Welcome is a French film, directed by Philippe Lioret, about a 17-year-old Kurdish boy from Iraq who wants to swim across the canal from France to England to get together with his girlfriend. The distance, 32 kilometers, isn't the only problem but Bilal (the boy) can't swim either. Soon he becomes acquainted with a swimming guide, Simon Calmat and an unusual relationship build between them. On the surface Welcome is a statement that all people should be allowed to move freely in the world and that hospitality should never be a crime. But there is much more in it, for better and worse.
At first glance Welcome seems like a film about refugee issues of France, racism and inequality in our society. But as time goes by it grows out to be something more; a film about will power and the ultimate force of love. Why is the swimming tutor ready to risk it all for this youngster? His rationality, sense and own morality are being questioned. Apparently he feels Bilal as his own son whom he never had. The arrival of the boy also makes him question his own life and the love he still has for his ex-wife.
Welcome is quite a good description of the Europe of today; immigration issues, modern hierarchy and inequality. But it has its flaws too. It seems to have more value as an entertainment film than an art-house one. The underestimation of the viewer, at times predictable and conventional structure of dramaturgy are the major flaws of it. But this doesn't make it a bad film at all - these are just flaws that lower the cinematic value of the film.
In the recommendations section of IMDb there is Lorna's Silence (2008) by the Dardenne brothers, an acclaimed Belgian filmmaking duo, and while watching Welcome I was constantly being reminded of it. It's a great film, truly a masterpiece and also deals with current issues; human trafficking and the European identity of today. These two films are quite hard to be compared with each other but their themes resemble each other at times. I recommend you watch that one as well, to my mind its far better than Welcome but it's a completely different type of film; so the comparison is a bit irrelevant. Now back to Welcome.
When the swimming tutor sits in a bar, drinking a beer, a swimming competition is going on TV, and the show reminds him of his own swimming career he once had. In the end when he travels to London to search for Bilal's girlfriend, a football match is going on TV. Earlier in the film, Bilal told the tutor that he wants to play in Manchester United some day that he is quite a runner, a good football player. To my mind this was an excellent detail in the dramaturgy of the film which brought its emotional scale to a new level. Using the television as a motive.
The film starts with a documentary-like introduction when Bilal tries to travel with a group of other refugees in a truck. The hand-held camera-work and the plastic bags the refugees have to put in their heads because of the carbon hydrate inspection characterize it as realism. But then it starts turning into a much more dramatic film with calm editing and stable cinematography. This is an important change in the film's style because in the beginning we see everything from the eyes of Bilal but then, eventually, we start observing the events from the tutor's perspective. This change of perspective is also one of the strongest elements of the film.
Welcome has its clever details and nice cinematic choices in terms of narrative. But, in the end, it was too easy in my opinion. Everything is given to the viewer directly and there is no room for speculation. It's biggest flaws are in conventional structure and in style which reduce its cinematic value. But even that Welcome doesn't hold the highest cinematic value of all it stands out as a good film about Europe of today, immigration issues and last but not least, the love above all.
At first glance Welcome seems like a film about refugee issues of France, racism and inequality in our society. But as time goes by it grows out to be something more; a film about will power and the ultimate force of love. Why is the swimming tutor ready to risk it all for this youngster? His rationality, sense and own morality are being questioned. Apparently he feels Bilal as his own son whom he never had. The arrival of the boy also makes him question his own life and the love he still has for his ex-wife.
Welcome is quite a good description of the Europe of today; immigration issues, modern hierarchy and inequality. But it has its flaws too. It seems to have more value as an entertainment film than an art-house one. The underestimation of the viewer, at times predictable and conventional structure of dramaturgy are the major flaws of it. But this doesn't make it a bad film at all - these are just flaws that lower the cinematic value of the film.
In the recommendations section of IMDb there is Lorna's Silence (2008) by the Dardenne brothers, an acclaimed Belgian filmmaking duo, and while watching Welcome I was constantly being reminded of it. It's a great film, truly a masterpiece and also deals with current issues; human trafficking and the European identity of today. These two films are quite hard to be compared with each other but their themes resemble each other at times. I recommend you watch that one as well, to my mind its far better than Welcome but it's a completely different type of film; so the comparison is a bit irrelevant. Now back to Welcome.
When the swimming tutor sits in a bar, drinking a beer, a swimming competition is going on TV, and the show reminds him of his own swimming career he once had. In the end when he travels to London to search for Bilal's girlfriend, a football match is going on TV. Earlier in the film, Bilal told the tutor that he wants to play in Manchester United some day that he is quite a runner, a good football player. To my mind this was an excellent detail in the dramaturgy of the film which brought its emotional scale to a new level. Using the television as a motive.
The film starts with a documentary-like introduction when Bilal tries to travel with a group of other refugees in a truck. The hand-held camera-work and the plastic bags the refugees have to put in their heads because of the carbon hydrate inspection characterize it as realism. But then it starts turning into a much more dramatic film with calm editing and stable cinematography. This is an important change in the film's style because in the beginning we see everything from the eyes of Bilal but then, eventually, we start observing the events from the tutor's perspective. This change of perspective is also one of the strongest elements of the film.
Welcome has its clever details and nice cinematic choices in terms of narrative. But, in the end, it was too easy in my opinion. Everything is given to the viewer directly and there is no room for speculation. It's biggest flaws are in conventional structure and in style which reduce its cinematic value. But even that Welcome doesn't hold the highest cinematic value of all it stands out as a good film about Europe of today, immigration issues and last but not least, the love above all.