This review contains major spoilers. I will be discussing major plot points and the ending. Please don't read further if you don't want to know what happens in the film.
A Spanish-speaking couple arrive in America from Spain and show their passports to the immigration officer who asks them to come with him while further checks are made. The woman is Spanish and the man is originally from Venezuela. The officers questioned them and their questions were perfectly reasonable, especially in light of what we learned about the two subsequently. It became apparent that the man had been trying to game the immigration system and was with this Spanish woman out of convenience, which the Spanish woman had genuinely been unaware of. All of the acting and direction in the film was excellent. I have never been in this sort of situation of being questioned by immigration officers but everything rang true and felt authentic, it was almost like watching a fly on the wall documentary.
Near the end the film got to the point where it looked like the woman would be allowed entry into the US because she had done nothing wrong and had a legitimate visa but the man would be refused because he was there under false pretences and had tricked his female companion. And then right at the end, the immigration officer called them to his desk, stamped their pasports, gave them back to them and welcomed them to America. Then it ended. I still don't know what the film's message was? Is it that the immigration system is stupid and should have just let them in (and perhaps should just let anyone in) without asking questions? Why after establishing clearly that the man was there under dubious circumstances, would they have allowed him in? It made no sense to me. He had no visa in his own right and didn't even have a job offer. If they had denied him entry then I don't think many people would have taken issue with it. My guess is a lot of people would have been confused by this ending.
It is a political film with a political message, but if that message is misunderstood by its viewers then the film has to be considered a failure. However, the acting, writing and direction are so good that it is still worth seeing. Perhaps you will understand it better than I do. Well made but confusing film.
A Spanish-speaking couple arrive in America from Spain and show their passports to the immigration officer who asks them to come with him while further checks are made. The woman is Spanish and the man is originally from Venezuela. The officers questioned them and their questions were perfectly reasonable, especially in light of what we learned about the two subsequently. It became apparent that the man had been trying to game the immigration system and was with this Spanish woman out of convenience, which the Spanish woman had genuinely been unaware of. All of the acting and direction in the film was excellent. I have never been in this sort of situation of being questioned by immigration officers but everything rang true and felt authentic, it was almost like watching a fly on the wall documentary.
Near the end the film got to the point where it looked like the woman would be allowed entry into the US because she had done nothing wrong and had a legitimate visa but the man would be refused because he was there under false pretences and had tricked his female companion. And then right at the end, the immigration officer called them to his desk, stamped their pasports, gave them back to them and welcomed them to America. Then it ended. I still don't know what the film's message was? Is it that the immigration system is stupid and should have just let them in (and perhaps should just let anyone in) without asking questions? Why after establishing clearly that the man was there under dubious circumstances, would they have allowed him in? It made no sense to me. He had no visa in his own right and didn't even have a job offer. If they had denied him entry then I don't think many people would have taken issue with it. My guess is a lot of people would have been confused by this ending.
It is a political film with a political message, but if that message is misunderstood by its viewers then the film has to be considered a failure. However, the acting, writing and direction are so good that it is still worth seeing. Perhaps you will understand it better than I do. Well made but confusing film.