see why The Last Ashes was submitted as Luxembourg’s entry for the Oscar’s Best International Feature Film.
****4/5
The Last Ashes screened as part of this year’s Frightfest London.
