Welcome

Une fois encore, les Français ont produit une histoire qui sort des sentiers battus. Même si ça n’en a pas l’air à première vue, il s’agit d’une aventure fascinante sur une relation à la fois belle et extraordinaire entre deux hommes qui ne se seraient pas rencontrés dans des circonstances normales. Le dénouement couronne le tout en beauté. (06/07/2010)

The situation the way Lioret paints it frightens - paranoia and deceit among her neighbors reminds of totalitarianism. The acting and the subtle direction correspond well with the melodramatic undertone. What bothers me is the film's peculiarity; its effort to have an impact and convince at all costs. It's likely my own problem that I am much more affected by the authentic and more withdrawn images. I particularly had a problem with Welcome at the end – I knew exactly what the creators would present to me as another topic to make me emotional. I don't really enjoy that - I have my own mind with which to think things through. Welcome simply suffocated me with love and emotion. It's difficult to imagine what one can't fully believe in. But I acknowledge that this film is an important and certainly commendable attempt to acquaint the public with other dark sides of contemporary society. (23/11/2009)