Last Resort ,The (DVD)

The Last Resort Directed by Pawel Pawlikowski this film was an early precursor to the tension and drama that immigration can cause in the UK. The story follows Tanya (Dina Korzun), a young Russian mother who finds an English man who proposes to her, he returns to England and calls for her to join him, when she arrives at Gatwick airport with her 10 year old son Artiom (Artiom Strelnikov) to meet her new English fiancé he fails to turn up and she has no way of contacting him, she realises she has been used. A distraught Tanya claims political asylum having come to the UK with dreams of a better life for her son and finds herself treated ...  Read the complete review

Last Resort is a film about Britain, about asyluam seekers, the refugee problem, the effect of bureaucracy on real lives, and the economic decline of the seaside resort. It is also touching and personal, and oddly beautiful. It is telling that such a clear and honest examination of Britain today comes from a director with a Russin background, Pawel Pavlovski. He has followed the path from small to big screen, trodden by the likes of Mike Leigh and Alan Clarke, This low budget production was not originally intended for cinematic release, but glows with the most complete cinematic vision seen from a British director for some time. The story is about Tanya ...  Read the complete review

Last Resort" suffers from exactly the opposite problem that agonized "Surveillance." That film had a really interesting style, part documentary, part detective story, totally photographed with a variety of digital cameras, giving the movie an authentic sense. The movie failed because the filmmakers did not put enough energy or effort into the script. "Last Resort" has a heartbreaking, oddly engaging story, but its style keeps the viewer distant and distraught. As I left this movie, I felt cheated out of what could have been a very good film. Pawel Pavlikovsky, the Polish writer and director, certainly avoided the usual clichés involved ...  Read the complete review

Last Resort is a monster of a film. Shot in a very documentary style, the apparently handheld camera shots, and low key lighting work well together to create a sparse and barren atmosphere throughout the film. The story starts at the airport, and eventually returns there. In the meantime, the central character, a Russian mother, and her son battle with the reality of being stuck in a dead end town, waiting for the case to be considered. Arriving at the airport, the Mother’s English boyfriend fails to turn up and collect her, leaving her with little option than to claim refugee status – she intends to track him down believing he ...  Read the complete review