Eden Is West

After the boat with other illegal immigrants nears Greek shores, Elias jumps into the sea to avoid arrest. He spends hours swimming and washes up on a nude beach, losing some clothes in the process. The next morning he pretends to be a nudist and improvises by stealing some clothes to blend in.

The disguise works and Elias grabs more clothes, pretending to be an Eden Club-Paradise employee. He is noticed by the magician Nick Nickelby, who hires him for a few tricks. Nick tells him, 'If you find yourself in Paris, come and find me,' fueling Elias's Paris dream.

The invitation to Paris blossoms into an obsession. Elias fixates on reaching the city as the path to a better life. Every new setback seems outweighed by the lure of Paris.

Back at the hotel, the manager rapes Elias, exposing the brutal exploitation faced by immigrants. In another bitter moment, he is forced to clean a toilet with his hands as punishment. He endures abuse as he clings to the hope of Paris.

Elias witnesses the arrest of a fellow immigrant hiding near the hotel. He also sees the dead bodies of two immigrants who drowned while trying to reach shore. The scene underscores the peril surrounding their journey.

A middle-aged German woman named Christina offers him refuge in her room and gives him money. She presents a possible route out of danger, but Elias remains focused on Paris. He acknowledges her kindness, yet the dream pulls him onward.

Elias leaves the Eden Club and tries to hitchhike to Paris. A man offers to take him on as long as they share expenses; Elias shows his money, but the man steals it and leaves. He is left poorer and more determined to reach Paris.

A peasant woman with a tractor picks him up and brings him to her home. He helps her sell birds and grows friendly with her children before moving on. The encounter offers brief shelter in a hard journey.

On another leg of the journey, a Greek couple with a Mercedes abandons him in the snowy mountains. A German truck driver later stops, picks him up, and gives him a jacket to stay warm. The cold road underscores his vulnerability.

The German driver helps him find a factory job, but the employer won't secure an immigration path. When he tries to eat with local workers at a restaurant, he is pushed away because of racism and has to run.

Hungry and underdressed, he ends up in a village where gypsies help him but suspect him of being a thief. They later learn the man who owns the jacket is pursuing him, and someone throws a petrol bomb at a trailer. The peril escalates before Paris.

In another village, Elias meets a fellow immigrant who is disillusioned with the West and plans to return home. He sleeps in a refuge with other homeless people, only to have his jacket stolen by the residents and forced to move on.

He finally reaches the club 'Lido' and continues toward Paris, keeping hope alive despite exhaustion. The dream still calls him forward.

Elias finds the magician performing in the street from a red Citroën DS cabriolet, and asks for recognition. The magician gives him a small toy wand, and Elias gestures toward the Eiffel Tower, imagining it as real magic. Police arrive, the wand fails to work, and he pockets it as he heads toward the glowing tower.