Welcome

Although the irony positively drips from the title of Philippe Lioret's film about attitudes toward illegal immigrants in France, the subject's treatment (for the most part) is far more subtle and affecting. Firat Ayverdi stars as Bilal, a 17-year-old Kurd who has traveled by foot from Iraq to the port of Calais with the intention of crossing the channel to England, where his girlfriend, Mina (Derya Ayverdi), now lives with her family. After Bilal is stymied by French travel restrictions, he signs up for swimming lessons with middle-aged burnt-out coach Simon (Vincent Lindon) at the local community center, believing that he can avoid capture by donning a wetsuit and swimming to his beloved. Simon is in the midst of separating from his wife Marion (Audrey Dana), a teacher who volunteers to help the growing number of illegals, and at first he works with Bilal in an effort to save his marriage by impressing Marion. But eventually Simon's innate humanity takes over, and he winds up going to great lengths in order to protect Bilal, even after Simon's neighbor reports him to the immigration authorities. Boasting excellent performances and an assured naturalistic style, Welcome is a powerful topical drama. Highly recommended. (F. Swietek)