Gianluca Mataresse’s film The Last Chapter is hard to classify. It is essentially a documentary, but probably a better word for it would be a character study. But it is not simply the story of a man’s life, either. This is a probing and thoughtful film that forces the viewer to reflect on their own life at every turn. We follow Bernard, a 63 year old man who meets Mataresse and beings a sexual relationship based on bondage, domination and submission. But as time goes on, the pair develop a more profound and affectionate friendship. As far as plot, not much actually happens. Bernard goes to clubs, moves from one apartment to another. He loses his cat. The story of his life, too, is not inherently remarkable. But the way Mataresse presents the man, and Bernard’s introspection make this a powerful film. It as by turns touching, shocking, funny and sad.
The title of this film is particularly appropriate. A human life can encompass many chapters and many episodes. Some lives have many chapters and some do not. Some have one long chapter and others have many short chapters. Bernard is clearly a man who has had several major chapters in his life, and he spends a great deal of time contemplating these and trying to figure out what they all mean. One of the most interesting questions posed by the film, is what it means when one person’s story is intimately intertwined with another’s, but then goes on alone. Bernard had two great loves in his life before meeting Gianluca, and both died of AIDS in the 1980s. One, who Bernard calls the greatest love of his life, died in his arms. How does one go on and begin a new chapter after the story of someone so close has ended for ever? For Bernard to question is especially perplexing since he himself never used a condom and claims to have slept with 10,000 men in his lifetime. In addition to that, there were the drugs and alcohol. Did he have a death wish? We cannot say for sure. But he does feel that his life is oddly blessed. His way of coping with the overwhelming sadness of losing those close to him seems to have been a turn to BDSM.
Bernard at some point became a well known figure in the BDSM community in Paris. In the film, he recounts various adventures he’s had while dominating others. Many of these were, for this apparently prudish author at least, quite shocking. But Bernard did not turn to this simply out of a love of inflicting pain or controlling others. He believes that it is only during hard core sex that one can really understand the essence of a partner. To make sure he captures that essence, Bernard makes videos of his encounters, including those with Mataresse. There are little things, Bernard claims, like the way a person’s eyes roll, that reveal a person’s true essence. And it is that essence that Bernard is looking for. He’s a man who is fascinated by human nature and, although he never says so in these words, the meaning of life. He is, in this sense, quite a philosophical leather daddy.
It is easy to see why someone in Mataresse’s shoes would find such a man fascinating. He’s older (Mataresse is about 40) and eager to share his wisdom with younger men. He is in some sense a teacher and helps his students learn how to search for the meaning of their own lives. One of the most important goals of art, I believe, is showing human beings how they should live their lives, or at least saying something important on the topic. In this sense, The Last Chapter is an impressive work of art.
Mataresse is also known for his documentary, Everything Must Go (2019), which recounts his own experience of returning to Italy after a long absence to help his family with their struggling shoe business. Both films are inspired by Mataresse’s own life and try to extract some meaning from his own experiences. The Last Chapter premiered at the 2021 Venice film festival.