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Welcome (2009)

Drama | 110 minutes
3,69 359 votes

Genre: Drama

Duration: 110 minuten

Country: France

Directed by: Philippe Lioret

Stars: Vincent Lindon, Firat Ayverdi and Audrey Dana

IMDb score: 7,5 (7.798)

Releasedate: 11 March 2009

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UK

This movie is not available on US streaming services.

JustWatch

Welcome plot

"Friendship has no borders. True love has no limits."

To be able to be with his girlfriend in England, Bilal, a Kurdish boy of 17, decides to swim across the Channel from the French side. He gets help from local lifeguard Simon who is in the middle of a divorce with his wife.

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Full Cast & Crew

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Le lieutenant de police

Le collègue de Simon

Bruno, le collègue de Marion

Le gradé chez Simon

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avatar van Fran

Fran

  • 1953 messages
  • 1732 votes

This is a very tragic story told without too much sentiment. And that balance is held very well throughout the film. It is to the point and understated which keeps it very nicely small but the drama was definitely very strong.

Especially the bond that grows between the boy and man is very nicely depicted. In the beginning you have the suspicion that the man only offered his help to get in the good graces of his ex-wife, but at the end of the film you see that he has practically started to see him as his own son. Very nice to see the growth of the bond between these two people.

The love that still exists between the man and his ex-wife is also very nicely portrayed. It's a smaller and less important part of the story, but I thought it came across as very strong. And no over the top, still a happy ending but just how it usually goes. Very tragic and sobering but the reality.

dutch flagTranslated from Dutch · View original

avatar van eRCee

eRCee

  • 13441 messages
  • 1978 votes

Beautiful social drama about a subject that (fortunately) has come up more often in recent years in films and books (think of Le Havre, but also of the novels Little bee and [ i]La superba[/i]). For me, the socially critical setting in this regard is an immediate plus, because it shows the director's involvement; here's someone at work who really wants to say something. The refugee theme gives relevance to the drama, and it underlines the link between art and society.

I think the importance of this is greater than many people think. For example, this news item mentions that Welcome international fame gave to the French law that criminalized it to help illegal immigrants. A law that, if I understand correctly, has also been reversed.

Apart from that, Welome is also just a good film. It has to have a great story with convincing characters. In my opinion it is sometimes a bit too sentimental (partly because of the music) and in terms of style the film is safe. May Lioret be forgiven; sometimes other things are more important. Or, to put it in Klaus Mann's words:

It is now my task not to distinguish or shape beauty, but to exert influence as far as I can. (From: Mephisto: roman einer karriere .)

dutch flagTranslated from Dutch · View original

avatar van J. Clouseau

J. Clouseau

  • 976 messages
  • 1073 votes

We need these kinds of films, which bring a social theme to the viewer in an original way, with compelling characters, lived interpretations and details that complete the picture. It's just a shame that this story is portrayed as an average TV report, including a rippling pace, which means that moments that could have become memorable scenes, do not fully come into play. A missed opportunity, because this could have resulted in a hotly discussed masterpiece.

dutch flagTranslated from Dutch · View original