'The Last Meeting' is a bittersweet romance taking place over the course of about 25 years. In the early scenes, Soler (José Crespo) is a struggling young violinist. We hear very little of his actual fiddling - and what we do hear is obviously dubbed - but he's handsome and charming with it, which is this movie's way of telling us that he's very talented and he deserves to be successful. Soler is in love with Yolanda (Luana Alcañiz), a beautiful blonde who dances in a nightclub's floor show.
Along comes Magda (Andrea Palma), the dark-haired jaded wife of a millionaire. She sets her sights on Soler, and she lures him away from Yolanda ... but only temporarily, because Soler soon realises that he loves Yolanda after all. (Yolanda's certainly prettier.) We're meant to sympathise with Soler, because apparently he was less tempted by Magda's charms than by her husband's wealth: specifically, what it can do for Soler's career.
By the time Soler decides to go back to Yolanda, it's too late: she has married wealthy Raul (Paul Ellis). This is the sort of movie with plenty of rich people in it. Yolanda goes to live in America with Raul. Having cheated himself out of his one true love, Soler throws himself into his career.
SPOILERS COMING. Fade in 25 years later, and Soler (now in unconvincing middle-aged makeup, but with the same waistline) is a famous concert violinist embarking on a world tour. While performing in New York City, Soler meets Yolanda again ... as beautiful as ever, and not a day older. Erm, well, it turns out that this isn't Yolanda after all: it's actually her daughter, played by the same actress. There's some implication that Soler can find the happiness with Yolanda's daughter that he nearly had with her mother. Oh, blimey! This movie attempts the same trick as 'Evergreen' - casting the same actress as mother and daughter, and trying to conflate them into one person - but it doesn't work here.
The scenes that allegedly take place in New York City are very unconvincing. There is some very painful 'comedy' in this movie, mostly coming from stock character types. The concert music is badly composed, badly arranged, badly performed and unconvincingly dubbed. I kept hoping the soundtrack would play 'La Cucaracha': it would have been better than anything performed here. I'll rate this movie one point out of 10, and I'm being generous.
Along comes Magda (Andrea Palma), the dark-haired jaded wife of a millionaire. She sets her sights on Soler, and she lures him away from Yolanda ... but only temporarily, because Soler soon realises that he loves Yolanda after all. (Yolanda's certainly prettier.) We're meant to sympathise with Soler, because apparently he was less tempted by Magda's charms than by her husband's wealth: specifically, what it can do for Soler's career.
By the time Soler decides to go back to Yolanda, it's too late: she has married wealthy Raul (Paul Ellis). This is the sort of movie with plenty of rich people in it. Yolanda goes to live in America with Raul. Having cheated himself out of his one true love, Soler throws himself into his career.
SPOILERS COMING. Fade in 25 years later, and Soler (now in unconvincing middle-aged makeup, but with the same waistline) is a famous concert violinist embarking on a world tour. While performing in New York City, Soler meets Yolanda again ... as beautiful as ever, and not a day older. Erm, well, it turns out that this isn't Yolanda after all: it's actually her daughter, played by the same actress. There's some implication that Soler can find the happiness with Yolanda's daughter that he nearly had with her mother. Oh, blimey! This movie attempts the same trick as 'Evergreen' - casting the same actress as mother and daughter, and trying to conflate them into one person - but it doesn't work here.
The scenes that allegedly take place in New York City are very unconvincing. There is some very painful 'comedy' in this movie, mostly coming from stock character types. The concert music is badly composed, badly arranged, badly performed and unconvincingly dubbed. I kept hoping the soundtrack would play 'La Cucaracha': it would have been better than anything performed here. I'll rate this movie one point out of 10, and I'm being generous.
