Devany Pamiza’s ‘One Last Ride’ gives you two young women at a bus stop and lets the tension and the weight of shared history do most of the talking. There’s no backstory spelled out and no flashbacks. Just two people, stuck between where they’ve been and where they’re heading, fumbling through a conversation that matters more than either of them wants to admit.
Michelle (Serrena Leyva) sits like someone who hoped this exact moment wouldn’t happen. Julie (Lily Cazares) chats like someone who hoped it would. They were childhood friends, now separated by years of silence, and it shows. Their small talk is cautious, uneven. Michelle barely lets a smile through. Julie pushes, dodges, apologises without saying the words. The tension is perhaps familiar to many, and that’s what makes it engaging.
The audio is the film’s one true weakness. The wind pick-up is cuts across the dialogue at times. But the film doesn’t collapse under it. Visually, ‘One Last Ride’ knows exactly what it’s doing. The camerawork is measured (albiet low-budget production values), drawing us in with careful cinematography that never feel staged – almost like we’re eavesdropping.
Performance-wise, the casting is right on target. Serrena Leyva brings a dignity to Michelle – guarded, cautious, but with flickers of warmth she tries to suppress. There’s a sense that Michelle doesn’t want closure. Lily Cazares, as Julie, leans into the vulnerability of someone trying to bridge a gap without fully knowing how. Her nervous chatter and sidelong glances suggest regret without self-pity. Together, they create a believable history.
The film builds to something that almost feels like resolution. The conversation softens. Eyes meet. Then the bus arrives. There’s a slight twist in the final seconds that will make you want to know more.
‘One Last Ride’ is confident, stripped back, and unafraid to leave questions hanging in the air. It doesn’t reach for applause. It earns your attention, and maybe a bit of recognition. A respectable short.
