Welcome
“Friendship has no borders. True love has no limits.”
Philippe LioretCast
Vincent Lindon Firat Ayverdi Audrey Dana
Credits
Written by: Philippe Lioret
Plot
Simon, a swimming coach in Calais, meets Bilal, a seventeen-year-old Kurdish refugee who wants to reach his girlfriend in England and plans to swim across the Channel. Simon, in the midst of a divorce, agrees to teach him, and begins to risk his own safety by sheltering him. Philippe Lioret's 2009 film, with Vincent Lindon, is a moving study of migration.
Sinekatalog’s take
Philippe Lioret's drama follows a Calais swimming coach helping a young Kurdish refugee cross the Channel. Vincent Lindon is superb, and the film's quiet anger and humane warmth make it a moving look at hospitality.Sinekatalog’s own editorial review – not a user or critic quote.
Ratings
IMDb: 7.5 / 10 (7,851 votes)
IMDb rating and vote count from the IMDb ratings dataset (October 2026). Scores change over time.
If you liked this
Picked by director, genre, era and shared cast. Titles only, no spoilers.
- Toutes nos envies 2011 · Philippe Lioret · IMDb 6.8 · Same director
- Je vais bien, ne t'en fais pas 2006 · Philippe Lioret · IMDb 7.3 · Same director
- The Class 2008 · Laurent Cantet · IMDb 7.5 · Same movement
- 35 Shots of Rum 2008 · Claire Denis · IMDb 7.1 · Same movement
- Live and Become 2005 · Radu Mihăileanu · IMDb 7.8 · Same movement
- Hadewijch 2009 · Bruno Dumont · IMDb 6.7 · Same movement