Simple Story, beautifully told...

micalclark

I'm not one to write reviews and I know people see a ten rating and think I'm probably a friend of the filmmaker, but I don't actually know anyone involved with this film. I gave it a ten because I couldn't really come up with anything that could've been done better here.

The film is a documentary that follows a young Mexican couple as they try to raise the money to afford some land and a home for their daughter. It is not an immigration story like so many other films recently that cover that topic. The couple remains in Mexico but needs to leave their daughter behind and move to a city closer to the border. There they can work in American factories (owned by companies like Victoria's Secret) that pay them far below minimum wage, which is still much more than they can earn in their home town where there are few jobs.

The young mother, Cecy, struggles with feelings of leaving her daughter behind and eventually the young man, Camillo, must struggle with feelings of leaving both his wife and daughter behind when she decides to stay back to help her ailing father. They suffer through a hurricane that floods their small rental home and use candles and leftover wood.

I won't give away how it ends, but to see a family go through so much and feel so grateful for so little really makes you realize how fortunate most of us in the US have it and how much we take for granted.

It's a documentary, but one with a narrative. You really want this couple to succeed. They are hard working people who care about their families, and just want a better life. Considering it was filmed in remote areas of Mexico I didn't notice much in the way of technological problems with sound and lighting you might expect. Even when it's not Hollywood blockbuster quality. it doesn't distract from the story in any way.

My compliments to everyone involved in the film. It's really beautiful, and I can't recommend it highly enough. Thanks for giving me something wonderful to watch that isn't a remake or halfhearted sequel. Well done.

score /10

micalclark 31 May 2010

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw2257630/