This is a terrific movie. However, I can see why some people might not like it due to the somewhat average production in places.
Form: I thought the colour filters were a bit overdone but still quite nice, acting was acceptable but not the best given the cast, dialogue was clunky at times and sometimes quite unrealistic. I found much of the violence/exhumation extremely unsettling and the shanty towns and factory scenes leaving me a terrible sense of oppression and hopelessness, as they should.
Content: While the plot was a little crazy and predictable at times (e.g. the baiting scenario) the underlying message is what really makes this movie worth watching. It's pretty well on the money for describing the institutional injustice of the corrupt US and Mexican government-corporate capitalists . As Chomsky succinctly puts it, the Free Trade Agreement is neither free nor trade nor an agreement.
The movie also shows how most people in a position to do something about injustice choose the easier and often selfish option to ignore it, in favour of personal reward, or due to fear of financial loss and receiving a similar fate to the oppressed. While the resolution of the main plot was a bit awkward, it was wonderful not to see everything neatly resolved with everyone coming out a winner (obviously this is not a Hollywood film) – two of the three main characters did not triumph individually but received the true reward so often received for standing against injustice – personal sacrifice.
Personally, I found the movie very challenging, leaving me with both a sense of guilt and desire to do something really worthwhile to affect change. I'm mystified as to why this movie has only now just reached my local video store (Australia)...
Final score: Form (5) + Content (10) / 2 = 7.5
Form: I thought the colour filters were a bit overdone but still quite nice, acting was acceptable but not the best given the cast, dialogue was clunky at times and sometimes quite unrealistic. I found much of the violence/exhumation extremely unsettling and the shanty towns and factory scenes leaving me a terrible sense of oppression and hopelessness, as they should.
Content: While the plot was a little crazy and predictable at times (e.g. the baiting scenario) the underlying message is what really makes this movie worth watching. It's pretty well on the money for describing the institutional injustice of the corrupt US and Mexican government-corporate capitalists . As Chomsky succinctly puts it, the Free Trade Agreement is neither free nor trade nor an agreement.
The movie also shows how most people in a position to do something about injustice choose the easier and often selfish option to ignore it, in favour of personal reward, or due to fear of financial loss and receiving a similar fate to the oppressed. While the resolution of the main plot was a bit awkward, it was wonderful not to see everything neatly resolved with everyone coming out a winner (obviously this is not a Hollywood film) – two of the three main characters did not triumph individually but received the true reward so often received for standing against injustice – personal sacrifice.
Personally, I found the movie very challenging, leaving me with both a sense of guilt and desire to do something really worthwhile to affect change. I'm mystified as to why this movie has only now just reached my local video store (Australia)...
Final score: Form (5) + Content (10) / 2 = 7.5