Illégal

The film starts as a young Russian mother is telling her kid to speak French instead of Russian. The reason for this is the fact that she's afraid to be spotted, to be found by the people that want to deport her. She is after all living here (in this case somewhere in the French speaking part of Belgium) illegally. She has requested political asylum but has been denied and is to be deported. The laws are easy. The real implementation of them however is not.

And so starts a film about one of the darker pages of the Western world. Seen from the eyes of a political stowaway that only wants a safe haven for her kid and herself this film shows the fear of the fugitive, makes it so that it can be felt, and plays around her constant battle against a rigid system.

The way the scenes are put together make it lifelike, the way it is acted makes it believable. The way events are displayed in the news almost makes it feel like a documentary. The way things are in the real world outside makes one wonder how far from the truth the film is.

The film leaves a vile taste in the mouth that will stick around for some time after leaving the cinema, an impression that might be permanent. An effect that is gained through the combination of realistic behaviour, excellent acting and compelling story. All in all, a true work of art.

10 out of 10, nothing to be added.

In 2000, Tania is an ethnic Russian from Belarus. She burns off her fingerprints and sneaks into Europe with her son Ivan. In 2008, they are in Belgium with false identities. Ivan is 13 and going to school while Tania is working. Plain clothes officers arrest Tania but Ivan is able to escape with the fake documents. She refuses to give the officials her identity. With no evidence, she hopes to force them to eventually release her. She befriends African Aissa who is constantly fighting with the guards and their procedures to deport her.

The great thing here is that it shows the murky world of deportation. It doesn't make easy heroes and villains. It shows the detainees as thinking people as they navigate the system in real ways. It shows the legal issues that are not so easy. It shows the legal difficulties of actually deporting someone humanely who is unwilling to cooperate. Tania is a fully fleshed character and her story is compelling.

Illégal is a movie in the realistic style we know from the Dardenne brothers in Belgium or Jacques Audiard in France. This means a very 'unpolished' film, with lots of hand-held camera-work. The camera follows the lead actors closely, which causes a very intense, real life-effect.

The movie tackles a difficult issue: the forced expulsion of illegal immigrants. A few years ago, these expulsions caused a heated debate in Belgium after the death of Semira Adamu, an African immigrant who didn't survive the violence used during her expulsion. Her death was the reason of a thorough revision of the expulsion procedures.

Illégal is a movie with a message. The message being that forced expulsions are still an inhuman way of treating people. This message is shaped into the story of Tania, a Russian immigrant, and her 13-year old son. They are struggling to find their way in Belgian society, but unfortunately Tania is arrested and locked up, pending her removal from Belgian soil.

The movie has already met with criticism from the Belgian immigration authorities, who claim the way expulsions are shown is not in line with reality. Still, it is a good film, with very impressive acting by Belgian actress Anne Coesens, who is married to director Olivier Masset-Depasse. Because of her intense acting, you can almost feel the fear and desperation of people like Tania. That's no small thing to achieve.