The Adam Kinzinger-focused The Last Republican was one of the hottest documentaries at the Toronto International Film Festival. Directed by Steve Pink (Hot Tub Time Machine), the movie chronicles the then-Illinois Congressman as he breaks ranks with his Republican colleagues to criticize Donald Trump and join the Jan. 6 committee. The movie has seen its relevance skyrocket in the wake of Trump’s election last month.
In this exclusive trailer drop, Kinzinger can be seen outlining his motivations. “It’s not about a political view. It’s about what it is to turn against everything you ever belonged to because of some red line you can’t cross,” he says, in a trailer that highlights both the serious and lighter aspects of Kinzinger’s story.
At TIFF, he told THR that politics was not the sole focus of the film, which is also produced by the doc filmmaker Jason Kohn: “When I talked to Steve and the team their interest was in the human element — what’s the cost to you and your future kid?”
While devised and shot before the outcome of the 2024 campaign was known, Trump’s resurgence has only given the film added timeliness. Kinzinger is expected to be a key voice of resistance in a chorus that has otherwise often been silent in the weeks since the election. Major streamers and film-distribution companies, for their part, have shown a notable lack of appetite for a movie critical of the president-elect and declined to acquire it. The Last Republican will come out through the documentary collective MCDC that Pink founded.
The doc opens at New York City’s Film Forum on Jan. 3 and will expand to other cities in the months to follow.
