Michelle SweeneyReview - Crossing Over
June 2nd 2009 01:13
During an Immigration bust, Max encounters an illegal Mexican woman Mireya Sanchez (Alice Braga) who gives him information regarding her son. Unwilling to get involved initially, his conscience gets the better of him and he locates the son and escorts him back to Mexico. Unfortunately the delay puts the mother again at risk as she tries illegally once again to enter the US borders to collect her son.
In true Gran Torino style (I coincidentally watched these two movies in the one evening), Yong Kim (Justin Chon) is a Korean teenager, torn between his parent's devotion to American and his bitterness against having to call himself an American. Teenager angst also continues to do the rounds with Summer Bishil's (Towelhead) portrayal of Bangladeshi born Taslima Jahangir. Her school paper which takes a sympathetic view to the 9/11 hijackers alerts the FBI, putting her and her family, who have illegal immigration status, under the spotlight.
Having had my fair share of immigration issues myself, it is certainly clear that it is easier to try to work within the flawed system than around it. The movie does not provide any huge insight into US immigration policies nor will it leave you feeling enlightened or even patriotic. The Crash like vignettes ebb and flow and connect however loosely and some storylines work better than others.
Many reports show that this movie has been seriously edited including a small cameo role by Sean Penn which was cut as a stand for his political views. Wayne Kramer (Running Scared, The Cooler), writer and director, may have seen this play out differently in his head but it is the strong cast which are the glue holding it all together, however tenuously.
Voyage Review: 2.5/5
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