Bordertown
(2006/THINKFilm)
Picture:
C+ Sound: C+ Extras: C+ Film: C+
Though
Jennifer Lopez bashing has declined a bit, she never did get a fair shake on
her acting or screen presence. I know I
was not the only one who found Monster-In-Law
more amusing than critics would have you believe it was and as far back as Bob
Rafelson’s Blood & Wine with
Jack Nicholson showed she was more than just a dancer. She reunites with her Selena director Gregory Nava for the thriller/drama Bordertown (2006) which essentially
goes after an ugly situation due to the controversial NAFTA free trade
agreement.
Women are
being raped, tortured and killed along the border and Lopez plays a reporter
sent in to investigate. Turns out that
while a killer is on the loose, the darker story is that women working for next
to nothing to build TV sets with no security to and from work are perfect
targets for victimization and the companies who make the product along with the
government are as guilty for creating the situation as the attackers taking
advantage of it.
The
script by Nava tries to juggle the thriller and political angles, but is not
always able to keep that up. However,
the film has more than its share of good moments and the guts to tell a
censored story that deserves to be heard.
Maybe he should have seen more films from the 1970s that knew how to do
this well, but the film is worth a look including good performances from a fine
cast including Martin Sheen, Sonia Braga and Antonio Banderas.
The
anamorphically enhanced 1.85 X 1 image is a little softer than a new production
should be, but the print in clean and color consistent, while the Dolby Digital
5.1 mix lacks fullness throughout with dialogue not as well-recorded as it
could be. Extras include trailers for
several THINKFilm releases including this one, featurette on making the film,
and three pieces about how bad the real life situation is (3,000+ murdered and
counting!) and ways you can get involved.
- Nicholas Sheffo
