How wonderful it is to see this fine actress carry a film and carry it so beautifully.

It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

Go in cold, and you're likely to emerge with your blood boiling. This has to be seen to be believed.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

In many ways, this film does a very good job of portraying what life is like for refugees. The unsettling scenes where Bilal and several other men must keep plastic bags tightly over their heads to prevent authorities from detecting their presence are realities for some people who have been forced to flee their home countries to seek refuge elsewhere. Likewise, the film depicts what life is like in refugee camps like the "Jungle" in Calais to a reasonable degree of accuracy, including the barbed wire fence, meager infrastructure and sanitation, and police brutality that was not uncommon.In addition to this, the harshness of French policy and the discriminatory sentiments seen in the film are also true to life. Many refugees often hope to reach Britain where they may have more opportunities to rebuild their lives, but must take the journey across Europe, often ending up in northern France. However, often times, these refugees are not able to make the journey across the Channel, and become stuck in cities like Calais. The French government has attempted to prevent the formation of camps like the Jungle through harsh policies and attitudes toward refugees. This type of alienation and discrimination is seen throughout the film as well. Despite the praise that this film deserves for its accuracy, the story it tells is relatively far-fetched. In a city like Calais where tensions between refugees and citizens would be highest, it is unlikely that someone like Simon Calamat would be the savior that he is in the film. This story is an exceptional case. Also, I was somewhat disappointed as a viewer how the Lioret takes the time to illustrate the hardships that Bilal and others in the camp have faced then shifts the focus to Simon's cliché relationship with his ex-wife. I was drawn in by Bilal's story, and it was somewhat frustrating to see the film revert to classic cinematic themes. However, I still thoroughly enjoyed this film, and appreciate its humanizing message.

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.

Lioret's Welcome tells the story of Bilal, a young Kurdish immigrant living in Calais, France, as he tries to make it to the United Kingdom for a better life and to reunite with his girlfriend. Bilal seeks the help of Simon Calamat, a French swimming instructor, to help train him to cross the English Channel to immigrate into the United Kingdom illegally.Factually speaking, the film did portray the life of immigrants in Calais correctly. After reaching France, many immigrants do want to go further and immigrate by any means to the United Kingdom, where there is a higher standard of living and no requirement to carry identification papers that would reveal them as undocumented. Reunification of families and friends is also easier to achieve in the United Kingdom. The depiction of the camp seemed to be fairly truthful. Refugees in Calais Jungle did not have access to many facilities and lived in brutal conditions, surrounded by barbed wire as shown in the film. One thing that I would have appreciated more of in the film was the actual depiction of Bilal within the camp and how encampment affected his desire to leave for England.Though I thoroughly enjoyed this film, one thing I must question is the plausibility of Bilal making it so close to the English shore before the British coast guard finds him. While it is possible for a person to swim the English Channel, I wonder how plausible it would be for someone like Bilal, who hadn't had much training in swimming until his brief training sessions with Simon, to cross the Channel. I suppose this might be a commercial consideration of the film, to allow the audience to cheer for a boy as he tries to do the impossible.

Welcome is a film that does not follow what you would expect of a movie about illegal immigration. Rather than portraying this young man's story while glossing over the especially gruesome parts of life as a refugee, it faces them directly, and this is refreshing from many American movies which have a distinctly "Disney" happily-ever-after approach. I liked also that the film focused on a refugee who is so determined to cross the English Channel. The viewer not only sees that he is determined to learn how to swim, but also faces the daily challenge of being hated by the people on the towns of coastal France who are being inundated by illegal immigrants. Philippe Lioret, the director of this film, had his start in the movie business by being a sound mixer and script editor in the 1980s. In the early 90s he started directing full-length films. He became interested in the situation of refugees in France, and wanted to make a movie talking about the hardships that they face. He spent six weeks among illegal immigrants, getting to intimately know their situations. The film was screened for parliament, pleading against the harsh laws that are imposed upon aiding refugees. Although this did not sway the government, the film did win a Lux Prize. The ideas presented in this film were very diverse and complex. One idea is one of treating all human beings as though they are equal. In this film, there is a lot of injustice towards the illegal immigrants, but Simon does what is right and aids his fellow man. Another idea presented in this film is the one that friendship found in unlikely places can help support people through their most difficult points of life. Simon is going through a divorce and Bilal is a refugee, but they manage to help one another in their own ways. I think that the whole topic is something that is something that is very controversial in France right now. Many people are divided on the issue of either saving these refugees, or getting overrun by them because of their kindness if they do. Another French aspect of this film is the way that the story flows. In an American movie, there would be the focus of the love story in most cases. However, this focuses on the struggles of the two lovers and eventually ends very sadly. An American movie would not be reviewed well because there is a sense of needing to have a happy ending in a film made in the United States.