The Last Resort

A comfortably upper-middle-classed Danish family is taking a well-deserved breather from the hectic everyday on a holiday in the Canary Islands. The holiday is derailed when the family’s car hits Ahmad (Aziz Çapkurt), a paperless refugee. The societally aware parents, mother Louise (Danica Curcic) and father Mikkel (Esben Smed), are shocked and aim to help the man. Gradually, Ahmad’s requests for help magnify as do the stories of his troubled past. The parents’ good will and faith in Ahmad’s honesty start waning and finally snap when their children' s safety is under threat. 

The parents’ relationship with Ahmad is echoed in the locals’ sentiments. Some aim to help, while others are openly xenophobic and see the refugees arriving by sea as a danger – not in the least to the main source of income on the islands, tourism.

Western privilege is put face to face with refugee realities in this drama that cleverly uses tinges of thriller to put the audience in the situation of the parents. Western well-to-do audiences are left to ponder how much of our comfort and privilege we would be willing to sacrifice when faced with the complexities of global inequality concretely. The film was awarded Best Nordic Film at the Gothenburg film festival in 2026. 

Saara Tuusa