Elias (Riccardo Scamarcio) is an illegal immigrant trying to sneak into France by boat. Yet when the boat is spotted by the coast guard Elias jumps off the side of the boat and is separated from his friend. He washes up on a resort in France and then has to sneak around the island impersonating workers. He eventually meets a magician who briefly offers him work in a stage show and also tells him to come and find him in Paris. What follows is a road trip as Elias has to rely on the kindness of strangers to help him arrive at the city of lights.
The opening scenes to this film, directed by Costa Gavras, onboard an immigrant boat, are easily the best of the entire film. The imagery of the immigrants literally ripping up their identities and tossing their papers into the ocean is powerful and symbolic. Yet the journey that follows after this is a rather uninteresting one. This is not a highly dramatic or emotive examination of migration but more the equivalent of a chase movie or a road trip. Much of the film revolves around Elias stealing people's clothes and then being chased by police. Once you realise that the film has very little to say beyond this in its narrative, the monotony of these scenes becomes clear. Although the visualisation of poverty in the film is sometimes apparent, it is treated shallowly.
There are several bizarre moments in this film that do not seem to fit with the initial concept of immigration. The subplot involving a magician is by far the film's most tactless idea. Why Elias would volunteer to be in a stage show when he does not want to draw attention to himself is uncertain and the ending, which involves the magician giving out a magic wand, is also improbable and out of sorts with the gritty realism of the opening scenes. A moment too where French people gather in a community watch to hunt down illegal immigrants, as Elias is cornered and sexually assaulted, remains utterly bizarre.
As a road movie the film fails because of the lack of character development. We never learn anything about Elias, such as where he came from. Thus it is difficult to know what he has experienced before and what is new to him on this journey. With very little dialogue it is difficult for his character to reflect on these events. We needed care about his character more. It feels like a more hollow film when compared to more sophisticated examples of the genre, such as The Motorcycle Diaries. A more conventional aspect of a road trip genre is engaging in a number of quirky characters that can affect ones journey. There are few relationships in this film. The most memorable one is Elias' intimate affair with a woman who says that she has a family somewhere. Yet this has very little impact on the remainder of the film once it fades.
Eden is West is not a particularly memorable or interesting film, just one that is occasionally brought to life by brief moments of action. As a road movie it suffers from its lack of development and memorable characters. What seems like an initially serious and personal film deteriorates into something that is hollow and one dimensional.
The opening scenes to this film, directed by Costa Gavras, onboard an immigrant boat, are easily the best of the entire film. The imagery of the immigrants literally ripping up their identities and tossing their papers into the ocean is powerful and symbolic. Yet the journey that follows after this is a rather uninteresting one. This is not a highly dramatic or emotive examination of migration but more the equivalent of a chase movie or a road trip. Much of the film revolves around Elias stealing people's clothes and then being chased by police. Once you realise that the film has very little to say beyond this in its narrative, the monotony of these scenes becomes clear. Although the visualisation of poverty in the film is sometimes apparent, it is treated shallowly.
There are several bizarre moments in this film that do not seem to fit with the initial concept of immigration. The subplot involving a magician is by far the film's most tactless idea. Why Elias would volunteer to be in a stage show when he does not want to draw attention to himself is uncertain and the ending, which involves the magician giving out a magic wand, is also improbable and out of sorts with the gritty realism of the opening scenes. A moment too where French people gather in a community watch to hunt down illegal immigrants, as Elias is cornered and sexually assaulted, remains utterly bizarre.
As a road movie the film fails because of the lack of character development. We never learn anything about Elias, such as where he came from. Thus it is difficult to know what he has experienced before and what is new to him on this journey. With very little dialogue it is difficult for his character to reflect on these events. We needed care about his character more. It feels like a more hollow film when compared to more sophisticated examples of the genre, such as The Motorcycle Diaries. A more conventional aspect of a road trip genre is engaging in a number of quirky characters that can affect ones journey. There are few relationships in this film. The most memorable one is Elias' intimate affair with a woman who says that she has a family somewhere. Yet this has very little impact on the remainder of the film once it fades.
Eden is West is not a particularly memorable or interesting film, just one that is occasionally brought to life by brief moments of action. As a road movie it suffers from its lack of development and memorable characters. What seems like an initially serious and personal film deteriorates into something that is hollow and one dimensional.