Last Resort (2000)

Average rating

(71%)

Starring:	Dina Korzun \| Artyom Strelnikov \| Paddy Considine \| Dave Bean \| Adrian Scarborough \| Adrian Scarborough \| Perry Benson \| David Auker \| Bruce Byron \| Katie Drinkwater \| Lindsay Honey \| Daniel Mobey \| Marcus Redwood \| Zoe Sharpe \| Jim Trevellyan
Director:	Pawel Pawlikowski
Studio:	ARTIFICIAL EYE
Run time:	75 mins
Genres:	Drama
Languages:	English
Released:	July 30, 2001
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LAST RESORT, directed by Pawel Pawlikowski, tells the story of a young Russian woman who travels to an unfamiliar country to reunite with her fiance, but instead finds herself in the midst of a waking nightmare. When Tanya (Dina Korzun) lands in England along with her 10-year-old son, Artiom (Artiom Strelnikov), she is crushed to discover that her soon-to-be-husband is nowhere to be found. Confused and ignorant, she naively asks the government for asylum and becomes a refugee in a dead-end coastal resort that is full of bewildered immigrants like her. Unfortunately, by the time she realizes that she's made a mistake, bureaucratic paperwork has already ensured that she must stay locked inside the walls of the barren dumping grounds for an indefinite period. Struggling to make ends meet, Tanya befriends a charming arcade manager, Alfie (Paddy Considine), while Artiom learns the ins and outs of vandalism. When it finally becomes clear to Tanya that she is only setting herself up for another heartbreak, she is forced to make a difficult decision that will affect the lives of everyone involved. Pawlikowski's bittersweet, inspiring love story, which blends documentary techniques with a dreamlike atmosphere, features a mesmerizing performance from the luminous Korzun.

Rating of 4 stars out of 5

Documentarist Pawel Pawlikowski thoroughly merited his Bafta for this second foray into fictional film following The Stringer (1997). Not that he's abandoned authenticity altogether, as it's the gnawing sense of realism here that makes Russian emigrant Dina Korzun's plight all the more distressing. Arriving in the UK, she's detained in a holding centre, after being disowned by her fiancé. Korzun is equally misused by bureaucrats and internet pornographers as she tries to build a new life for herself and son, Artiom Strelnikov. With amusement arcade attendant Paddy Considine providing humour and humanity, and cinematographer Ryszard Lenczewski capturing seaside Britain's bleak beauty, this is a powerful indictment of political hypocrisy and everyday indifference.

Rating of 2 stars out of 5
Halliwell's Film Guide

Small-scale but affecting drama, detailing the personal, rather than the political, effects of being stranded in a strange and unfriendly country given to a labyrinthine bureaucracy.

Highest rated reviews

15 out of 17 people found the following review helpful:

Realistic but not bleak

ThomasKus from from Gloucester, 3rd May, 2004

This is a small film with a visibly small budget but a big heart for its protagonists. It tells the story of Tanya and her son Artiom who are trying to find a new family in the UK but end up in the asylum system with all its bureaucracy and restrictions where life is bleak and the only hope comes in the form of Alfie who himself would like to make them his family.

British films work best through there realism and critical look at society and this is no exception. Sadly it won't be seen by 'would be asylum seekers' and certainly not by those most critical of the asylum system but this should certainly not deter anyone even remotely interested in the subject matter.

On a personal note I would like to point out that this was filmed in the seaside town of Margate in Kent which has its fair share of asylum seekers and other problems but has also seen a remarkable regeneration and increase in wealth over the last few years. Most of the sites shown in this movie can still be found, however, and the problems shown in the film are the problems of many UK seaside towns, especially in the Southeast.

Overall and interesting little film that is well worth renting for a different night in.

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