Welcome (2009/I)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

Philippe Lioret

Writers:

Olivier Adam (writer)
Emmanuel Courcol (writer)

Release Date:

11 March 2009 (France)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Bilal is 17 years old, a Kurdish boy from Iraq. He sets off on an adventure-filled journey across Europe...

Plot Keywords:

Plastic Bag Over Head | Channel Crossing | Refugee | Sleeping On Couch | Death Of Loved One

Awards:

3 wins

Cast

Vincent Lindon	...	Simon
Firat Ayverdi	...	Bilal
Audrey Dana	...	Marion
Derya Ayverdi	...	Mina
Thierry Godard	...	Bruno
Selim Akgul	...	Zoran (as Selim Akgül)
Firat Celik	...	Koban
Murat Subasi	...	Mirko
Olivier Rabourdin	...	Lieutenant Caratini
Yannick Renier	...	Alain
Mouafaq Rushdie	...	Le père de Mina
Behi Djanati Atai	...	La mère de Mina (as Behi Djanati Ataï)
Patrick Ligardes	...	Le voisin de Simon
Jean-Pol Brissart	...	Le juge
Blandine Pélissier	...	La juge aux affaires familiales

Runtime:

France:110 min

Country:

France

Language:

French | Kurdish | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Netherlands:12 | Portugal:M/12 (Qualidade) | UK:15 | Ireland:15A | South Korea:15

Company:

Nord-Ouest Productions

Goofs:

Factual errors: When Simon finds Mina in London, in the background is a sign for "Elephant and Castle Shopping Center" - in British English, the spelling "centre" would be used.

L'Europe est mort, vive l'Europe!

Rightly so, Lioret's film 'Welcome' confronts us with a changing Europe, from one which used to be tolerant to the less-fortunate into one dominated by fear, exclusion and self-righteousness. The anonymous setting of the port of Calais - exchangeable with Dover, Bari or Tarifa or any other border town in Europe – and the hauntingly introvert piano score add to the growing hostilities towards refugees in Europe. The two main characters are, each in their own way, equally tragic: Bilal, a 17-year-old refugee from Kurdistan, in desperately pursuing an impossible dream, and Simon, a disappointed middle-aged French swimming instructor, in not being able to cling onto that dream. The friendship and the actual drama begin when they first meet in a local pool. So far so good. Regrettably, and perhaps regrettably, Lioret diminishes the intensity of this relationship by wanting to provide too many answers to too many irrelevant questions. The result is that story lines, actions and ultimately even the characters become blurred and incredible, which is a great sorrow to inflict on a topic of this social magnitude. One only wishes a little more Dardenne-style type of filming in this film! The strength of 'Welcome' is that is requires us to reconsider to what extent we are willing to be human, social and forgiving towards 'the other' in an ever-harshening world. By examining the attitudes of the shop manager, the neighbour and the bureaucrat, we are eventually confronted with ourselves. 'Welcome' is certainly not an easy film but a highly desirable one.