I didn't have too much to say about this, it just felt incredibly short. Looking at the themes and scenarios the movie explored, the movie does so only at surface level. I think the intro to Esmeralda raised the tension quite quickly, we're introduced to her in a pretty dicey scenario. It gave insight into her decision to leave. There wasn't too much I disliked about it. One specific thing was the pep talks by the coyote - like he's a good kind hearted coyote? But it wasn't something that bothered me too much. The story is alright, tragic but not particularly moving. I don't think the stuff about the grandma added much to the film, all the stories and narrations from her diary. The movie had pretty good and consistent atmosphere, a dark tone. The big issue is that it just ends out of nowhere, like I was in and out the theatre. Even the subplots end abruptly, logically but abruptly. Like Adria Arjona character feels like an important part of the movie then she's just no longer there. The conflicts the movie has are resolved pretty quickly, made the movie anticlimactic. A few twists and turns wouldn't have hurt the movie. Otherwise not bad, nothing special.
4 Reviews
reality bites
ferguson-612 April 2024
Warning: Spoilers
Greetings again from the darkness. "It's us or them." That's a line spoken by one of the ICE officers after a particularly physical and dangerous altercation with an illegal immigrant. In this particular instance, the words ring true. However, writer-director Marco Perego and co-writer Rick Rapoza show both sides of this coin that has generated so much passionate debate among politicians and the citizenry. The film strives to show the humanity of all involved, and how a lack of humanity can cause more problems than it solves.
Garrett Hedlund (MUDBOUND, 20 17) stars as Shipp, a new ICE recruit. We see him volunteer to be first in the "Taser Training" so that he knows what the recipient experiences. He's a man of few words, though he seems smitten with his girlfriend Yadira (Adria Arjona, MORBIUS, 2022), a single mom who may or may not be withholding pertinent information. Shipp's more experienced ICE partner, Dobbins (Chris Coy, THE KILLING OF TWO LOVERS), is the one who speaks the line of dialogue quoted above. Dobbins has a singular view of his job and of those crossing the border illegally, while Shipp is a bit more confused on how best to handle things.
The other key story here revolves around Esmee (Zoe Saldana, Gamora in the Marvel Universe). She's an exotic dancer in Mexico until her self-defense against one customer goes sideways and she's forced to flee. Her trek to the border finds her protecting a young girl, and then getting dragged into the underworld. There is a scene with a drug dealer that features one of my cinematic pet peeves. Why is it when a drug dealer gives a phone to someone and tells them to keep it on at all times, they never furnish a charger? I can understand a lack of respect, but that phone isn't going to last long without a charger. Just a minor rant that I often need to release after a movie.
Director Perego is a renowned conceptual artist and he's married to Zoe Saldana. Together they depict the realities at the U. S. southern border. ICE is working to follow guidelines, while immigrants are in search of a better life. Things sometimes don't work out well for either. We see the ICE raids and we see the daily struggles of immigrants. Despite this, there seems to be no solution in sight, so the conflicts carry on day after day.
Opens in theaters on April 12, 2024.
Garrett Hedlund (MUDBOUND, 20 17) stars as Shipp, a new ICE recruit. We see him volunteer to be first in the "Taser Training" so that he knows what the recipient experiences. He's a man of few words, though he seems smitten with his girlfriend Yadira (Adria Arjona, MORBIUS, 2022), a single mom who may or may not be withholding pertinent information. Shipp's more experienced ICE partner, Dobbins (Chris Coy, THE KILLING OF TWO LOVERS), is the one who speaks the line of dialogue quoted above. Dobbins has a singular view of his job and of those crossing the border illegally, while Shipp is a bit more confused on how best to handle things.
The other key story here revolves around Esmee (Zoe Saldana, Gamora in the Marvel Universe). She's an exotic dancer in Mexico until her self-defense against one customer goes sideways and she's forced to flee. Her trek to the border finds her protecting a young girl, and then getting dragged into the underworld. There is a scene with a drug dealer that features one of my cinematic pet peeves. Why is it when a drug dealer gives a phone to someone and tells them to keep it on at all times, they never furnish a charger? I can understand a lack of respect, but that phone isn't going to last long without a charger. Just a minor rant that I often need to release after a movie.
Director Perego is a renowned conceptual artist and he's married to Zoe Saldana. Together they depict the realities at the U. S. southern border. ICE is working to follow guidelines, while immigrants are in search of a better life. Things sometimes don't work out well for either. We see the ICE raids and we see the daily struggles of immigrants. Despite this, there seems to be no solution in sight, so the conflicts carry on day after day.
Opens in theaters on April 12, 2024.
A beautiful heartfelt film Zoe is phenomenal
rockyfaulknerjr14 April 2024
I hope a lot more people go out and see this film and that it will be available for purchase and streaming at some point. It was beautifully shot and every frame could be a photograph of art! Zoe was amazing & in my opinion some of her best work I've ever seen, and that goes for all of the cast not a weak one in the bunch. The story is heartfelt, and only a glimpse of what people in both sides of the fence are going through with immigration and sadly, it's probably 100x's worse than anything this film will show you. It does end abruptly but doesn't bother me as it makes you think about what you just watched. I hope one day we get the true director's cut from Marco. I highly recommend this film to anyone!
Powerful Performances, Insightful Commentary on the Insidiusness of Corruption
Jason_Parkly12 April 2024
Warning: Spoilers
While most people will fixate on the emotional and powerful performances by Saldana and Hedlund in this film, I was equally as moved by the nuance of the overarching message being communicated through the characters in this story.
The film intentionally establishes the main characters -- played by Saldana and Hedlund -- as opposite sides of a mirror. Both are good people who get unintentionally caught up in the overwhelming corruption of the worlds around them: Saldana by the Mexican Cartel, and Hedlund by corrupt ICE officers.
With nothing but good intentions, both characters must make one moral concession after another until they are inevitably corrupted by the systems and find themselves doing things they never imagined possible. It's heartbreaking.
I like the interesting choice to follow the main characters separately, only meeting briefly at the end of the film after their unfortunate transformations are complete. It underscores the idea that we've been watching soul-mirrors this whole time: two people caught up in a whirlwind of evil on different "sides of the border."
The Absence of Eden is an emotional watch, and its complex moral message and untraditional storytelling may keep it from resonating for some viewers, but for those who appreciate films that take a shot at breaking stereotypes and telling compelling moral parables in a more experimental way, it will definitely be one that sticks with you long after watching.
The film intentionally establishes the main characters -- played by Saldana and Hedlund -- as opposite sides of a mirror. Both are good people who get unintentionally caught up in the overwhelming corruption of the worlds around them: Saldana by the Mexican Cartel, and Hedlund by corrupt ICE officers.
With nothing but good intentions, both characters must make one moral concession after another until they are inevitably corrupted by the systems and find themselves doing things they never imagined possible. It's heartbreaking.
I like the interesting choice to follow the main characters separately, only meeting briefly at the end of the film after their unfortunate transformations are complete. It underscores the idea that we've been watching soul-mirrors this whole time: two people caught up in a whirlwind of evil on different "sides of the border."
The Absence of Eden is an emotional watch, and its complex moral message and untraditional storytelling may keep it from resonating for some viewers, but for those who appreciate films that take a shot at breaking stereotypes and telling compelling moral parables in a more experimental way, it will definitely be one that sticks with you long after watching.
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