Screening as a heavyweight contender at this year’s Nordic Film Festival, Maria Sødahl’s The Last Resort (originally titled Paradis) arrives with the prestige of a Dragon Award for Best Nordic Film at Göteborg, and it’s easy to see why. This isn’t just another sun-drenched holiday drama; it is a clinical, often agonising dissection of Western morality when confronted with the global refugee crisis. It feels deliberately uncomfortable to watch (in all the best ways!)
The story follows Mikkel and Louise (played with razor-sharp precision by Danica Ćurčić and Anders W. Berthelsen) as they take their two daughters on a much-needed all-inclusive getaway to Gran Canaria. Sødahl spends the opening act leaning into the “paradise” of the title – the crystal clear swimming pools, the breakfast buffet lines, and the curated supposed luxury of resort life. But the polished surface begins to crack when the family encounters Ahmed (Aziz Capkurt) a non-documented migrant from Afghanistan who is in desperate need of help, leading to a split-second decision that spirals into a moral nightmare.
What makes The Last Resort so effective is its refusal to offer an sort of easy catharsis. As the stranger asks for more, the family’s liberal values are stripped away, revealing the self-preserving instincts that lie beneath. Danica Ćurčić is particularly haunting here, portraying a woman whose conscience is slowly being suffocated by the very walls of the luxury resort she paid for. The film has no problem challenging white privilege, even in the comfort of its own space.
It’s in that grounded realism that prevents this movie from feeling like a simple parable. It’s a tense, uncomfortable watch that forces us to ask: What would I do if my dream vacation became someone else’s survival story? For all of its brilliance, it never feels preachy or performative. As the reality of what’s happening in the world gets closer to our comfort zones, this film forces us to confront a reality that we may not want to.
While the pacing occasionally slows in the second act, the final reel is a masterclass in tension that will leave you thinking long after the credits roll. It is an incredibly impressive second feature from a new director and a challenging piece of cinema that stands out as one of the highlights of the festival.
The Last Resort (Paradis) is currently screening as part of the 2026 HURTIGRUTEN NORDIC FILM FESTIVAL
