Illégal (2010)

Tania, a young Russian woman who lives illegally in Belgium with her 13-year-old son Ivan. Constantly on her guard, she dreads police checks until the day she is arrested. Mother and son ... See full summary »

Director:

Olivier Masset-Depasse

Writer:

Olivier Masset-Depasse

Stars:

Anne Coesens, Alexandre Gontcharov, Milo Masset-Depasse

5 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Anne Coesens	...	Tania
Alexandre Gontcharov	...	Ivan 14 ans
Milo Masset-Depasse	...	Ivan 6 ans
Natalia Belokonskaya	...	Olga
Olga Zhdanova	...	Zina
Tomasz Bialkowski	...	Monsieur Nowak
Denis Dupont	...	Dimitri
Moktar Belletreche	...	Bel homme bus
David Leclercq	...	Agent de police arrestation 1
Gregory Loffredo	...	Agent de police arrestation 2
Christophe Vincent	...	Policier empreinte
Christelle Cornil	...	Lieve
Olivier Funcken	...	Gardien admission
Angelo Dello Spedale	...	Agent sécurité
Fabienne Mainguet	...	Carole

Storyline

Tania, a young Russian woman who lives illegally in Belgium with her 13-year-old son Ivan. Constantly on her guard, she dreads police checks until the day she is arrested. Mother and son are separated and Tania is placed in a detention center. She will do anything to be reunited with her son but won't manage to avoid threats of deportation.

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Plot Keywords:

police | russian | belgium | deportation | detention center | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Official Sites:

Haut et Court [fr]

Country:

Belgium Luxembourg France

Language:

French English Russian

Release Date:

25 March 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

Illegal

Filming Locations:

Hermalle-sous-Huy, Engis, Wallonia, Belgium

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$404 (USA) (25 March 2011)

Gross:

$404 (USA) (25 March 2011)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Versus Production, Iris Productions, Dharamsala

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

User Reviews

Movie with a message

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.