This preview for the Nordic Film Festival is a proper drama for grown-ups, directed and co-written by Maria Sødahl, that poses some curly questions. It's about a middle class Danish couple on holiday with their young daughters in the Canary Islands. Interestingly, the Danish title is Paradis, which carries a bit more irony than its English title.
Mikkel (Esben Smed) and Louise (Danica Curcic) are a typically 'normal' couple from northern Europe, enjoying their island holiday when they run down a bloke while driving at night. He turns out to be Ahmed (Aziz Çapkurt), a refugee from Afghanistan, and his leg is pretty munted. Trying to do the right thing, they take him to hospital and leave him with some cash, and crucially, their resort room and phone numbers.
This minor act of kindness, and no little guilt, sets in motion a slow building series of events that fucks with the couple's holiday, and relationship in a wider sense. The resurfacing of Ahmed is clearly signposted (no film otherwise) and his ever increasing requests for help begin to drive a wedge between the holiday-makers. On one hand, Mikkel is slightly more sympathetic of Ahmed's plight, while Louise has her reservations and is also concerned about the chance of parting with loads of cash.
The film strikes a commendable balance between the plight of the refugees and the reactions of the Scandinavian visitors and island locals. Characters like the hotel manager, well-meaning volunteers, waiters, and various resort guests, all add their tuppence worth to the situation, one way or the other. And there's one clearly mirrored subplot involving a hotel cat that runs along in the background.
As the credits rolled, I was asked a question to the extent of 'Do you think he (Ahmed) was legit?' and there's the key to the film. Whichever way you go with this question could be a pointer to your political bent, or your level of general cynicism. It's a pretty good barometer for where you stand in the current climate of extremes.
This is one of those films that was fine while watching but gains an extra half star while writing about it, due to the subtle complexity of the script and the solid performances. There's a bit of a genre starting to appear that deals with the modern 'White Man's Burden' (or probably more prosaically, just rich, well-meaning folk on holiday), specifically focussed on northern Europeans, and this film sits firmly in that category.
The Last Resort is part of the upcoming Nordic Film Festival, screening at Palace and Luna cinemas rom July 23rd to August 16th.
See also:
Two Ruben Östlund films, Force Majeure (2014), and Triangle of Sadness (2022), John Michael McDonagh's The Forgiven (2021), and Charlotte Wells' fantastic Aftersun (2022) are all examples of that mentioned above. Kind of.
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