Film Study Notes: Somers Town and Last Resort

Some notes from two recent films I've watched and studied.

Somers Town

Director: Shane Meadows
Budget: £566,616 (entirely funded by Eurostar)
Release: 2008 (UK)
Reception: 96% on rotten tomatoes
Awards: Michael Powell Award (Edinburgh International Film Festival's highest award)

Some notes I made about the film:
-Immigrants (like in Ghosts and Last Resort) live in poor conditions.
-The Polish family (at the opening of the film) are quite strong in the belief of separating us and them.
-Immigrants seem to largely enjoy life in Britain, with the exception of missing family members.
-The film revolves around three people from three different backgrounds and places all coming to one new place (Somers Town). This makes them all forigeners to the area even though one comes from England.
-The main characters seem to have a simple grip on reality. This may be because they are children in an adult world and so retaining a childish outlook on the world.
-All of the main characters, despite being from different backgrounds, all seem to be gravitated to the same things and problems, at one point all being stuck in a rut facing similar situations despite the differences in nationality.
-The film ends by the two boys travelling to Paris to spend time with the girl they have apparently fallen in love with.


Last Resort

Director: Pawel Pawlikowski
Release: 2001
Reception: 94% On rotten tomatoes
Awards: BAFTA "Most Promising Newcomer in British Film - Pawel Pawlikowski" and Best New British Feature (Edinburgh Film Festival)

Some notes I made about the film:

-The mother appears not to fully understand the situation; like with Ghosts and Somer's Town, she holds a simpler grip on reality. Her son appears to have more sense about what is going on than she does.
-Like in Ghosts and Somer's town, there is a gangster-style buisnessman and several other characters who take advantage of the foreigner's lack of understanding on their situation. For instance, there are children in Last Resort selling items to immigrants to make money.
-Like in Ghosts and Somer's town, the immigrants live in poor conditions, even trying to sell things to make money.
-Also like in the previous two movies, an English character befriends them, eventually helping them escape the situation they're in.
-Unhappy in their new situation and wish to go home.
-The boy makes an effort to learn english like characters in the previous two films. He turns to crime and drinking later on because his lack of understanding of the country and poor conditions means he comes under the influence of "corrupt" teenagers.
-Unlike in Somer's Town, the Russian family leave the main male character Alfie and love to return home.