Movie Tip

Coincidentally, this story (from the Latin Americanist) about Central American immigrants being deprived of their liberty while making their way through Mexico to the US (10,000 over a six-month span) popped up on my computer screen the day I went to see Sin Nombre, which was quite good. In a couple of small but important ways, it's unlike every other Latin American immigration movie I've seen, which admittedly is not a terribly long list. First of all, Sin Nombre eschews cheap political statements and playing up the American evil of immigration restriction, which makes it less preachy and allows its characters to move beyond easy stereotypes. Additionally, the fact that it deals almost exclusively with the passage through Mexico rather than the difficulties awaiting in the US gives it a tighter narrative arc. Here's Chris Orr's review from April.