A different view of immigration in Cristina Ibarra and Alex Rivera's THE INFILTRATORS

TrustMovies admits that he went into his viewing of THE INFILTRATORS with his usual mixed feelings regarding illegal immigrants: Yes, it's a problem when people are here illegally, but if they and their families are threatened with major abuses should they return to their home country, ought we not take this into account and help them?

So, the first few minutes of this new hybrid documentary by Cristina Ibarra and Alex Rivera (shown below, left and right, respectively) -- which tells an absolutely real story about actual characters but with the major portion devoted to actors in a totally narrative version of events -- left me with back-and-forth, positive/negative reactions. By film's finale, however, I was indiscriminately cheering for these "undocumented" men and women.

In retrospect -- two days have passed since I viewed the film -- I find myself still very impressed with the story told here, as well as the characters we meet in it, even if I have to admit that it is the truly bizarre yet quite heroic situation that our leading characters willingly place themselves in that both engulfed and impressed me most.

These young people, Marco (played by actor Maynor Alvarado in the narrative portion, above) and Viri (actress Chelsea Rendon in the narrative portion, below, left) are members of the National Immigrant Youth Alliance, a group of radical DREAMers whose mission it is to stop unjust deportations. In order do this most efficiently and with the best results, these two -- already illegal and "deportable" -- get themselves tossed into the Broward Transitional Center, a detention facility used as a holding space for imminent deportations.

Once inside, they begin their education of the other prisoners regarding how best to ensure their non-deportation and even their chance to get out and rejoin their families. This takes the kind of courage and selflessness that ordinary U.S. citizens seldom ever see or experience--let alone possess. The Infiltrators' great strength comes from allowing us to take part in this, as Marco especially and Viri (later in the film) learn how to get this job done without themselves being exposed as "plants" and/or then being deported.

The movie often has the feel of a suspense thriller -- particularly one scene in which the cleaning-crew prisoners enable necessary paperwork and information to make its way both into and out of the prison -- and if, in retrospect, the film also seems a little fudgy with its facts, along with how easy it was to manage all this, trust me, you'll still be hooked.

The Dream Act and those Dreamers were in the news a lot during the first portion of Donald Trump's abominable Presidency, but they have fallen out of the news of late. This most interesting and important movie should bring them back into notice, as well as helping force us citizens to look at immigration/deportation (and all that goes with it) through a wider perspective and with more open eyes.

The Infiltrators, distributed by Oscilloscope Films, opens here in South Florida -- where this all took place (and is still taking place) -- this Friday, March 20, in Miami at the Silverspot Cinema and AMC Sunset Place, in Fort Lauderdale at The Classic Gateway Theatre, and the Living Room Theatres, Boca Raton. Click here and then click on FIND THEATERS to view the dozen-or-so currently scheduled playdates, cities and theaters around the country.

Whoops -- with movie theaters closing 

left and right around the country, 

thanks to the current Corona virus, 

who knows where or when this film will actually open. 

If I find out later, I will update this post....

Richard Levien's COLLISIONS: an up-close-and-personal, narrative look at the current havoc being wreaked by Trumps's ICE-men

UPDATE: Collisions is now available 

via streaming and DVD here , 

and thefilmmakers are partnering with the 

National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON) 

to support its Immigrant Worker Safety Net Fund, 

which provides immediate financial support 

desperately needed by workers and their families 

during this current pandemic. 

Immigrant workers are among the most vulnerable 

at this time, and they are largely excluded from 

government programs. From now through 

April 30, 2020, 50% of proceeds from sales 

of "Collisions" will be donated to this fund.

Remember La Misma Luna, that lovely Patricia Riggin/Ligiah Villalobos movie from 2007? In it, a young boy travels from Mexico to the USA to try to unite with his mom, an undocumented worker laboring here and sending money home to her mom and her kids.

That's the movie of which this new one -- COLLISIONS, written and directed by Richard Levien -- most reminds me, in which two children, an older sister and younger brother, desperately try to find their missing mom, who has, while waiting for her green card, suddenly been arrested and detained by ICE (U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement) and is in danger of being quickly, if not immediately, deported back to Mexico.

Both films, their respective director's (Mr. Levien is shown at right) first full-length effort, tackle a subject that remains unfortunately a hot-button issue, and while each relies a little too much on coincidence to be taken as seriously as its filmmaker might wish, La Misma Luna, boasting a starrier cast, along with a good deal more incident and narrative drive, is by far the more entertaining and moving movie.

Still, Collisions -- with its ripped-from-the-headlines central event and consequent plot line -- proves worth a watch, as well. Despite your knowing where the film is going (together with how it will get there), it is, for the most part, well-written and -acted and directed decently enough to pass muster.

The film's four central performances are especially good -- that of the beleaguered mom (played by Ana de la Reguera, above), her smart-as-a-whip and twice as determined twelve-year-old daughter (Izabella Alvarez, below),

her younger sibling (a sweet and slyly scene-stealing Jason Garcia, Jr., shown below),

and finally mom's estranged-and-none-too-happy-to-be-here brother (Jesse Garcia, below, right, in the film's standout performance), who is roped/guilted into helping his niece and nephew locate their mom. You'll quickly figure out that this crotchety uncle will soon bond with his sister's offspring, but Garcia plays it all very well indeed.

Despite the seemingly too-easy locating of mom and the happenstance that allows this, one of the film's strengths is in depicting the ICE-men and other bureaucrats shown along the way who try to aid the two kids. As writer/director, Mr. Levien -- despite the current drastic and unnecessary actions of ICE (under the despicable leadership of Trump and his sleazy minions) -- allows some humanity in these various individuals to shine through, if only briefly.

This helps save the movie from seeming completely one-sided and obvious. And while the film's finale offers certain amount of feel-good, Collisions is smart enough to know that there are no easy solutions available here.

You may wish the movie were a better one, and indeed it might have been. But TrustMovies suspects that you won't be entirely able to shake off either its timeliness nor its commitment to "family."

Running just 82 minutes, Collisions has its U.S. theatrical premiere in Los Angeles tomorrow evening, Thursday, October 3, at 7:30pm at Laemmle's Ahyra Fine Arts, with the cast and filmmaker in attendance. The film opens for a week-long run on Friday, October 4, at Laemmle's Music Hall 3 in Beverly Hills, with a limited release in selected cities to follow.

Immigration, close-up and ironic, in Lindsey Cordero/Armando Croda's I'M LEAVING NOW

By this time most of us have seen a plethora of films about the immigrant experience -- narratives and documentaries -- here in the USA. And these days, with immigration still the hottest of hot-button issues, thanks to that uber-twat Trump and his base base (no, that's not a typo), what might yet another immigration tale have to tell us? When it's a story as unusual and compelling as the one in I'M LEAVING NOW (Ya me voy), as a certain Mrs. Loman once insisted, "Attention must be paid."

The immigrant here is Felipe (on poster, right, and below), an undocumented Mexican who has spent 16 years living in Brooklyn, NY, working various low-paying jobs, one of which is collecting those for-deposit bottles from other people's trash.

As captured by filmmakers Lindsey Cordero and Armando Croda (shown below, with Ms Cordero on the left), Felipe is an energetic, handsome, thoughtful fellow who clearly works hard and saves most of what he earns. That money still goes where it has always gone -- to his wife and family who remained behind in Mexico, a place Felipe longs for and intends to return to ASAP. (He left his youngest child when the boy was but eight months old and not been able to visit him since.)

We get to know Felipe, mostly via his conversations with friends -- and he has made some very good ones over the 16 years -- and from phone calls to that family back in Mexico. Little by little, however, some unsettling information and ideas begin to emerge. Would he really be all that welcome back home? And is that story we hear about a failing family business actually true?

We see and hear all this in bits and pieces and, while I think we rarely if ever doubt the honesty and integrity of Felipe, we're not so sure about how wise some of his decisions have been. And how has he managed to live and stay so positive and upbeat for so long? Has he no romantic or sexual life?

Yes, as we learn, he pays for sex now and then. Later in the documentary, we see an actual and quite interesting relationship begin to bloom between him and a kindly, charming woman. We meet the friend and fortune teller Felipe turns to when in need, and we hear some lovely and wise pronouncements along the way, one of which come from Felipe himself -- "Thanks to god and to the cities I've lived in. They've allowed me to support my family" -- and another from one of his good friends: "All problems have a solution. Except death."

I'm Leaving Now is a short film -- just 75 minutes -- but it packs in a lot, including an almost subversive look at an immigrant who actually wants to leave the USA for Mexico (statistically, this is what appears to happening more and more of late). And if Felipe's story seems ultimately a very sad one, do hang on for the end credits, during which you'll see and hear things that turn the tale on its ear.

From The Cinema Guild, in English and Spanish (with English subtitles), the documentary opens this Friday, September 6, in New York City at the Mayles Documentary Center, and on September 13 in Chicago at the Facets Cinematheque. Click here and scroll down to view all currently scheduled playdates, cities and theaters.

Alone at sea, and then a refugee: Wolfgang Fischer's provocative morality tale, STYX opens

The new movie STYX appears to be named for that titular river of myth that one must cross to get to the underworld (or from the underworld to our living earth). Though TrustMovies does not recall the word being mentioned aloud in the film, its significance will not be lost on those who see this disturbing work. In it, co-writer (with Ika Künzel) and director Wolfgang Fischer introduces us to a medical doctor, evidently a very good one, whom we initially see in action saving the life of a victim of a car accident.

Immediately after, our gal is in her very well-equipped sailboat, off on a long sail to an island she wants to visit (and which we see only in a picture book she's taken with her on the boat).

The film opens -- in Gibraltar -- with a shot of wildlife that makes you imagine you're in the tropics or jungle, but as the camera opens up, you realize, oh -- it's civilization. Or perhaps an unusual meld of the civilized and the wild.

Herr Fischer, the Austrian filmmaker shown at right, has put together a movie that is as visceral as it is thoughtful and provocative. The scenes of our heroine -- strongly and vividly brought to life German actress Susanne Wolff (below and whom the press kit tells us is herself a credentialed sailor) -- managing all that is required for safe, smart seafaring, are handled by the actress, director and cinematographer (Benedict Neuenfels) with utter aplomb.

Once out to sea, our good doctor, Reike, meets (via shortwave radio) a nice, helpful fellow who warns her of an upcoming storm. It hits but is not especially harmful. The next day, however, she encounters a boat full of what looks like African refugees seeking European asylum. They appear to need immediate help, so she calls this in. The Coast Guard tells her to keep her distance, turn around and leave; they're handling it all. But as the hours pass, they are clearly not, and probably intentionally so.

Several of the refugees have jumped overboard and are trying to swim to her sailboat. One of them (Gedion Oduor Wekesa, above) manages the distance, barely, and from here onward, Styx becomes a kind of moral parable involving everything from the Hippocratic Oath to lawbreaking, common decency (or perhaps only how we used to define this term), survival and a whole lot more.

There is damned little exposition to the movie. What we see (and hear) is what we get, so the viewer must decipher more than is necessary in most films. This is nowhere near impossible, however, and soon we are placed firmly in the mind and moral quandary of Reike and her rescue as she and he do what they must, so far as they understand this. (The film's ending made me hope for a sequel, in which the legal and moral ramifications of Reike's -- and the Coast Guard's -- actions are further explored.)

Considering the question of immigration and what it means to Europe the rest of the western world, the movie could hardly be more timely. Yet Styx proves a good deal more than mere agitprop. It is also a very well-made movie that functions on one level as superior entertainment, even as it forces the viewer to question what s/he would do in a circumstance like this one. It may bring to mind another memorable film, Italy's Terrafirma, which in one particular scene takes an even more difficult look at immigration and the choices we face.

From Film Movement, in English and German (with English subtitles) and running just 94 minutes, Styx has its U.S. theatrical premiere this Wednesday, February 27, in New York City at Film Forum, after which it will play 25 or more cities across the country, including, come March 15, Los Angeles (at Laemmle's Royal) and Boca Raton (at the Living Room Theaters). Click here and scroll down to see all currently scheduled playdates, cities and theaters.

Criterion Blu-ray/DVDebut for Aki Kaurismäki's refugee charmer, THE OTHER SIDE OF HOPE

How does he do it -- Aki Kaurismäki? How does he manage to wring so much humor, charm and pathos out of what is basically just deadpan storytelling. After viewing so many of his films (Kaurismäki is shown below), I'm still surprised by each new one, often quite similar in its themes and even cast members (he uses his own ensemble most often) to what has come before. Just looking at the stills shown below from THE OTHER SIDE OF HOPE, after nearly a month has gone by since I first watched the new Blu-ray from the The Criterion Collection, brings a smile to my face all over again as I remember the incidents in their quiet, crazy, sweet glory.

Kaurismäki's latest begins with maybe a nod to Samuel Beckett's Happy Days (shown below), as we meet one of our two heroes, a middle-eastern immigrant (played by Sherwan Haji) whose journey to Finland, which we learn of a bit later in the film, has been a fraught one indeed.

Part of the magic this filmmaker manages comes from his understanding of calm and how to make use of it, quietly forcing us to look, really see, and begin to somehow feel via the characters we're watching.

Sure, it's easy (well, for some Americans, anyway) to take the side of an beleaguered immigrant. But what of our other hero (played by Sakari Kuosmanen, shown center, below), a family man who suddenly leaves his wife to strike out on his own? These two could hardly seem more different at first, even second, glance, yet what binds them is the kind of common decency that unfortunately seems all too uncommon throughout the world these days.

Kaurismäki takes his sweet time bringing the two together. First we must understand each one's situation and begin to bond a little with the very idea of these guys. A restaurant, seemingly on its last legs, enters the picture, and its staff proves every bit as quietly hilarious as so much else in this Finnish filmmaker's oeuvre.

The decision to turn the place into an Asian eatery -- and what follows -- is deadpan heaven. As are many of the little musical interludes that crop up along the way.

Of course Kaurismäki courts sentimentality, basing his movie around the immigrant/refugee question and all the baggage that goes with it. Yet thanks to his innate humor, a clear-eyed look at how immigration policy often works (or actually doesn't) in the western world, and, yes, it must be said, a few coincidences, too, instead of sentimentality, the filmmaker manages something that certainly approaches, if not actually reaches, "truth".

If you've never seen a Kaurismäki movie, this one's as good as any a place to enter his world. If you already know that world, you'll probably want to dive right back into it.

The Other Side of Hope -- in Finnish with English subtitles and running 100 minutes -- hit the streets on DVD and a fine Blu-ray transfer last month from The Criterion Collection. As usual, with Criterion, there are beaucoup bonus features, so film buffs can, as ever, get their fill.

Lucas Belvaux's THIS IS OUR LAND: the frightening growth of the French far right

A uniquely disturbing (because it is so plausible) movie, THIS IS OUR LAND (originally titled as the better, simpler and more ironic Chez Nous) shows us, bit by bit, how a smart, caring, well-liked nurse in a typical provincial French town is slowly and cleverly conned into running for mayor under the banner of the "new" far-right party and its leader (think Marine Le Pen).

Though the far right, along with its neo-Nazis cohorts, has yet to win the major election in France, as Donald Trump and the Republican Party have done here in the USA, their strength in France -- as well as all across the European community -- continues to grow.

Belgian filmmaker Lucas Belvaux (of 38 Witnesses and Rapt) who co-wrote (with Jérôme Leroy, from his novel) and directed the movie has given it a remarkably true-to-life, near-documentary-like approach filled with so many on-the-nose details of small town life -- at work, at home, in relationships with friends and lovers -- that reality is captured almost at once and remains grounded throughout, despite some melodramatic turns and a finale that seems too sudden, coincidental and easy. The movie's strengths far outweigh its weaknesses, however, and what is likely to remain with you is a cautionary tale par excellence.

In the leading role is that fine Belgian actress Émilie Dequenne (above and on poster, top), who began her career in the Dardennes' Rosetta and has been giving crackerjack performances during the near 20 years since. This is another of her best, and it is hard to think of an actress (maybe Adèle Haenel in a few years) who could be any better in this role.

What the movie is particularly good at is showing us the route, led by a very successful right-wing doctor, played with his usual savoir faire by André Dussollier (above), via which the national front party seduces our heroine, along with so much of the populace, many of which are interested in populist ideals but unable (maybe unwilling) to differentiate between those and the racist, xenophobic underlay that accompanies them.

Catherine Jacob's performance -- the actress is shown above and below, center -- as the Le Pen stand-in is impressive in both its subtle conniving and its power to rouse the masses. This Is Our Land is also quite adept at demonstrating how a smart and caring woman could be seduced by this combination of praise, attention, and the support of friends already in the hands of the far right. In fact, what makes the film so particularly disquieting is how heavily we identify with our nurse/heroine and then must watch as she (and, yes, maybe we would, too) begins compromising the very bedrock principles upon which she has lived so far.

Now, all political parties do this same thing (god knows, America's Democratic Party compromised what few principles it had left by forcing Hillary Clinton upon us rather than going with the more progressive candidate whose appeal, according to all the early polls, trumped even that of Trump. But there are bad political parties and worse ones. And the French right-wing, along with America's Republicans, are clearly the worse.

The film's wild card is the character of the Dequenne character's old boyfriend (Guillaume Gouix, above and below) who suddenly appears back in her life as a possible mate.  Alternately violent and kindly, the latter especially to her children, he quickly becomes as much of a problem for the party and their candidate, as he may be for our heroine, too.

In the supporting cast, Patrick Descamps (above, left) is particularly notable as Dequenne's layabout Communist-Party father, whose reaction to her new political affiliation will not surprise you. A movie that is, as they used to say, ripped from today's headlines, This Is Our Land seems not to be asking could-it-happen-here? (it already has) than simply to be questioning how, in this "modern" age, we might hang on to whatever is left of our minuscule democracy.

From Distrib Films US, in French with English subtitles and running 117 minutes, the movies gets its U.S. theatrical premiere this Wednesday, April 18, in New York City at Film Forum. On April 27 it opens in Los Angeles at Laemmle's Monica Film Center. Click here, and then scroll down and click on Watch Now to view all upcoming playdates, cities and theaters.

Cantet/Campillo's THE WORKSHOP is rich, encompassing cinema -- both broad and deep

TrustMovies often speaks of French cinema (and the French themselves) as perverse. I mean this as a kind of complement because they and their films so often go in a different direction than expected. Whether this is done for humorous, ironic or sometimes, yes, simply transgressive reasons, the result can be bracing, abrasive and thought-provoking. So it is with THE WORKSHOP, a new film directed by Laurent Cantet (Human Resources, Time Out, Heading South and The Class) and his co-writer Robin Campillo (Eastern Boys, They Came Back, and the recent BPM).

Messieurs Cantet (shown at left) and Campillo (below) have worked together often enough now that I suspect their wavelengths must be close enough to nearly run as one. Either that or their strengths and weaknesses so balance each other out that the result is, at this point, just about seamless. 

With The Workshop, the pair addresses a host of themes and ideas, both super-timely and, well, ageless. These would include everything from immigration and terrorism (the home-

grown variety) to the impact and importance of art on the general public. Oh, yes -- and, as my spouse pointed out after viewing the film, it is also, maybe most of all, an unusual coming-of-age tale.

In the film, a young man named Antoine (played by the excellent newcomer Matthieu Lucci, shown below, left) from a local port city in France joins a summer school workshop led by a smart and attractive teacher from the "big city" (the always interesting Marina Fois, below, center).

As the class progresses, it becomes clear that Antoine is both very talented and very problemed. How this is revealed to us demonstrates anew Cantet/Campillo's excellent grasp of storytelling techniques, dialog, and the mysteries of human character and motive.

The filmmakers excel at something I'd call not mis-direction (intentionally bringing you to think or expect the wrong thing) but rather a refusal to satisfy your expectations too easily or simple-mindedly. Cantet and Campillo actually demonstrate Chekov's famous "gun" concept and then stand it on its head by making that second-act usage less (and at the same time more) than a mainstream audience may want or care to wrestle with.

The entire class (above) is peopled by a fine assortment of young characters, each of whom is drawn and acted quite well, and who together represent a smart but not-too-tidy look at today's France. Their reactions to each other, and especially to Antoine, are spot-on and help push the plot, such as it is, onwards. I say "such as it is" because Cantet and Campillo have always been more interested in character and theme than in heavily dramatic plotting.

Things happen and build to a kind of crescendo of dramatic possibilities, and then they simply ebb as naturally as the tide that rises and falls around the port town. This may disappoint those who demand melodrama and major confrontation, but it will surely satisfy others who prefer a more realistic slice-of-life that refuses to solve all problems within the framework of a less-than-two-hour movie. Some change does occur here -- and to all the characters -- though we cannot be sure, I think, in which direction that change is headed or how it will turn out.

It has been enough to confront politics, economics, unemployment, immigration, the making of art and the confusion of youth so very well as do Cantet and Campillo. I can't wait to see what this duo comes up with next. From Strand Releasing, in French with English subtitles and running 108 minutes, The Workshop opens this Friday, March 23, in New York City at the IFC Center and then on April 6 in Los Angeles at Landmark's NuArt, and here in South Florida at the Tower Theater, in Miami, and the Savor Cinema in Fort Lauderdale, as well as elsewhere across the country. Click here (then scroll down to click on Screenings on the task bar) to see all currently scheduled playdates, cities and theaters.