Eden Is West

2009
6.8| 1h50m| en| More Info
Released: 11 February 2009 Released
Producted By: CinéCinéma
Country: Italy
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Synopsis

Desperate to break free from the poverty of his homeland, Elias boards a ramshackle people-smuggling trawler to France. But when the boat is raided by police, Elias leaps into the ocean, eventually finding himself washed up on a Mediterranean beach resort called Eden. So begins Elias odyssesy across Western Europe to Paris, where wondrous promise, helpful new friends and perilous dangers await him every step of the way.

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Reviews

Hellen I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much
TrueHello Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.
Aneesa Wardle The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.
Ezmae Chang This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.
Wendell Ricketts I've seen some pretty dreadful movies about illegal immigration lately—the eternally wooden Raoul Bova in the sanctimonious and superficial "Io, l'Altro" (I, the Other), for example, or Philippe Lioret's depressing and pedantic "Welcome"—but Verso L'Eden/Eden à l'Ouest is pure and unadulterated rubbish. Here's my thing: Riccardo Scamarcio is a terrible actor. No, I mean, some actors are bad in a way that makes you embarrassed to watch them. Others are bad in the way that makes you feel embarrassed for the other people in the theater. And then there's Scamarcio, who belongs to that category of actors who make you feel embarrassed to be alive. Scamarcio launched his career, if we want to use that word, playing romantic leads in dimwitted teen comedies. Now and then, for reasons known only to the directors whose children Scamarcio's agent evidently kidnapped and threatened to murder, Scamarcio was then also chosen for roles in serious movies. Let me correct that: he got roles in movies that weren't "if you're IQ is above 40 you're too smart to enter this theater" comedies or "compared to this, a Hallmark card is freakin' Wuthering Heights" romances. Whether the movies were serious is up for discussion. But Scamarcio is sort of like beige—he goes with anything. It doesn't matter to him what kind of movie you put him in; he's happy to trot out his repertory of three facial expressions (ooh! and did you notice? He has green eyes!) in any known genre. From a movie-goer's point of view, the more Scamarcio has to "act," though, the uglier things tend to get. In Verso L'Eden/Eden à l'Ouest, he's supposed to be an illegal immigrant of indeterminate origin who arrives in Greece from an unnamed country, hoping to travel to Paris and find work. So there are like, *layers*, you get me? And Scamarcio doesn't do layers. Guy chasing a girl who doesn't love him? Got it covered. Guy who betrays the girl he loves, but is forgiven in the end? No problem. Guy who agrees to help his best gal-pal win the guy of her dreams, but ends up sweeping her off her feet instead? In his sleep. But don't ask him to something complicated like pretend to be of a different nationality, get washed up on a beach in Greece, and spend the ensuing weeks outrunning illegal-immigrant posses, police dogs, and con-men in pursuit of some private (never articulated) dream. Director Costa-Gavras, meanwhile, either forgot whether he was making a comedy, a sex farce, or a drama—or else he simply decided he'd pushed Scamarcio about as far as he could. He certainly threw continuity to the wind: one minute Scamarcio is in Greece, the next minute he's in Italy, then he's in Germany—don't blink or you'll miss all those borders. The result is a series of side-splitting scenes in which Scamarcio gets caught in a nudist colony, is mistaken for a bellboy, beds a babe or three, fends off the advances of gay truckers, and engages in at least a couple of foot chases through the city streets with the Keystone Cops. This is absolutely the most superficial, unserious, insultingly naive film about immigration ever made, and Scamarcio (did I mention he has green eyes?) lights it up with every single one of his 15 watts of charisma. Costa-Gavras ought to be writhing in shame. As for Scamarcio, he's pretty much made it clear that he's beyond all that.
j-connolly This tale of illegal migrants is masterfully told as a straight story of events along the road to Paris. In order to illustrate many facets of the illegal immigrant saga, the writers have gone out of their way to include many more events, mishaps, and adventures that could credibly happen to a single migrant. Some people may object to this, but it serves to make this a more universal picture of events that can overtake an exile.The emphasis of the story-telling is not a political or social statement, it's a strikingly enjoyable film with excellent cinematography which nevertheless manages to raise many serious issues. It's a story of human adaptation to loss of home and lack of normal human contact.The protagonist says little because he can hardly speak French or English. Language throughout the film is not very important as a result. The audience, like migrants themselves, sits through episodes in Arabic, Greek, French, German, and English. Along this rootless journey, he strikes up relationships ambiguous relationships along the road, mainly warm and yet fleeting - particularly the toy-boy episode at the start. There are many little subtle moments in the film, each making powerful comments about human moral choices under duress. Combining suspense, drama, and subtly thought provoking episodes, this is another lasting film from Costa Gavras.
m-seghid I believe this is one of the most poetic ways to talk about a Social problem that his hurting both Africa ,East Europe and the Western World. As a writer for African refugees(but at the end all Refugees carry the same Problems) I believe that Costa Gavras have not only pointed out the negative aspects but also the good. The film also shows the Sexual Exploitation that many young men have to face in order to survive their Clandestinity. In many occasions we see also the Work Labour Exploitation and the prejudice against the Newcomers., but at the same time there are also some "Mother Teresa" Elias played by Scarmacio portrays the struggle the refugees have to undergo not only in-front of the People but the awkward Laws the EU have set out ,giving them the Status of Law Offenders because without Documents. The Film is masterly Directed by Mr. Gavras who he himself found himself to be an Immigrant but in a different time when man was respected as Human Being. African Refugees News The story of Elias can with a bit of Fanthasy be compared to Ulisses Journey.The Eden, I may say was the Island were Ulysses first met his Troubles but gave him the Strenght to fight for his life. I recommend this Film to Sociolgists and People who want to know more about The Boat people and their Journey of Hope to a better Life
Gecq This is a very well written tale about the odyssey of an illegal immigrant into the European Union. Our hero arrives by boat on the shores of Greece, hides in a Luxury tourist resort called "Eden Resort" and after many adventures there travels to Paris to meet a magician with whom he made acquaintance in the tourist club. We witness the adventures of Elias, our hero, only to see through his eyes the different approaches of Europeans to illegal immigrants living and struggling in their midst. Excellent camera work, brilliant performance by Riccardo Scamarcio, masterful narration by Costa-Gavras. I recommend watching this strongly.

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