The Last Station (La Última Estación)

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There was an old riddle: What walks on four legs in the morning, two legs in the afternoon and three legs in the evening?

The answer is: man. Morning, afternoon and evening are metaphors for life stages. When we are babies, we crawl (all fours). Then we spend much of our lives on two legs and when we are old, in our twilight, three legs refers to the need for a cane.

When we are young we don't think about ageing; we don't give much consideration to the last station.  When we put our parents or grandparents in a "home" are we doing the best thing for them or for us?

No judgment, here, simply an observation as I've never experienced having to put an elderly family member in such a place.

The Last Station, is a Spanish language documentary about the lives of elderly people in a nursing home. The trailer showed the sadness, lonliness and even solitude of once productive lives, mothers and fathers who once protected and provided for their families. They talk about what has become of their lives and express some disbelief on how a fulfilling life once filled with meaning could end up so meaningless. They sit and wait to be remembered or search for the ones who have forgotten them at the last station.

The trailer is in Spanish with English subtitles, but this did not detract from the emotion that reached out from the trailer and grabbed me so unexpectedly.

I don't watch many documentaries, but as a trailer, The Last Station, was more than a documentary teaser, it was a beautiful and sad work of art.

Please see for youself: http://www.laultimaestacion.cl