Welcome (2009) | agoodmovietowatch

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Welcome 7.1 2009 Movie

Welcome

Dir. Philippe Lioret · France, United Kingdom · English, French

Our take by Dylan Ross

A Kurdish-Iraqi immigrant runs into serious immigration problems as he tries to immigrate from France to England in order to be reunited with his girlfriend. Eventually he begins to train in swimming, in an attempt to swim the channel between France and England. Welcome is a gripping tale of tolerance as well as relationships between locals and immigrants. It also gives a great look into the shortcoming of the European immigration system, and will have you crying by the end of it, no question.

What happens

Bilal is 17 years old, a Kurdish boy from Iraq. He sets off on an adventure-filled journey across Europe. He wants to get to England to see his love who lives there. Bilal finally reaches Calais, but how do you cover 32 kilometers of the English Channel when you can't swim? The boy soon discovers that his trip won't be as easy as he imagined... The community of struggling illegal aliens in Calais

What the critics said

Notable Critics

"An emotional and intriguing mix of social and personal drama that echoes some of the more low-key work of Ken Loach."

— Laurence Boyce

Awards

Berlin

2 wins

Won: Label Europa CinemasWon: Prize of the Ecumenical Jury (Panorama Special)

César Awards

10 noms

Nominated: Best ActorNominated: Best CinematographyNominated: Best DirectorNominated: Best EditingNominated: Best FilmNominated: Best Music Written for a FilmNominated: Best Original ScreenplayNominated: Best SoundNominated: Best Supporting ActressNominated: Most Promising Actor

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