Crossing Arizona (No Rating)

0-9 | A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M
N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

This documentary look at the struggles of undocumented workers unabashedly takes the laborers' side. While all the anti-immigrant congressmen, shock jocks, and vigilantes come off as smug, idiotic, or opportunistic, the Mexicans are portrayed so gently that even the coyote we see is concerned for their well-being. Between harassed border patrolmen, vigilantes straight out of Reno 911, and immigrants so unaware of American geography that they think they can walk to Chicago, there's enough material for four or five good movies. Unfortunately, Crossing Arizona is at once so diffuse and repetitive that it scatters more shot than Dick Cheney. The film is excellent in terms of portraying why immigrants must cross the scorching Sonoran Desert (easier routes north have been blocked). But there's no bigger picture. Why are so many people crossing? Who really gains? We briefly hear the silhouetted farmer who relies on undocumented labor, but so much else is going on that he barely registers. He and his kind--the real profiteers of illegal immigration--have evaded detection once again. (Gregg Rickman)

Review by Gregg Rickman