Pawlikowski deftly balances the bitter with the sweet here, which is graced by top-notch performances.

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Last Resort (2001)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:70
Fresh:66
Rotten:4
Average Rating:7.3/10
Consensus: Critics are raving about Last Resort, saying it's a convincing, touching tale. Particularly impressive is the lack of script during the film's shoot.
Rated: Not Rated
Genre: Dramas
Theatrical Release:Feb 23, 2001 Limited
Synopsis: Directed by Pawel Pawlikowski, LAST RESORT tells the story of a young Russian woman who travels to an unfamiliar country to reunite with her fiancé, but instead finds herself in the midst of a... Directed by Pawel Pawlikowski, LAST RESORT tells the story of a young Russian woman who travels to an unfamiliar country to reunite with her fiancé, 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 herself. 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. [More]
Starring: Dina Korzun, Artiom Strelnikov, Paddy Considine, Lindsay Honey
Starring: Dina Korzun, Artiom Strelnikov, Paddy Considine, Lindsay Honey, Perry Benson, Katie Drinkwater, Dave Bean, Adrian Scarborough, David Auker, Bruce Byron, Jim Trevellyan, Marcus Redwood, Zoe Sharpe, Daniel Mobey
Director: Paul Pawlikowski
Director: Paul Pawlikowski
Screenwriter: Paul Pawlikowski
Producer: Ruth Caleb
Composer: Max de Wardener, Rowan Olivier
Studio: The Shooting Gallery
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Reviews for Last Resort
Last Resort shares with movies like Lynne Ramsay's Ratcatcher and Emmanuel Finkiel's Voyages a simultaneous commitment to truth-telling and formal exploration.
A glimpse into passing lives that achieves warmth and significance through artful and unpretentious understatement.
Last Resort ... marks the emergence of a filmmaker who, in cunningly addressing matters of restriction and escape, manages to really capture people with a camera.
In addition to imbuing Last Resort with a convincingly gritty atmosphere, director Pawlikowski also loads the film with several fascinatingly seedy characters.
As in Loach's films, the only real villains are the low-level bureaucrats of the welfare system -- a simplistic notion, to say the least.
Writer/director Pawel Pawlikowski strikes a wonderful balance between pathos and tenderness.
Pawlikowski's style makes for compelling, if sometimes grittily depressing, viewing.
From Polish writer-director Pawel Pawlikowski comes a poignant Sad Sack tale of a young Russian mother and her son cast adrift on foreign shores.
Dramatically low-key, Last Resort is beautifully acted, with striking realism.
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie | Date |
|---|---|---|
| 68% 68% | The Last Station | 12/23 |
| 68% 68% | Sherlock Holmes | 12/25 |
| 45% 45% | Nine | 12/25 |
| 30% 30% | It's Complicated | 12/25 |
| 20% 20% | Alvin and the Chipmunk… | 12/25 |
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