Jaques Audiard’s Dheepan opens with chaos-filled Sri Lanka where the Civil War has only just ended. Dheepan (Antonythasan Jesuthasan) a former Tamil Tiger soldier, Yalini a young woman, and Illayaal a nine-year-old child pose as a family so that they can be sent to France as refugees to start a new life. They subsequently find themselves in the outskirts of Paris living in a neighbourhood surrounded by local thugs. Dheepan shows us their daily life as they cope with their surroundings, get acquainted with a new culture and language and eventually begin to believe the lie that is their family.

The subtle film features commendable performances and a befitting soundtrack by Nicholas Jaar that captures the displaced feelings of its main characters. It manages to send a powerful message about the immigrant experience. The tone of the movie changes towards the end, but Antonythasan, a former Tamil Tiger who sought political asylum in France in the early 1990s, disagreed with the criticism Dheepan has received for this unevenness. “The struggle of a refugee never really ends,” said Antonythasan in a Q&A session held after the first screening of the film at the festival.