The Last Paradise on Earth - Film Review

This understated, moving feature is presented as part of the 2025 Hurtigruten Scandinavian Film Festival, on now at Luna Palace Cinemas, where we get to see a selection of films from Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Iceland and Finland, during July & August. An abundance of fjords and arctic weather. Just in case we didn’t feel cold enough already in humble Freo. Those Scandinavian jumpers sure look cosy.

Directed by Sakaris Stórá and starring Sámal H. Hansen, Bjørg B. Egholm, Bjørn M. Mohr, Esther á Fjallinum, and Hans Tórgarð, it is a tranquil experience to watch, both melancholy and warm.

Kari and his rebellious sister, Silja, go through the motions in the town nestled within the Danish Faroe Islands where time appears to stand forever still yet in recent years everything is changing.

Their father grows more absent, incapable of fulfilling his parental expectations in the absence of their late mother, and even as Silja is desperate to connect with something beyond what they have, Kari remains entranced with their home.

Yet his connection to the land is imperiled, as the fish factory Kari works at threatens to close and loved ones leave, forcing him to confront his options.

This is a beautiful, tender, and vulnerable film with a perfectly timed ethereal soundtrack. We enjoy breathtaking and bleak scenery as the backdrop to a charming, yet depopulating village. The humanity of the main characters is gently suggested to us through intimate framing of each shot with only hints of their inner thoughts.

Seven out of ten stars.

* By Gayle O’Leary. If you’d like to catch up on more by Gayle here on Fremantle Shipping News, look right here!

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