The last episode of a hit show is filmed and leads to some chaos in this Portuguese mockumentary.

On June 15, 1991, TV show host Emanuel Raposo filmed his final episode of his hit show Meia Hora com Emanuel Raposo. After thirty years, Raposo is retiring from the industry and wants to go out with a major high. However, he comes across multiple issues behind the scenes. Raposo is just trying to do his best He’s been told to read his script faster. He constantly botches his lines. Even his crew seem bumbling at times. Despite their twenty-year age gap, his wife is excited that Emanuel can spend more time with his family. However, after a heated argument with his musician friend, Emanuel finally snaps but as they say in the business…the show must go on.

Making a mockumentary can be tough. However, in the U.S., we have We Are Spinal Tap and Christopher Guest’s films as well as the U.K.’s Steve Coogan as Alan Partridge. And Portugal now has their own hero in Emanuel Raposo, the star of a major talk show who is about to film his final episode. And at first, he seems a bit happy yet stressed when he is told to read his lines faster. As this footage keeps going, we see Raposo increasingly get more agitated with the direction of the show as he is the veteran dealing with a much younger crew and the generational gap takes the best of everyone.

What’s amazing about this aside from the cast is that the film has the looks and feels of 1991. It looks shot on VHS and even has the feel of a VHS cassette with hints of tracking and its home video feel. As someone who was a 12-year-old in 1991 and having taken home movies for the family, this film feels like I was right at home. This film feels like it’s made for fans of mockumentaries, nostalgia, and those who still have a love for that format called VHS.

The Last Days of Emanuel Raposo is a wild and nostalgic mockumentary that will cater to fans of the genre and those who love VHS. The cast is great as we see a veteran on his last legs and doing the best he can to overcome the generation gap.

WFG RATING: A

A Maus de Fita production. Director: Diogo Lima. Producers: Carlota Dãmaso, Amarino França, Buno Tavares Oliveira, and João Antonio Vaz. Writers: Amarino França, Diogo Lima, Francisco Afonso Lopes, and André Mendes. Cinematography: João Antonio Vaz. Editing: Diogo Lima and André Mendes.

Cast: Mário Roberto, Francisco Afonso Lopes, Mia Tomé, Diogo Lima, João Malaquias, Catarina Gaspar, Dalila Couto