CROSSING OVER
US, 2009, 113 minutes, Colour.
Harrison Ford, Ray Liotta, Ashley Judd, Jim Sturgess, Cliff Curtis, Summer Bishil, Alice Braga, Alice Eve, Justin Chon, Melody Khazae, Merik Tadros.
Directed by Wayne Kramer.
A film with contemporary, very serious issues, those of migration, both legal and illegal.
Writer-director Wayne Kramer (The Cooler, Running Scared) was born in South Africa and moved to the US at the age of 22. He became a US citizen in 2000 after going through the proper processes. He knows what he is talking about in his screenplay.
However, he takes on a wider scoped look at US migration and the illegals. He uses a multi-storied interconnecting plot of the kind associated with Robert Altman, 'Altmanesque'. This works well here. The connections do not seem as stretched as they might have been. He has also assembled a strong cast who make some of the sequences demanding on the emotions of the audience.
The central star is Harrison Ford, an officer with the migration squad. He is law-abiding as well as decent and he is immediately challenged during a raid on a dress factory to follow up on a young Mexican woman who has a son. This involves him with her son and with her parents. His partner (Cliff Curtis) comes from a traditional Iranian family where the father is about to be naturalised but is concerned, as is his younger lawyer brother, with what is judged permissive behaviour by their US-born sister. (Her partner also connects her with one of the other stories.) The Iranian policeman also connects in a devastating way with a young Korean who is about to be naturalised with his family but who is pressurised to join a local gang.
Alice Eve is an Australian would-be actress (who sounds authentic but is in fact an English actress). She becomes entangled with an official who could easily get her a green card – for favours. This story is persuasive and credible, even if the behaviour of the officer (Ray Liotta) is sleazy. His defence lawyer wife (Ashley Judd) is concerned with two cases, of an African orphan, and a Bangladeshi-born teenager who reads aloud a school project in class, stating that she understands the motivation of the 9/11 bombers and their wanting their voices to be heard. The class sequence with the bigoted and brutal reactions of the class makes for a very disturbing sequence. She is taken by officials who offer her the opportunity – quite heartrending - of leaving the US with one parent while the other stays with the two US-born children.
The final story is that of a young British man from a Jewish background but who is an atheist and does now know Hebrew. His case shows the testing of the applicant's credentials – with a surprising outcome, especially favourable for a shrewd orthodox rabbi.
Some have complained that the film is a bit solemn and didactic. Maybe, maybe not. But there is so much in each of the stories that audiences will probably be quite engrossed and resonate with the themes and the fact that so many of the issues are not exactly black and white.
1.The social issues, contemporary issues, contemporary American issues, world issues? 21st century? Xenophobia, racism, different religions? The terror era?
2.Migration, genuine and fraudulent migrants? Going to the US? The naturalisation process, ceremonies? The writer-director as a migrant, his perspective and experience?
3.Los Angeles stories, the various communities, Jewish, Iranian, Hispanic, Asian (Bangladesh and Korea), Australian? The visuals of each neighbourhood? The musical score?
4.The title, migrants, especially the Hispanics crossing the border from Mexico? The role of the authorities and the police towards the migrants?
5.The Robert Altman style, the varied stories, the interweaving, the interconnections of the characters, coincidences, small worlds?
6.The opening raid, the factory, the Hispanic workers, the chases, the arrests, the police and their role? Max Brogan and his partner, Hamid? Their attitude towards the illegals, Mireya Sanchez and her running, hiding, Max finding her, wanting to let her go, the others arresting her, the photo of her son, her phone number – the effect on Max, a decent man, enquiring about her, returning to the scene, finding the paper with her phone number and address? Her boy, the rough guardian, taking him, returning the boy to Mexico, meeting Mireya’s parents? Hearing of her subsequent re-entry, her death? His ability to speak Spanish? The attitudes of the other police? The final raid – and the film returning to where it began?
7.Mireya’s story, age, illegal, her son, the people looking after him, the money sent back to parents, the parents in Mexico, her being arrested, escape, the return? The discovery of her body – and the exploitation of illegals by mercenary organisations?
8.Gavin’s story? The UK background, Jewish? His ability to sing, his friendship with Claire? His friendship with the girl at the college, the principal and her support, though unwilling? Signing the document for him? His singing the song for the children at school? The Jewish traditions? His wanting to learn some songs, but having no Hebrew? Saying he was an atheist? His dressing in Jewish style, going to the interview, the official suspicious of him, his plan to sing, the invitation to the stern rabbi to come in, listen to him singing? The rabbi being shrewd, not admitting that the song was false, liking Gavin’s voice, making deals for him to sing in the synagogue for the future? His return to the school?
9.Claire, her relationship with Gavin, her overstaying her visa, her hopes, television, from Australia, her auditions? Taking the money to the shop, wanting the forged documents? The encounter with Cole Frankel? His shrewdness about what had happened? His offer, pressurising her, his behaviour, her attitudes towards Cole, detachment, disgust? The threats, her taunts, leaving? The murder of Zahra and her boyfriend? The expose of the false documents? The lead to Claire, the lead to Cole, his signing the document for her, her testifying against him in order to save conviction? Going to airport?
10.Cole, his position, his relationship with Denise, meeting Claire, the deal, signing the document, the irony of the murder, his arrest?
11.Denise, a migrant defence lawyer, with the little African girl? The scene with Cole, the tensions between them? Her work, her being willing to adopt the African girl? Her supporting Taslima and her family, but not winning the case?
12.Taslima, her essay in class, 9/11, talking about understanding the motivation of the bombers? The class reactions, scorning her, the bullying? At home, the Bangladeshi background? Her father and mother, the other children? Her arrest, the interrogation by the official, the search of her room, suspicions, posters and letters? The deal for her to leave with one parent? The other parent staying with the other children? Her being interned, meeting the little African girl? Leaving America with her mother, the airport, her father in the distance? Denise’s support? Her grief – and her future?
13.The Iranian family, the build-up towards the naturalisation ceremony? Their life in Iran, in the United States? Max and his being invited to the party, his meeting Zahra, sensing that she was the object of criticism by her father and her brothers? Farid and his being a lawyer, his strict observance? Hamid, the friendship with Max, his place in the family, his disapproval of his sister? Max leaving, the locket? Her death and her boyfriend? The investigation? Hamid and his reaction? The brother, in the bar, Max arresting him? The father and his ordering the killing of his daughter and her boyfriend? The dramatic points about this kind of family control?
14.The Korean family, hoping for naturalisation? The quiet son? The local Korean gang, their pressure on him? The gun, taking him for the robbery? Going into the convenience store, the confrontation, the shooting? His fears? The irony of Hamid being in the store, Hamid concealing himself, shooting the robbers? The Korean boy taking the hostage, Hamid confronting him, talking him out of it, giving him another chance? The wife of the dead Korean trying to say that he was guilty? The other witness and saving her life, her supporting Hamid’s testimony?
15.The build-up to the naturalisation ceremony – the singing of the national anthem, the oath, loyalties – and seeing the various characters from the film in the ceremony?
16.The dramatising of social issues as a way of audiences understanding them, real stories – rather than sensationalist or rabble-rousing headlines?
