"Why can't Americans find themselves in their own country?" is the question that is provocatively asked and poignantly answered in Caren Cross's intimate and delicious documentary, LOST AND FOUND IN Mexico.
In this 2007 film, Cross ponders the phenomenon of those expatriate Americans, including herself, who have respectfully excused themselves from participation in US life and culture, and relocated to a humbler existence in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.
Through interviews with a variety of expatriates (of different ages, genders, professions, economic means, etc.), the film reveals the highly personal, fascinating, and unique life-stories that led these diverse individuals to new lives far from home. From their individual narratives, a common theme emerges; there are fundamental aspects of human experience that are difficult to nurture inside of US culture. The characters tell us that these neglected parts of Self might have gone unnoticed for a lifetime, were it not for the fact that they began to surface in the context of another culture. Once discovered, there was no going back.
LOST AND FOUND IN Mexico is as much a work of art as it is a testimonial to the yearnings of the heart. While it's possible that the limitations of one's own culture might be discovered by living in any foreign country, Cross's film treats us to a sampling of the specific delights that make Central Mexico irresistible to so many. Interspersed throughout the film are visually stunning scenes of magnificent, centuries-old architecture, wildly colorful walls, blooms of jacaranda and bougainvillea against shocking blue skies, and heartbreakingly beautiful portraits of Cross's Mexican neighbors, gently going about their daily lives. Adding to the sensory pleasure is the soundtrack which is both playful and soulful, perfectly capturing the mood of the place and its attraction to those who want more play and more soul in their lives.
Caren Cross has been both a therapist and an artist in her lifetime, and LOST AND FOUND IN Mexico is the perfect expression of both talents. There is a quality of honesty in her speakers that could only have been drawn out by a sensitive and trusted listener. Together with the rich gorgeousness of the visual images, the audience is pulled right into the soul-searching conversation: "What about me? Am I fully living?" While not all who ask the question will need to leave their homelands to pursue wholeness, the question itself is deeply valid.
In this 2007 film, Cross ponders the phenomenon of those expatriate Americans, including herself, who have respectfully excused themselves from participation in US life and culture, and relocated to a humbler existence in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.
Through interviews with a variety of expatriates (of different ages, genders, professions, economic means, etc.), the film reveals the highly personal, fascinating, and unique life-stories that led these diverse individuals to new lives far from home. From their individual narratives, a common theme emerges; there are fundamental aspects of human experience that are difficult to nurture inside of US culture. The characters tell us that these neglected parts of Self might have gone unnoticed for a lifetime, were it not for the fact that they began to surface in the context of another culture. Once discovered, there was no going back.
LOST AND FOUND IN Mexico is as much a work of art as it is a testimonial to the yearnings of the heart. While it's possible that the limitations of one's own culture might be discovered by living in any foreign country, Cross's film treats us to a sampling of the specific delights that make Central Mexico irresistible to so many. Interspersed throughout the film are visually stunning scenes of magnificent, centuries-old architecture, wildly colorful walls, blooms of jacaranda and bougainvillea against shocking blue skies, and heartbreakingly beautiful portraits of Cross's Mexican neighbors, gently going about their daily lives. Adding to the sensory pleasure is the soundtrack which is both playful and soulful, perfectly capturing the mood of the place and its attraction to those who want more play and more soul in their lives.
Caren Cross has been both a therapist and an artist in her lifetime, and LOST AND FOUND IN Mexico is the perfect expression of both talents. There is a quality of honesty in her speakers that could only have been drawn out by a sensitive and trusted listener. Together with the rich gorgeousness of the visual images, the audience is pulled right into the soul-searching conversation: "What about me? Am I fully living?" While not all who ask the question will need to leave their homelands to pursue wholeness, the question itself is deeply valid.
