Welcome, a tragic and heartbreaking tale of a 17-year old refugee from Iraq named Bilal, is a story about his attempt to cross the English channel from the French port city of Calais to a better life on the other side. Despite his best efforts, Bilal is unable to keep a plastic bag over his head, a necessity if he were to cross the channel by hiding in a truck in order to avoid carbon dioxide detectors designed to catch refugees. Swimming at the local pool after a failed attempt to cross in a truck, Bilal meets swimming instructor Simon Calmat, played by Vincent Lindon. In secret hope of swimming across the English channel, Bilal signs up for swimming lessons with him, and gradually the two form a genuine, though occasionally troubled relationship. Simon Calmat's character certainly has struggles of his own, and Vincent Lindon does a good job of displaying loneliness, sadness, and anger from his divorce that simmer underneath his character's tough veneer. Bilal and Simon seem to find each other at exactly the right time - Simon gives Bilal hope, and in return, Bilal gives Simon purpose and something to care about again. The ending, in which Bilal is 800 meters from the British shore and drowns as he is chased by the British coastguard, is an absolutely heartbreaking ending to a story in which the audience dared beyond belief to have hope. After Bilal's death, Simon goes to London to meet with Mina, the girl that Bilal was trying so hard to reach, and it is at this point that the idea of freedom is brought front and center. The ease with which Simon, a French citizen, is able to cross the English channel, which Bilal died trying to do, is eye-opening. Though technically not imprisoned, the refugees in the jungle of Calais are effectively trapped, and their mobility utterly restricted by their lack of official documentation. They are stuck in a holding pattern, with little hope for getting out. It is a harsh reality that a human being is not free unless they have paperwork saying they are allowed to be. Welcome reveals not only the complexities and nuances of each and every individual person, but how essential freedom is, and how for some, it is quite literally a matter of life and death.

Philippe Lioret's brilliant film about a 17-year-old Kurdish refugee from Iraq, named Bilal, who is trying to make his way to London to reunite with his girlfriend and also to find a better standard of living and greater security as an undocumented immigrant is refreshingly timely. Bilal has walked across the entirety of Europe and his final stop before making it to London is Calais, France. When Bilal discovers that he cannot cross into London by truck he decides to cross the English Channel by swimming. To do this, Bilal recruits the help of a local swim coach, Simon Calamant, to teach him how to swim. The two soon develop a bond and Calamant provides housing and assistance to Bilal, against French law. Overall, I do not think that the goal of this film was to provide an accurate description of life in the refugee camps, though it would have helped reinforce the desperateness of the refugee situation. I believe that the ultimate goal of this movie was to create a commentary on the way France treats its refugees and that was successfully done. Even the viewer who is not familiar with France's policies regarding refugees can pick up, without a doubt, the hostility with which the French people treat refugees. For example, the grocery store worker denies two refugees entrance to a grocery store and Calamant's neighbors can be seen arguing with him over his decision to help Bilal. It is even illegal for the French to give refugees a ride in a car. The movie was successful in portraying the dichotomy between legal and illegal residents and this was largely due to Calamant's character and the fact that through his actions a lot of the irrationality of France's refugee policies came to light. Even though the story of Calamant's divorce may seem at the surface level to be an unnecessary commercial addition, Calamant's wife was instrumental in getting Calamant to see the error in his ways regarding the treatment of refugees. Especially in the grocery store scene, his ex-wife stands as the antithesis of France's policies and starts to help Calamant realize their absurdity as well. Also, the film does not have a happy ending by design. This helps to illuminate the fact that the refugee situation has not been a positive one and that, for refugees, the road to complete resettlement is a long one. For many refugees, there is no happy ending. Ultimately, Lioret's film is still important almost ten years after its release. That says something about both the storyline of the film and the global refugee situation at hand.

'Vem Vindo' is a moving film that highlights the issues of immigration and refugee law, and the serious consequences that these discrepancies can have on individuals. Bilal, a 17-year-old Kurd from Iraq, travels 3 months to Calais, attempting to go to Britain to reunite with his girlfriend. However, he is met with challenges from international law, the French government, and the divided French public that ultimately puts him in a concentration camp-like situation. The French government and police force actively try to get refugees out of Calais, yet there's nowhere else for the refugees to go. Due to flawed international law, the refugees are not sent back to Iraq because it is a warzone, however, they cannot claim any status or residency in France and are not allowed to cross the border and the Channel into England. They are all essentially stuck in this town with no means to even try to create a sustainable life since they are banned from stores and cannot hold jobs. Besides being interned in a physical sense in Calais and 'The Jungle', the camp for refugees, they are also abused in a mental sense, whether or not they're in the camp. They are banned from stores, they have nowhere to bathe, and the police mimic camp guards by enforcing bans on the refugees, attacking them via means of tear gas, and encouraging the French public to dehumanize the already victimized group. The police essentially enact a camp hierarchy in Calais, as the refugees are at the bottom, and any French citizen who aids the refugees is punished as well. With that being said, the citizens in Calais are at odds with each other, as can be seen with Simon's neighbor snitching on him for helping Bilal. People have to constantly live in fear as the police have eyes everywhere and can use their power to manipulate others. The citizens who due choose to degrade and/or ignore the refugees are also a huge part of the problem as is brought to light by Marion. She calls out Simon for ignoring the issue when the refugees were barred from entering a general store to buy soap. Yet, even when Simon goes to create sustainable change for Bilal, Marion acts cowardly and tells him to stop.While the movie highlighted the harsh realities of a camp system, it also failed to recognize many problems refugees face. Bilal gets lucky and is cared for by Simon, but most people are not so lucky. As viewers, we get to see little of "The Jungle", the camp for refugees. This is where the real damage due to lack of resources like shelter and food come into play. We see one character continue to harass Bilal for money, but besides that there is little emphasis for the urgency of resources. This movie does a great job of introducing the public to camp systems but has just scratched the surface of the true suffering refugees face.

The very helpful synopsis by the "Film Movement" sleeve writer explains, "Bilal, a 17-year-old Kurdish refugee, has struggled his way through Europe for the last three months, trying to reunite with his girlfriend, who recently emigrated to England. But his journey comes to an abrupt halt when he is stopped by authorities in Calais, on the French side of the Channel. Left with no other alternatives, he decides to swim across. Bilal goes to the local swimming pool to train, where he meets Simon, a middle-aged swimming instructor in turmoil over his imminent divorce. Simon agrees to help Bilal, hoping to win back the affection of his wife, who does volunteer work helping immigrants."This excellent (mostly) French film picks up its English-language title from the "Welcome" door-mat see outside an apartment. As you'll see, the neighbor of fatherly Vincent Lindon (as Simon Calmat) is anything but welcoming. A political stance is obviously being asserted, herein; the film can be enjoyed not only for the personal story being told, but also for the artful symbolic linking of immigrant Firat Ayverdi (as Bilal) and Mr. Lindon. The feminine lead performance by Audrey Dana (as Marion) is also fine, but we are left wanting to see more of Derya Ayverdi (as Mina), as her plight needs elaboration. Still, this production, direction (by Philippe Lioret) and performances are outstanding.******** Welcome (2/7/09) Philippe Lioret ~ Vincent Lindon, Firat Ayverdi, Audrey Dana, Derya Ayverdi