The Last Stop in Yuma County

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)

In the broad palette of festival films in which a lot of filmmakers push themselves or strive for something, The Last Stop in Yuma County is absolutely, wonderfully refreshing. It is coolly and confidently directed from the opening credits, with a game of one-upmanship superbly set in motion by the characters. It’s like a Tarantino flick set in a desert café, though without the brisk dialogue, but it’s just as well thought out, surprising, darkly humorously homicidal and beautifully played by the flawlessly cast “familiar supporting actors”. The connection between the film’s subject and the lyrics of the song in the closing credits is great. After Reptile, this is the next extraordinary American debut of the year! [Sitges Film Festival] (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)