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 Rich irony is embedded in the title. Welcome they are not. They seem to be treated like criminals or receive the treatment not so far removed from Holocaust victims, with numbers written crudely on their arms.
Their histories are not entered into but their objectives are clear, to cross the channel and to reach some kind of unknown salvation in England.
The film centres on the plight of a seventeen year old Bilal Kiryani, "Bazda", Firat Ayverdi who is desperate to be reunited with his girlfriend in London, while her father has other plans for his daughter, a marriage from which he will profit from business wise.
A moody French swimming instructor Simon Calmat Vincent Lindon who has his own set of problems is caught up in this tangled mess. The film illustrates and awakens the audiences conciousness of the hardships suffered by illegal imigrants and is full of touching often heartwrenching moments. There are delicate touches of humour and even those with hearts of stone could not fail to warm to the character of Bilal Kiryani and his never ending endurance in his quest to cross the channel .
Francis H. Powell is originally from England and moved to Paris in 1999. In addition to being a writer (articles, songs and poems), he is a painter, DJ and English trainer. For more information, read his complete bio.
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