DMovies - Your platform for thought-provoking cinema

Last Days

Justin Lin turns the true story of 26-year-old John Chau, killed in 2018 when trying to evangelise an uncontacted tribe, into a movie as misguided as its protagonist’s mission - live from Sundance

When more than 20 years ago Justin Lin’s debut feature Better Luck Tomorrow (2002) premiered at Sundance, it was described as looking as glossy and expensive as a mega million studio production”. The same could be said of the Fast & Furious (2009) director’s return both to his independent roots and the Sundance Film Festival. Here his fact-inspired drama Last Days debuts in the Premieres section, reserved for works by more established filmmakers or with prominent actors attached to them. It’s a fitting choice for a film whose slick, polished cinematography immediately evokes the kind of prestigious mainstream biopic into which the two-track plot subsequently unfolds.

John Allen Chau (rather shallow: Sky Yang) is introduced as a starry-eyed believer, not only in a Christian God but in a sanctimonious ideal of imposing believes upon others”. These words for the ambitious young hero’s – for as such Chau is presented – quest to convert and thereby save” the secluded tribe previously uncontacted Sentinelese are used by the Indian police officer (Radhika Apte) determined to track him down. Despite the characters’ apparent differences, her devotion to duty and doing the right thing parallels John’s religious devotion. A devotion Lin, despite public statements of being not particularly religious”, seems to share with his protagonist.

The director’s partiality towards Christianity makes his comparison of the missionary framed in glowing light with the police detective revealed to be queer rather uncomfortable. There is the implication of a gay agenda” equalling the very real Christian agenda. The second is never acknowledged, let alone analysed. Instead, the generic plot treats its rich and complex material solely as an adventure tale, elevated by its real-life background and tragic outcome. Sketchy family conflicts between John and his parents are quickly dropped in favour of derivative montages of his self-fortification in front of gorgeous nature backdrops: all for a supposedly higher purpose.

A purpose even John’s pious father (Ken Leung) who’d rather see him follow in his footsteps by becoming a doctor, considers too extreme”. However, the smug self-glorification apparent in John’s actions and his lack of concern for his own stay but also that of the tribe, are never explored. Neither is the broader context of Christian indoctrination and infiltration of which John is as much an agent as a victim. The radical religious institutions and individuals that took part in putting these dangerous, ultimately deadly ideas in an impressionable young person’s head are unequivocally presented as well-meaning, loving and altruistic.

Void of any critique of the bigotry, racism and classism deeply ingrained in missionary work, the generic adventure storyline of Ben Ripley’s one-dimensional screenplay reshape a fervent fundamentalist into a naive nature-guy who just wants to get in touch with nature and spread love. What could have been a timely exploration of the personal and pedagogical roots of extremism, as well as its destructive consequences, ends up an endorsement of these very things. Psychologically shallow and narratively predictable, the tale builds up a martyr in his own right, falling both to entertain and to answer its initial question: Who was John Chau?”.

Last Days just premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.


By Lida Bach - 27-01-2025

Born in Berlin, buried in Paris (not yet). Loves movies. Hates some, too. Critic of film and most other things. Professional movie journalist. Apart from the “getting paid“ part. When she was...

DMovies Poll

Are the Oscars dirty enough for DMovies?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...

Most Read

Sexual diversity is at the very heart of [Read More...]
Just a few years back, finding a film [Read More...]
Forget Friday the 13th, Paranormal Activity and the [Read More...]
A lot of British people would rather forget [Read More...]
Pigs might fly. And so Brexit might happen. [Read More...]
Films quotes are very powerful not just because [Read More...]

Read More

The Safe House (La Cache)

Lionel Baier
2025

Victor Fraga - 21-02-2025

A boy shelters with his grandparents while his mum and dad take part in the May 1968 protests - confusing mix of family and historical drama is in the Official Competition of the 75th Berlinale [Read More...]

Leibniz – Chronicle of a Lost Painting (Leibniz – Chronik eines Verschollenen Bildes)

Edgar Reitz, Anatol Schuster
2025

Lida Bach - 21-02-2025

Edgar Reitz contemplates painting, cinema and the human condition in polished yet ponderous new feature, with a sheer disregard for female artists - live from the 75th Berlinale [Read More...]

Timestamp (Strichka Chasu)

Kateryna Gornostai
2025

Victor Fraga - 20-02-2025

Young people forge a sense of normalcy despite the looming war, in this documentary about life in Ukrainian schools - from the Official Competition of the 75th Berlinale [Read More...]