the audience applauded

Sorry, this movie sucks

Memorable, crazy movie

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

The reason why we watch movies is not only to see what the content is, but also to see how the content is delivered. Content-wise, the movie portrays the refugee policies and situations in France well, as we see a clash between activists and the government, refugees' desire to go to England, and formation of a "camp" in the shore. However, I think the area in which this movie shines the most is how it describes the content. Welcome captures the atmosphere of "The Jungle" of refugees poignantly. When I think back at the movie, I see every scene in grey. From the beginning to the end, I got the feeling that the whole movie is just grey, meaning that it has this strong gloomy and depressing mood, which portrays the situations of refugees. Additionally, Philippe Lioret creates a connection between the life of Bilal and plastic bag throughout the movie. We see how Bilal is claustrophobic, as he has a bad experience with putting a plastic bag over his head, but in the end, he is delivered back to Calais in a plastic bag. This creates a sense that no matter how hard he tries to escape, he ended back up in a plastic bag. This accentuates claustrophobic life that Bilal has, as well as the general experience of refugees. The feeling of being confined and incarcerated, not having anywhere else to go freely, also parallels with being inside a camp, exemplifying that camp is a both real and metaphorical concept. In regards to the ending, I was personally taken aback by the sad ending, as somehow I thought it would end with Bilal arriving at England and reuniting with his girlfriend. Nonetheless, I appreciate that it did not end that way. If it was a happy ending, then this movie would not have been representative of thousands of suffering refugees. Therefore, in general, I believe this movie did a good job in delivering the overall atmosphere of the refugee situations in Calais.

Welcome, a film that tells the story of a young Kurdish boy trying to get from Calais to England, does a nice job of depicting an illegal alien's struggle to establish himself in a new world, but has a great deal of white-washing common in "hollywood" style films. The film's main pitfall is its relatively implausible plot: a French divorcee training an illegal immigrant to swim across the English Channel and reunite with his girlfriend from home. Although the characters themselves are deeply moving, the plot felt a tad trite. The film's depiction of women as more emotional, humanistic, and ancillary was disappointing as well. The French swim coach made for a nice character and developed a meaningful relationship with Bilal, the young migrant, but his "sad divorcee" storyline felt like a stale trope. Regardless, the film's tragic ending was both moving and relevant in an increasingly global world.

"Welcome" is by far my favorite French film that I have ever seen. My favorite thing about this film is the strong characters. The way the movie shows Balil makes you feel for him, and they make you root for him the whole way through the movie. The swim instructor Simon is also a strong willed character, and a great friend to Balil who you like right off the bat of the movie. The director Phillippe Lioret really outdoes himself in this film. He has won many awards for his work, and "Welcome" is no exception. He is best known for his work on films like "Tombes du ciel", and "All our desires" One Idea that I really like about this film is the love aspect. I love how Balil swimming across the English channel is all about him getting to a girl. It makes the film that much more exciting, and if he wanted to cross the channel for any other reason it wouldn't have been as exciting. The idea of love is what makes Balil keep going, and working hard to get to his love. The other idea that is a huge one in this film is immigration. The country of France really frowns upon immigrants. In the USA some people do as well but France takes it to an extreme in this film. A perfect example is when the cops stop Simon, and ask him about Balil and his friend. What were they doing spying on the man? That had to have been to see him pick up the immigrants. Thats an example but, I find it to be a very unrealistic scene for that to happen. How do the cops in the first place even know that they were immigrants? That scene drove me crazy. I really like how Simon, and his ex wife help out the refugees. Another example of that is at the supermarket when the security guard wouldn't let them in, and Simons ex stood up to him. In terms of French culture besides the movie being in French you can see the culture through the Immigration scenes, and how frowned upon it is there. Another really big French theme scene in the film I might be wrong about but, I feel like most French people are very hospitable. Simon, and his Ex are constantly trying to help Balil and his friends in the film even though it is frowned upon.

Welcome, directed by Philippe Lioret is categorized as a drama and romantic film. It is a foreign film that is filled with romantic scenes along with dramatic themes in it as well. Phillipe Lioret is a French director and cinematographer, who is known for his films Welcome and Don't Worry. Welcome won the Lumiere Award for best film, one Cesar nomination for best cinematography, and two awards at Berlin. One of his most recent accomplishments took place in 2009 when he won the Audience Award at the Warsaw International Film Festival. I liked the passion in the acting from Bilal and his desire to cross the English Channel to be with the love of his life. I personally love Bilal's determination and fortitude. In regards to the movie itself, the soundtrack added atmosphere to the film. For example, the music heightened the scenes when Bilal was learning how to swim. Also, the swimming in Welcome was not realistic enough for me. Bilal could barely swim in an indoor pool and then suddenly was able to swim in the English Channel. The first scene where you see the channel, the water is rough, cold, and very intimidating. It would have been nice to see him struggle a little more while practicing swimming in the channel's conditions. There are many ideas and themes seen in this movie. Two that are relevant to the French culture is the idea of illegal immigration and political compassion. This movie shows that France has a big issue on their hands in regards to how they treat illegal immigrants. Bilal and the other immigrants are not treated well and are not welcomed by the government of France. This is seen when Bilal goes in front of the judge in France. She tells him that he does not have to return to Iraq due to his country's conditions, but the people of France are not to been seen with him. They are allowed to live in France but not socialize with its people or go into restaurants or any public place. They are exiled to the refugee camp set up for them. The other idea, political compassion, goes along with illegal immigration in France. While many countries are experiencing this issue, France is one that does not have much political compassion for outsiders. This movie goes to show that France has a long way to go with how they treat their immigrants. I believe this movie was a cry for help in this area. The lack of political compassion was demonstrated in the scene when the police came to Simon's apartment to check and see if Bilal was there. They have a no toleration policy when it comes to these issues. I would highly recommend this movie. The acting and plot of this film was excellent, along with the suspense built up by the plot. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie.