Last Resort cover art

Last Resort Details

2000 Certificate 15
  • Rated:
  • 70
  • from 2577 members

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 .. Read more

Starring Dina Korzun, Artyom Strelnikov, Paddy Considine, Dave Bean
Director Paul Pavlikovsky, Pawel Pawlikowski
Genres Drama

Sign up Last Resort DVD

Buy From: £12.93

loading loading...

Last Resort cover art

Last Resort

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.

Starring Dina Korzun, Artyom Strelnikov, Paddy Considine, Dave Bean, Adrian Scarborough, Perry Benson, David Auker, Bruce Byron, Katie Drinkwater, Lindsay Honey, Daniel Mobey, Marcus Redwood, Zoe Sharpe, Jim Trevellyan
Director Paul Pavlikovsky, Pawel Pawlikowski
Studio ARTIFICIAL EYE
Run time DVD: 1 hr 15 mins
Certificate Certificate 15
Genres Drama
Language DVD: English
Released DVD: 30 Jul 2001
Production year: 2000
Format DVD

  • Critics' reviews (6) of Last Resort

    View all
  • 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.

    • Radio Times
    • Posted 29 Jan 2006
  • 2 stars out of 4

    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.

    • Halliwell's Film Guide
    • Posted 02 Mar 2006

  • Most helpful member's review of Last Resort

    View all
  • 22 out of 24 people found this review helpful

    Rated - 4 stars [Highly rated reviewer]

    Realistic but not bleak

    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.

    • ThomasKus
      • ThomasKus from Gloucester
      • Posted 03 May 2004 15:36

  • Most recent members' review of Last Resort

    View all
  • 22 out of 24 people found this review helpful

    Rated - 4 stars [Highly rated reviewer]

    Realistic but not bleak

    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.

    • ThomasKus
      • ThomasKus from Gloucester
      • Posted 03 May 2004 15:36

  • News and features

    View all
    Wings Of Desire

    My Summer Of Love up for top European prizes

    • 08 Nov 2005

    The British independent film My Summer Of Love has been nominated for four prestigious European Film Awards. The film directed by Pawel Pawlikowski, who also made Last Resort, tells the tale of a lesbian relationship between two girls played by Nathalie Press, who is up for the best actress award, and Emily Blunt in rural Yorkshire. The film also features British actor Paddy Considine who as well as appearing in 24 Hour Party People was in Ron Howard's Cinderella Man alongside Russell Crowe and Read more

  • More like this

    View all
    Showing 1 to 4 of 20

    loading

Find cinemas


Rating breakdown

2,577 Member ratings
  • 100
179
  • 90
207
  • 80
575
  • 70
531
  • 60
463
  • 50
257
  • 40
165
  • 30
97
  • 20
73
  • 10
30

Related user collection

Buy from the LOVEFiLM shop

    • Last Resort

    • Last Resort
    • DVD: £12.93
      Free Delivery
    • RRP £17.79 (you save: 27%)
      • 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 ...