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Immigration Movies and Documentaries
by Philip Spassov
Table of Contents
Introduction
List of Immigration movies and documentaries
Selected Film Reviews
Conclusion
Introduction:
After searching for movies and documentaries relating to immigration on the internet, I found that most of the lists consist of 5-20 immigration films, and only a few consist of over 50 films. I decided to create a comprehensive list of all the immigration films I could find on the internet, and came with 168 results. Being the first comprehensive list on immigration films, I hope this will be a useful source for people who are searching films themed around immigration.
Below I listed the immigration films/documentaries and their respective IMDB and Amazon links.
List of Immigration movies and documentaries
# |
Name of Movie |
IMDB |
Amazon |
Notes |
1 |
Sugar |
N/A |
Sugar is a 2008 sports drama film directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck. It follows the story of Miguel Santos, a. k. a. Sugar(Algenis Perez Soto), a Dominican pitcher from San Pedro de Macorís, struggling to make it to the big leagues and pull himself and his family out of poverty. Playing professionally at a baseball academy in the Dominican Republic, Miguel finally gets his break at age 19 when he advances to the United States' minor league system; but when his play on the mound falters, he begins to question the single-mindedness of his life's ambition. |
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2 |
Goodbye Solo |
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3 |
Sentenced Home |
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4 |
Under the Same Moon |
Under the Same Moon (Spanish: La misma luna) is a 2007 Mexican-American drama film in Spanish and English directed byPatricia Riggen and starring Adrián Alonso, Kate del Castillo, and Eugenio Derbez. |
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5 |
A Slim Peace |
N/A |
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6 |
Hacer partia |
N/A |
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7 |
Beyond Belief |
Beyond Belief is a feature documentary directed by Beth Murphy. The film follows Susan Retik and Patti Quigley, two women who lost their husbands on September 11, 2001, as they set up humanitarian programs for war widows in Afghanistan. It premiered at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival |
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8 |
West 32nd street |
N/A |
West 32nd is a 2007 film and the second feature film by Michael Kang. The film stars John Cho, Jun-seong Kim, Grace Park, Jane Kim and Jeong Jun-ho. The film revolves around John Kim, an ambitious young lawyer in New York, who takes on a pro-bono case involving a fourteen-year-old Korean boy accused of murder. Upon investigating the case, he meets Mike Juhn, a street level Mobster from Flushing. The two try to use each other to climb their respective ladders. |
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9 |
Sangre de mi sangre |
Padre Nuestro ("Our Father"), also known as Sangre de Mi Sangre ("Blood of My Blood") is a 2007 Argentinean-American thrillerfilm written and directed by Christopher Zalla, produced by Benjamin Odell and Per Melita and starring Jesús Ochoa, Armando Hernández, Jorge Adrián Espíndola, and Paola Mendoza. |
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10 |
Never Forever |
Never Forever is a 2007 US/South Korean co-production written and directed by Gina Kim. The film was critically acclaimed when it was first screened at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, |
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11 |
Golden Venture |
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12 |
Fast Food Nation |
Fast Food Nation is a 2006 drama film directed by Richard Linklater. The screenplay was written by Linklater and Eric Schlosser, loosely based on the latter's bestselling 2001 non-fiction book of the same name. |
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13 |
Sweet Land |
N/A |
Sweet Land is a 2005 American independent period drama film written and directed by Ali Selim. It is an adaptation of the 1989 short story "A Gravestone Made of Wheat" by Will Weaver. The film stars Elizabeth Reaser, Tim Guinee, Lois Smith, Ned Beatty,John Heard, Alex Kingston and Alan Cumming. |
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14 |
In Between Days |
In Between Days is a 2006 film directed by So Yong Kim about a young girl from Korea and her coming of age in her new surroundings. The film premiered at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival, and was released into select theaters on June 27, 2007. |
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15 |
Man Push Cart |
Man Push Cart is a 2005 American independent film by Ramin Bahrani that tells the story of a former Pakistani rock star who sells coffee and bagels from his pushcart on the streets of Manhattan. |
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16 |
God Grew Tired of Us |
God Grew Tired of Us is a 2006 documentary film about three of the "Lost Boys of Sudan", a group of some 25,000 young men who have fled the wars in Sudan since the 1980s, and their experiences as they move to the United States. The film was written and directed by Christopher Dillon Quinn. |
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17 |
Breaking and Entering |
Breaking and Entering is a 2006 romantic crime drama directed by Anthony Minghella and starring Jude Law, Juliette Binoche, and Robin Wright Penn. The film was written by Minghella, his first original screenplay since his 1991 feature debut Truly, Madly, Deeply. Set in a blighted, inner-city neighborhood of London, the film is about a successful landscape architect whose dealings with a young thief and his mother cause him to re-evaluate his life |
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18 |
Welcome Europa |
N/A |
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19 |
Babel |
Babel is a 2006 drama film directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu and written by Guillermo Arriaga, starring an ensemble cast. The multi-narrative drama completes González Iñárritu's |
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20 |
The Three Burials of Melquia Estrada |
The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada is a 2005 Mexican-American neo-western film |
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21 |
Game 6 |
Game 6 is a 2005 American film directed by Michael Hoffman, first presented at the Sundance Film Festival, released in the United States in 2006, and starring Michael Keaton. It follows a fictional playwright, Nicky Rogan, on the day he has new stage play opening which is also the same day as the sixth game of the 1986 World Series is played. It realizes a 1991 screenplay by Don DeLillo, with soundtrack written and performed by Yo La Tengo. |
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22 |
Eve and the Fire Horse |
Eve and the Fire Horse is a 2005 Canadian film written and directed by Julia Kwan. It won the Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival and the Claude Jutra Award for the best feature film by a first-time film director in Canada. |
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23 |
La tragedia de macario quinceanera |
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24 |
Crossing Arizona |
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25 |
Everything is Illuminated |
Everything Is Illuminated is a 2005 biographical, drama film, written and directed by Liev Schreiber and starring Elijah Wood and Eugene Hütz. It was adapted from the novel of the same name by Jonathan Safran Foer, and was the debut film of Liev Schreiber both as a director and as a screenwriter |
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26 |
The Keeper: The Legend of Omar Khayyam |
The Keeper: The Legend of Omar Khayyam is an independently-released drama film about the life of the famous Persianintellectual Omar Khayyám. It was directed by Kayvan Mashayekh and stars Vanessa Redgrave and Moritz Bleibtreu. It was released in 2005. |
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27 |
Night of Henna |
Night of Henna (2005) is a comedy film directed by Hassan Zee (Bicycle Bride), and is the first Pakistani-American feature film. |
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28 |
Sueño |
Sueño (English: Dream) is a 2005 comedy-drama film directed by Renée Chabria that stars John Leguizamo, Ana Claudia Talancón, and Elizabeth Peña. |
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29 |
Saving Face |
Saving Face is a 2004 American romantic comedy drama film directed by Alice Wu. The film focuses on Wilhelmina, a young Chinese-American surgeon; her unwed, pregnant mother; and her dancer girlfriend. |
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30 |
Spanglish |
Spanglish is a 2004 American comedy-drama film written and directed by James L. Brooks, and starring Adam Sandler, Paz Vega, and Téa Leoni. It was released in the United States on December 17, 2004 by Columbia Pictures and by Gracie Films, and in other countries over the first several months of 2005. This film grossed $55,041,367 worldwide, significantly less than the $80 million production budget. |
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31 |
Bride and Prejudice |
Bride and Prejudice is a 2004 romantic musical film directed by Gurinder Chadha. The screenplay by Chadha and Paul Mayeda Berges is a Bollywood-style adaptation of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. It was filmed primarily in English, with some Hindi and Punjabi dialogue. The film released in the United States on 11 February 2005 and was well received by film critics. |
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32 |
Maria Full of Grace |
Maria Full of Grace (Spanish title: María llena eres de gracia, lit. "Maria, you are full of grace") is a 2004 joint film production between Colombia and the U.S. written and directed by Joshua Marston, who went on to win the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay. Lead actress Catalina Sandino Moreno was named Best Actress at the Berlin Film Festival and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress in the 77th Academy Awards. |
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33 |
The Terminal |
The Terminal is a 2004 American comedy-drama film directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Tom Hanks and Catherine Zeta-Jones. It is about a man who becomes trapped in New York City's JFK International Airport terminal when he is denied entry into the United States and at the same time cannot return to his native country due to a revolution. The film is partially inspired by the 17-year-stay of Mehran Karimi Nasseri in the Charles de Gaulle International Airport, Terminal I, Paris, France from 1988 to 2006. |
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34 |
A Day without a Mexican |
A Day Without a Mexican is a 2004 film directed by Sergio Arau. It offers a satirical look at the consequences of all the Mexicans in the state of California suddenly disappearing (with a mysterious "pink fog" surrounding the state preventing any communication or movement with the outside world). A series of characters show the apparent statistical impact of Mexicans on California's economy, law enforcement and education systems as well as the resulting social unrest. |
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35 |
The Gatekeepers |
The Gatekeepers (Hebrew: ????? ???) is a 2012 documentary film by director Dror Moreh that tells the story of the Israeli internal security service, Shin Bet (known in Hebrew as 'Shabak'), from the perspective of six of its former heads. |
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36 |
Green Card Fever |
Green Card Fever is a 2003 Indian Independent film written and directed by Bala Rajasekharuni. |
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37 |
Flavors |
N/A |
Flavors is a 2003 romantic comedy film concerning Indian immigrants in America. It was written and directed by Krishna D.K. and Raj Nidimoru and is their second collaboration after Shaadi.com (2002). |
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38 |
Pieces of April |
Pieces of April is a 2003 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Peter Hedges. The film debuted at the Sundance Film Festival. The name is taken from a 1972 hit song by Three Dog Night, which reached No. 19 on the Billboard Hot 100. |
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39 |
Lana’s rain |
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40 |
Calais: The Last Border |
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41 |
In This World |
In This World is a 2002 British docudrama directed by Michael Winterbottom. The film follows two young Afghan refugees, Jamal Udin Torabi and Enayatullah, as they leave a refugee camp in Pakistan for a better life in London. Since their journey is illegal, it is fraught with danger, and they must use back-channels, bribes, and smugglers to achieve their goal. The film won the Golden Bear prize at the 2003 Berlin International Film Festival. |
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42 |
The Guru |
The Guru is a 2002 British-French-American romantic comedy film written by Tracey Jackson and directed by Daisy von Scherler Mayer. The film centers on a dance teacher who comes to America from India to pursue a normal career but incidentally stumbles into a brief but high-profile career as a sex guru, a career based on a philosophy he learns from a ****ographic actress. |
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43 |
Real Women Have Curves |
Real Women Have Curves is a 2002 American movie starring America Ferrera. Directed by Patricia Cardoso and produced byGeorge LaVoo from a screenplay by LaVoo and Josefina Lopez (based on Lopez's play), it debuted at the Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Audience Award in addition to Special Jury Prizes for both Ferrera and Lupe Ontiveros. The screenplay won the coveted Humanitas Prize and the movie was selected by the National Board of Review for Special Recognition For Excellence In Filmmaking. The independent film earned over five million dollars and brought the previously unknown Ferrera to the public's attention. The coming-of-age film revolves around Ana Garcia, a Mexican-American teenager living in an East Los Angeles barrio. |
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44 |
Bend It Like Beckham |
Bend It Like Beckham is a 2002 British comedy-drama film starring Parminder Nagra, Keira Knightley, Jonathan Rhys Meyers,Anupam Kher, Shaznay Lewis and Archie Panjabi, first released in the United Kingdom. The film was directed by Gurinder Chadha. Its title refers to the football player David Beckham and his skill at scoring from free kicks by "bending" the ball past a wall of defenders. |
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45 |
The Immigrant Garden |
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46 |
Monsoon Wedding |
Monsoon Wedding is a 2001 film directed by Mira Nair and written by Sabrina Dhawan, which depicts romantic entanglements during a traditional Punjabi Hindu wedding in Delhi. |
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47 |
Bread and Roses |
N/A |
Bread and Roses is a 2000 drama film directed by Ken Loach, starring Adrien Brody. The plot deals with the struggle of poorly paid janitorial workers in Los Angeles and their fight for better working conditions and the right to unionize. It is based on the "Justice for Janitors" campaign of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). |
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48 |
Tortilla Soup |
Tortilla Soup is a 2001 American comedy-drama film directed by Maria Ripoll. The screenplay by Tom Musca, Ramón Menéndez and Vera Blasi is based on the film Eat Drink Man Woman, which was written by Hui-Ling Wang, Ang Lee, and James Schamus. |
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49 |
Dollar Dreams |
N/A |
Dollar Dreams is a bilingual (English and Telugu) film directed and produced by Sekhar Kammula starring Anish Kuruvilla, Priyanka Veer, Santosh Kumar, Anil Prashanth and Dashveer Singh. |
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50 |
Catfish in Black Bean Sauce |
Catfish in Black Bean Sauce is a 1999 comedy-drama film about a Vietnamese brother and sister raised by an African American couple. The film stars Chi Muoi Lo, Paul Winfield, Sanaa Lathan, and Mary Alice. |
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51 |
Beautiful People |
Beautiful People is a 1999 satirical comedy written and directed by Jasmin Dizdar. The film won an award for the best film in Un Certain Regard category at the Cannes Film Festival and is listed in The New York Times Guide to The Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made. |
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52 |
Angela’s Ashes |
Angela's Ashes is a 1999 Irish-American drama film based on the memoir of the same title by Frank McCourt. It was co-written and directed by Alan Parker, and starred Emily Watson, Robert Carlyle, Joe Breen, Ciaran Owens, and Michael Legge, the latter three playing the Young, Middle and Older Frank McCourt respectively. |
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53 |
La Ciudad |
The City (Spanish: La ciudad) is a 1998 American neo-realist film written and directed by David Riker, his first feature film, and shot in gritty black-and-white film stock. The drama features actor Joseph Rigano and, in neo-realist fashion, an ensemble cast of non-professional actors. The film is also known as: The City (La Ciudad). |
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54 |
East Is East |
East Is East is a 1999 British comedy-drama film written by Ayub Khan-Din and directed by Damien O'Donnell. It is set in Salford,Greater Manchester in 1971, in a mixed-ethnicity British household headed by Pakistani father George (Om Puri) and an English mother, Ella (Linda Bassett). George expects his family to follow Pakistani ways, but his children, who were born and grew up in Britain, increasingly see themselves as British and reject Pakistani customs of dress, food, religion, and living in general, leading to a rise in tensions and conflicts in the whole family. |
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55 |
Hyderabad Blues |
Hyderabad Blues (1998) is a Bollywood movie directed by Nagesh Kukunoor. The film is about a NRI vacationing back home in Hyderabad, India and finding himself a foreigner in his own land. |
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56 |
The Journey |
The Journey is a 1959 American drama film directed by Anatole Litvak. A group of Westerners tries to flee Hungary after the Soviet Union moves to crush the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. It stars Deborah Kerr, Yul Brynner, and Jason Robards. Deborah Kerr and Yul Brynner were paired again since they starred in The King and I in 1956, where he had an Oscar-winning performance. The Journey was shot in Metrocolor. |
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57 |
Lone Star |
Lone Star is a 1996 American mystery film written and directed by John Sayles and set in a small town in Texas. The ensemble cast features Chris Cooper, Kris Kristofferson, Matthew McConaughey, and Elizabeth Peña and deals with a sheriff's investigation into the murder of one of his predecessors. The movie was filmed in Del Rio, Eagle Pass and Laredo, Texas. |
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58 |
French Kiss |
French Kiss is a 1995 American romantic comedy film directed by Lawrence Kasdan and starring Meg Ryan and Kevin Kline. Written by Adam Brooks, the film is about a woman who flies to France to confront her straying fiancé and gets into trouble when the charming crook seated next to her uses her to smuggle a stolen diamond necklace. It was filmed on location in France. |
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59 |
My Family |
My Family is a 1995 independent American drama film directed by Gregory Nava, written by Nava and Anna Thomas, and starring Jimmy Smits, Edward James Olmos, and Esai Morales. The film depicts three generations of a Mexican-American family who emigrated from Mexico and settled in East Los Angeles. |
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60 |
The Joy Luck Club |
The Joy Luck Club (simplified Chinese: ???; traditional Chinese: ???; pinyin: Xi( Fú Huì) is a 1993 American film about the relationships between Chinese-American women and their Chinese mothers. Directed by Wayne Wang, the film is based on the eponymous 1989 novel by Amy Tan, who co-wrote the screenplay with Ronald Bass. The film was produced by Bass, Tan, Wang and Patrick Markey, while Oliver Stone served as an executive producer. |
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61 |
Masala |
N/A |
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62 |
The Wedding Banquet |
The Wedding Banquet (Chinese: ??; pinyin: Xi(yàn; Wade–Giles: Hsi yen) is a 1993 film about a gay Taiwanese immigrant man who marries a mainland Chinese woman to placate his parents and get her a green card. His plan backfires when his parents arrive in the United States to plan his wedding banquet. |
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63 |
Heaven and Earth |
Heaven & Earth is a 1993 Vietnam war film directed and written by Oliver Stone, and starring Tommy Lee Jones, Haing S. Ngor,Joan Chen, and Hiep Thi Le. It is the third and final film in Stone's Vietnam War trilogy, which also includes Platoon (1986) and Born on the Fourth of July (1989). |
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64 |
Combination Platter |
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65 |
Household Saints |
Household Saints is a 1993 film starring Tracey Ullman, Vincent D'Onofrio, and Lili Taylor. It was based on the novel by Francine Prose and directed by Nancy Savoca. The film explores the lives of three generations of Italian-American women over the course of the latter-half of the 20th century. The film's executive producer is Jonathan Demme, a long-time friend of Savoca's, and her first real employer in the world of film. |
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66 |
Mississippi Masala |
Mississippi Masala is a romantic drama film directed by Mira Nair, based upon a screenplay by Sooni Taraporevala, starring Denzel Washington, Sarita Choudhury, and Roshan Seth. Set primarily in rural Mississippi, the film explores interracial romance between African Americans and Indian Americans in the United States. |
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67 |
The Mambo Kings |
The Mambo Kings is a 1992 drama film directed by Arne Glimcher. It is an adaptation of Oscar Hijuelos's 1989 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love. The film stars Armand Assante and Antonio Banderas as Cesar and Nestor Castillo, brothers and aspiring musicians who flee from Cuba to America in the hopes of reviving their failed musical careers. The Mambo Kings marks the directing debut of Glimcher and features Banderas in his first English language role. |
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68 |
Green Card |
Green Card is a 1990 romantic comedy film written, produced, directed by Peter Weir and starring Gérard Depardieu and Andie MacDowell. The screenplay focuses on an American woman who enters into a marriage of convenience with a Frenchman so he can obtain a green card and remain in the United States. Depardieu won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor. The film won the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. |
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69 |
Avalon |
Avalon is a 1990 drama film directed by Barry Levinson. It is the third in Levinson's semi-autobiographical four "Baltimore Films" set in his hometown during the 1940s, '50s, and '60s: Diner (1982), Tin Men (1987), Avalon (1990), and Liberty Heights (1999). The film explores the themes of Jewish assimilation into American life. |
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70 |
The Paper wedding |
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71 |
Coming to America |
Coming to America is a 1988 American romantic comedy film directed by John Landis, and based on a story originally created by Eddie Murphy, who also starred in the lead role. The film also co-stars Arsenio Hall, James Earl Jones and John Amos. The film was released in the United States on June 29, 1988. Eddie Murphy plays African crown prince, Akeem Joffer, from the fictional nation of Zamunda, who comes to the United States in the hopes of finding a woman he can marry. |
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72 |
Eat a Bowl of Tea |
Eat a Bowl of Tea is a 1989 film directed by Wayne Wang based on the novel of the same name by Louis Chu. |
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73 |
Born in East L.A. |
Born in East L.A. is a 1987 American comedy film written and directed by Cheech Marin of the Cheech & Chong comedy team. |
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74 |
Living on Tokyo Time |
Living on Tokyo Time is a 1987 movie starring Minako Ohashi and Ken Nakagawa and directed by Steven Okazaki. |
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75 |
An American Tail |
An American Tail is a 1986 American animated adventure film directed by Don Bluth and produced by Sullivan Bluth Studios and Amblin Entertainment. |
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76 |
And the Pursuit of Happiness |
And the Pursuit of Happiness (French: La poursuite du bonheur) is a 1986 documentary film directed by Louis Malle about the experiences of immigrants in the United States during the 1980s. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1987 Cannes Film Festival |
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77 |
Dim Sum: A Little Bit of Heart |
Dim Sum: A Little Bit of Heart is a 1985 film directed by Wayne Wang. |
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78 |
Stranger Than Paradise |
Stranger Than Paradise is a 1984 American absurdist/deadpan comedy film. It was written and directed by Jim Jarmusch and stars jazz musician John Lurie, former Sonic Youth drummer-turned-actor Richard Edson, and Hungarian-born actress Eszter Balint. The film features a minimalist plot in which the main character, Willie, has a cousin from Hungary, Eva, stay with him for ten days before going to Cleveland. Willie and his friend Eddie eventually go to Cleveland to visit Eva. |
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79 |
Moscow on the Hudson |
Moscow on the Hudson is a 1984 American comedy-drama film starring Robin Williams, directed and co-written by Paul Mazursky. Williams plays a Soviet Russian circus musician who defects while on a visit to the United States. The film was released on April 3, 1984. |
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80 |
El Norte |
El Norte is a 1983 American and British film, directed by Gregory Nava. The screenplay was written by Gregory Nava and Anna Thomas, based on Nava's story. The movie was first presented at the Telluride Film Festival in 1983, and its wide release was in January 1984. |
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81 |
Sophie's Choice |
Sophie's Choice is a 1982 American drama film directed by Alan J. Pakula, who adapted the novel of the same name by William Styron. Meryl Streep stars as Sophie, a Polish immigrant who shares a boarding house in Brooklyn with her tempestuous lover, Nathan (Kevin Kline), and a young writer, Stingo (Peter MacNicol). |
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82 |
Hester Street |
Hester Street is a 1975 film based on Abraham Cahan's 1896 novella Yekl: A Tale of the New York Ghetto and was adapted and directed by Joan Micklin Silver. The film stars Carol Kane, Steven Keats and Paul Freedman. In 2011, Hester Street was added to the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress. |
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83 |
The Godfather 2 |
The Godfather Part II is a 1974 American crime epic produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola from a screenplay co-written with Mario Puzo, starring Al Pacino, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton, and Robert De Niro. Partially based on Puzo's 1969 novel The Godfather, the film is both sequel and prequel to The Godfather, presenting parallel dramas: one picks up the 1958 story of Michael Corleone (Pacino), the new Don of the Corleone crime family, protecting his family business ventures in the aftermath of an attempt on his life; the prequel covers the journey of his father, Vito Corleone (De Niro), from his harrowing childhood escape from Sicily in 1901 to the desperate founding of his family enterprise in New York City. |
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84 |
Nybyggarna |
The New Land (Swedish: Nybyggarna) is a 1972 Swedish film written by Bengt Forslund and directed by Jan Troell. It stars Max von Sydow, Liv Ullmann and Eddie Axberg. The film was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 45th Academy Awards. |
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85 |
The Emigrants |
The Emigrants (Swedish: Utvandrarna) is a 1971 Swedish film directed by Jan Troell. It tells the story of a Swedish group who emigrate from Småland, Sweden to Minnesota, United States in the 19th century. The film follows the hardship of the group in Sweden and on the trip. |
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86 |
Popi |
Popi is a 1969 American comedy-drama film directed by Arthur Hiller. The screenplay by Tina Pine and Lester Pine focuses on a Puerto Rican widower struggling to raise his two young sons in the New York City neighborhood known as Spanish Harlem, and stars Alan Arkin and Rita Moreno. |
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87 |
West Side Story |
West Side Story is a 1961 American romantic musical drama film directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins. The film is an adaptation of the 1957 Broadway musical of the same name, which in turn was inspired by William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet. It stars Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Russ Tamblyn, Rita Moreno, and George Chakiris, and was photographed by Daniel L. Fapp, A.S.C., in Super Panavision 70. |
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88 |
I Remember Mama |
I Remember Mama is a play by John Van Druten based on Kathryn Forbes' fictionalized memoir Mama's Bank Account. The play focuses on the Hanson family, a loving family of Norwegian immigrants living at 115 Steiner Street (identified as Larkin Hill in the 1948 film) in San Francisco in the 1910s. |
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89 |
My Girl Tisa |
My Girl Tisa is a 1948 film directed by Elliott Nugent. It stars Lilli Palmer and Sam Wanamaker. |
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90 |
Music in My Heart |
Music in My Heart is a 1940 romance musical that was nominated at the 13th Academy Awards in the category of Best Song. The song was "It's a Blue World", the nominees were George Forrest and Robert Wright. |
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91 |
A Better Life |
A Better Life is a 2011 American drama film directed by Chris Weitz. The screenplay, originally known as The Gardener, was written by Eric Eason based on a story by Roger L. Simon. Demián Bichir was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor. |
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92 |
My Name is Khan |
My Name Is Khan, which is commonly referred to as MNIK, |
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93 |
The Accidental Husband |
The Accidental Husband is a 2008 American romantic comedy film directed by Griffin Dunne, and starring Uma Thurman, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Colin Firth, Isabella Rossellini, and Sam Shepard. The film was written by Mimi Hare, Clare Naylor and Bonnie Sikowitz, and is produced by Jennifer Todd, Jason Blum, and Uma Thurman. It was initially released in the UK in 2008, but was released direct-to-DVD in the United States. |
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94 |
Gran Torino |
Gran Torino is a 2008 American drama film directed and produced by Clint Eastwood, who also starred in the film. The film co-stars Christopher Carley, Bee Vang and Ahney Her. This was Clint Eastwood's first starring role since 2004's Million Dollar Baby. The film features a large Hmong American cast, as well as one of Eastwood's younger sons, Scott Eastwood. Eastwood's oldest son, Kyle Eastwood, provided the score. Gran Torino opened to theaters in a limited release in North America on December 12, 2008, and later to a worldwide release on January 9, 2009. |
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95 |
Paraiso Travel |
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96 |
Sin Nombre |
Sin Nombre is a 2009 U.S.-Mexican adventure thriller film written and directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga, about a Honduran girl trying to immigrate to the U.S.A, and a boy caught up in the violence of gang life who also needs to escape. |
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97 |
Alambrista |
Alambrista! is a 1977 film directed by Robert M. Young. It stars Domingo Ambriz and Trinidad Silva. |
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98 |
Amreeka |
Amreeka is a 2009 independent film written and directed by first-time director Cherien Dabis. It stars Nisreen Faour, Melkar Muallem, Hiam Abbass, Alia Shawkat, Yussuf Abu-Warda, Joseph Ziegler, and Miriam Smith. |
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99 |
Crossing Delancey |
Crossing Delancey is a romantic comedy film starring Amy Irving and Peter Riegert that was released in 1988. It is directed by Joan Micklin Silver and was based on a play by Susan Sandler, who also wrote the screenplay. Amy Irving was nominated for a Golden Globe for the movie, for "Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical". |
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100 |
Farmingvile |
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101 |
The Fence |
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102 |
Salt of the earth |
Salt of the Earth is a 1954 American drama film written by Michael Wilson, directed by Herbert J. Biberman, and produced by Paul Jarrico. All had been blacklisted by the Hollywood establishment due to their alleged involvement in communist politics. |
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103 |
Far and Away |
Far and Away is a 1992 adventure-drama-romance film directed by Ron Howard from a script by Howard and Bob Dolman, and stars Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. Cinematography by Mikael Salomon, with a music score by John Williams. It was screened out of competition at the 1992 Cannes Film Festival. |
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104 |
The Italian |
N/A |
The Italian is a 1915 American silent film feature which tells the story of an Italian gondolier who comes to the United States to make his fortune but instead winds up working as a shoe shiner and experiencing tragedy while living with his wife and child in a tenement on New York's Lower East Side. The film was produced by Thomas H. Ince, directed by Reginald Barker, and co-written by C. Gardner Sullivan and Ince. The film stars stage actor George Beban in the title role as the Italian immigrant, Pietro "Beppo" Donnetti. In 1991, this film was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry. |
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105 |
The Perez Family |
The Perez Family is a comedy film released in 1995 about a group of Cuban refugees in America who pretend to be a family. It starred Marisa Tomei, Alfred Molina, Anjelica Huston, Chazz Palminteri, and other well-known actors. It was based on the 1991 novel The Perez Family (ISBN 0-06-097401-X) by Christine Bell. The film was directed by Mira Nair. |
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106 |
Dying to live: A Migrant’s Journey |
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107 |
Papers: The Movie |
N/A |
N/A |
http://www.papersthemovie.com/about_papers/ - RARE MOVIE |
108 |
9500 Liberty |
9500 Liberty is a 2009 documentary film about the struggle over immigration in Prince William County, Virginia. It was directed by Annabel Park and Eric Byler. |
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109 |
Tony & Janina’s American wedding |
N/A |
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110 |
The Visitor |
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111 |
The Least of These |
N/A |
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112 |
Abused |
N/A |
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113 |
The 800 Mile Wall |
N/A |
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114 |
Entre Nos |
Entre Nos is a 2009 drama film |
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115 |
Before Night Falls |
Before Night Falls is a 2000 American drama film directed by Julian Schnabel. The screenplay is based on the autobiography of the same name of Reinaldo Arenas, which was published in English in 1993. |
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116 |
The Lost City |
The Lost City is a 2005 American drama film directed by Andy García. It stars Garcia, Dustin Hoffman, Inés Sastre, and Bill Murray. |
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117 |
The Citizen |
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118 |
Among us |
N/A |
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119 |
Pulling strings |
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120 |
I am Singh |
I Am Singh is a 2011 Bollywood film which was released on December 2, 2011. The film stars Gulzar Inder Chahal, Rizwan Haider and Puneet Issar who also directed the film and wrote the screenplay. I Am Singh portrays the stories of Sikh immigrants in the US after the 9/11 attack. The film highlights what happened to the immigrants and their fight against prejudice, never losing faith in the American judicial system. |
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121 |
Men at Lunch |
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122 |
Undocumented |
Undocumented is a 2010 independent suspense thriller directed by Chris Peckover and written by Chris Peckover and Joe Peterson. |
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123 |
Inocente |
Inocente is a 2012 short documentary film directed by Sean Fine and Andrea Nix. The film received the 2013 Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject). |
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124 |
Like Crazy |
Like Crazy is a 2011 American romantic drama film directed by Drake Doremus and starring Anton Yelchin, Felicity Jones and Jennifer Lawrence. Written by Drake Doremus and Ben York Jones, the film is about Anna (Jones), a British exchange student who falls in love with an American student, Jacob (Yelchin), only to be separated from him when she is denied re-entry into the United States after overstaying her student visa. |
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125 |
llo llo |
N/A |
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126 |
Mad Ship |
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127 |
Magarita |
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128 |
Paper Dolls |
Paper Dolls (Hebrew: ????? ?????, Bubot Niyar) is a 2006 documentary by Israeli director Tomer Heymann, which follows the lives oftransgender migrant workers from the Philippines who work as health care providers for elderly Orthodox Jewish men and perform as drag queens during their spare time. It also delves into the lives of societal outcasts who search for freedom and acceptance. |
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129 |
I Can’t Sleep |
I Can't Sleep (French: J'ai pas sommeil) is a 1994 French drama film written and directed by Claire Denis. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival. |
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130 |
Code Unknown |
Code Unknown: Incomplete Tales of Several Journeys (Code inconnu: Récit incomplet de divers voyages) is a 2000 film directed by Michael Haneke. Most of the story occurs in Paris, France, where the fates of several characters intersect and connect. Cinematically, the film is composed of unedited long takes filmed in real time, cut only when the perspective within a scene changes from one character's to another in mid-action. |
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131 |
Leningrad |
Attack on Leningrad, or just Leningrad, is a 2009 war film written and directed by Aleksandr Buravsky, set during the Siege of Leningrad. |
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132 |
Shanghai Dreams |
Shanghai Dreams (simplified Chinese: ??; traditional Chinese: ??; pinyin: Qi-ng hóng) is a 2005 Chinese film directed by Wang Xiaoshuai and starring Gao Yuanyuan, Li Bin, Tang Yang, Wang Xiaoyang, and Yao Anlian. The film was produced by Stellar Megamedia, Debo Films Ltd. and Kingwood Ltd. |
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133 |
Leningrad Cowboys go to America |
N/A |
Leningrad Cowboys Go America is a 1989 road movie by Finnish film director Aki Kaurismäki about the adventures of a fictional Russian rock band (Leningrad Cowboys, consisting of members from the Finnish rock band the Sleepy Sleepers, augmented with additional musicians) that travels to the United States to become famous. The title came from the Marx Brothers film Go West (1940). After the film was released, the fictional band transformed into a real band, complete with ludicrous hairstyles. |
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134 |
Beb Sebta |
N/A |
Bab Sebta (English: Door of Ceuta) is a Portuguese 2008 documentary film. |
|
135 |
I for India |
N/A |
I for India is an English and Hindi language film released in the United Kingdom in August 2007. |
|
136 |
Based Down South |
N/A |
Based Down South (German: Wir Sitzen im Süden) is a 2010 German-Turkish documentary film written and directed by Martina Priessner about four Turks born in Germany but who now live in Istanbul. The film was selected for the 29th International Film Festival Istanbul, where it premiered, 53rd International Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Films, 16th London Turkish Film Festival and the 13th Istanbul International 1001 Documentary Film Festival. Based Down South was nominated for the Grimme Award in 2011. |
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137 |
El Cayuco y la Motonave |
N/A |
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138 |
Les larmes de l'émigration |
Les larmes de l’émigration (French for "the tears of emigration") is a 2010 documentary film directed by Alassane Diago. |
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139 |
Wetback: The Undocumented Documentary |
Wetback: The Undocumented Documentary is an 2005 Canadian documentary film. |
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140 |
Victimes de nos richesses |
N/A |
Victimes de nos richesses (Victims of our wealth) is a 2006 documentary film exploring the 2005 violence at the Ceuta and Melilla border fences. |
|
141 |
Against the Wind and Tide: A Cuban Odyssey |
N/A |
Against Wind and Tide: A Cuban Odyssey is a 1981 American documentary film about the Mariel boatlift, which was first broadcast on PBS the week of June 1, 1981. |
|
142 |
90 Miles |
90 Miles is a 2001 documentary film written and directed by Juan Carlos Zaldívar. The film is a recounting of the events that lead Zaldívar to become a Marielito and leave Cuba for a better life in Miami. It premiered in 2003 on PBS as part of its P.O.V. series. It won two awards: the Grand Coral, First Prize, for Documentary and the Memoria Documentary Award (which was a joint win withCuando lo pequeño se hace grande). 90 Miles recounts the strange twist of fate that took Juan Carlos Zaldívar across one of the world's most treacherous stretches of water. It is a journey of a family in search for healing and understanding. Probing and thoughtful, Zaldívar uncovers the emotional distance opened in thousands of families by the 90 miles between the U.S. and Cuba. |
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143 |
The Price of Sugar |
The Price of Sugar is a 2007 Uncommon Productions film directed by Bill Haney and produced by Haney and Eric Grunebaum about exploitation of Haitian immigrants in the Dominican Republic involved with production of sugar, and the efforts of Spanish priest Father Christopher Hartley to ameliorate their situation. It is narrated by actor Paul Newman. The documentary shows the poor working conditions in the sugar cane plantations, and political control exerted by the Vicini family to stifle efforts to change the situation. |
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144 |
Neukölln Unlimited |
N/A |
Neukölln Unlimited is a 2010 German documentary. The film follows three Lebanese siblings - Hassan, Lial and Maradona - through their daily lives in Berlin's district of Neukölln. |
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145 |
Strangers No More |
N/A |
Strangers No More is a 2010 short documentary film about a school in Tel Aviv, Israel, where children from 48 different countries and diverse backgrounds come together to learn. The parents of these children are among over 300,000 transnational migrant workers who have arrived in Israel—some with government authorization and others undocumented. |
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146 |
The Ambassador |
The Ambassador is a 2011 Danish documentary film created and directed by Danish filmmaker and journalist Mads Brügger. The film was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. |
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147 |
Google Darfur |
Google Darfur is a 2007 documentary film directed by Robert Simental. The documentary was shot on HD video in Eastern Chad in early 2007, and independently released to DVD in the United States on October 9, 2007 via FilmBaby. |
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148 |
The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo |
N/A |
The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo is a 2007 documentary film directed by Lisa F. Jackson concerned with survivors of rape in the regions affected by ongoing conflicts stemming from the Second Congo War. Central to the film are moving interviews with the survivors themselves, as well as interviews with self-confessed rapist soldiers. The Greatest Silence was nominated for a Grand Jury Prize and won a Special Jury Prize at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. It was also nominated for two News & Documentary Emmy Awards in 2009. It aired on HBO in January & February 2009. |
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149 |
Oh, Saigon |
Oh, Saigon is a 2007 autobiographical documentary by Vietnamese American director Doan Hoang about her family's separation during the fall of Saigon and her attempt to reunite them afterwards. Oh, Saigon was executive produced by Academy Award and Emmy winner, John Battsek. Oh, Saigon received film grants from the Sundance Institute Documentary Fund, ITVS, and the Center for Asian American Media, and after its release, received a number of film festival awards and accolades. |
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150 |
Déroutes et parcours |
N/A |
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151 |
Rain in a Dry Land |
Rain in a Dry Land is a 2006 documentary film directed by Anne Makepeace and filmed by Joan Churchill & Barney Broomfield that chronicles the experiences of two Bantu as they are transported by relief organizations from Kenyan refugee camps to Atlanta, Georgia and then Springfield, Massachusetts. |
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152 |
Balseros |
Balseros (Spanish: Rafters) is a 2002 Catalan documentary co-directed by Carles Bosch and Josep Maria Domènech about Cubans leaving during the Período Especial. |
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153 |
Bolinao 52 |
Bolinao 52 is a documentary by Vietnamese American director Duc Nguyen about the Vietnamese boat people ship that was originally stranded in the Pacific Ocean in 1988. During their 37 days at sea, the group encountered violent storms and engine failures. They fought their thirst and hunger and a US Navy ship reportedly refused to rescue them, forcing the boat people to starve despite resorting to cannibalism. Only 52 out of the 110 boat people survived the tragedy and were rescued by Filipino fishermen who brought them to Bolinao Island, Philippines. |
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154 |
Seaview |
Seaview is a 2008 documentary film directed by Nicky Gogan and Paul Rowley. The film chronicles the lives of a group of asylum seekers living in the former Butlin's Holiday Camp at Mosney, Ireland. The film takes an innovative approach to the use to sound and image in telling the stories of the Mosney residents. |
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155 |
Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport |
Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport is a 2000 documentary film that tells the story of the kindertransport, a rescue operation which saved the lives of over 10,000 Jewish children from Nazi Germany by transporting them via train to England, where they were adopted by British families. It was directed by Mark Jonathan Harris and narrated by Judi Dench. |
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156 |
Little Alien |
N/A |
Little Alien is a documentary by Bosnian-born, Austrian director and producer Nina Kusturica dealing with unaccompanied minor refugees. |
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157 |
The Jewish Steppe |
N/A |
N/A |
The Jewish Steppe is a 2001 documentary about a group of Russian Jews who, exhausted by prejudice and fearful of pogroms, left their homeland to farm the untamed Crimean Peninsula. Established in the 1920s, their Soviet agrarian commune met with a tragic end. |
158 |
Seoul Train |
Seoul Train is a 2004 documentary film that deals with the dangerous journeys of North Korean defectors fleeing through or to China. These journeys are both dangerous and daring, since if caught, they face forced repatriation, torture and possible execution. |
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159 |
The Long Way Home |
The Long Way Home is a 1997 documentary film directed by Mark Jonathan Harris. It depicts the plight of Jewish refugees after World War II that contributed to the creation of the State of Israel. |
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160 |
Moving to Mars |
N/A |
Moving to Mars, directed by Mat Whitecross, |
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161 |
Yodok Stories |
Yodok Stories is a documentary film directed by Polish documentary screenwriter and director Andrzej Fidyk and produced by Torstein Grude. Today, more than 200,000 men, women and children face torture, starvation and murder in North Korea's concentration camps. |
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162 |
Gaza Ghetto |
N/A |
Gaza Ghetto: Portrait of a Family, 1948 – 1984 is a documentary film about the life of a Palestinian family living in the Jabalia refugee camp. |
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163 |
Daughter from Danang |
Daughter from ?à Na(~ng is a 2002 documentary film about an Amerasian, Heidi Bub (a.k.a. Mai Thi Hiep), born on December 10, 1968, in Danang in southern Vietnam, one of the children brought to the United States from Vietnam in 1975 during "Operation Babylift" at the end of the Vietnam War. |
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164 |
De Nadie |
De Nadie (English title: No One) is a documentary by Mexican filmmaker Tin Dirdamal on the impoverished Central Americans who leave their countries in hope of a better life in the United States. It premiered in 2005 and was shown at different international film festivals, winning the Sundance Film Festival audience award for World Documentary in 2006. |
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165 |
The Tree That Remembers |
N/A |
The Tree That Remembers is a 2002 animated documentary by Iranian filmmaker Masoud Raouf, exploring the lives of former political prisoners like himself who had been active in the democratic movement during the days of the Shah of Iran, only to face imprisonment and torture under the Islamic regime after the 1979 Iranian revolution. |
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166 |
The Unreturned |
N/A |
The Unreturned is a 2010 documentary film by Nathan Fisher. The film tells the story of five middle-class Iraqi refugees caught in an absurdist purgatory of endless bureaucracy, dwindling life savings, and forced idleness. The Unreturned was shot in verité style in Syria and Jordan, with unscripted narration by the refugees in the film. These Iraqis come from diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds. |
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167 |
Darfur Now |
Darfur Now is a 2007 documentary film examining the genocide in Darfur, Sudan. It was written and directed by Ted Braun and produced by Don Cheadle, Mark Jonathan Harris and Cathy Schulman. Executive Producers included Jeffrey Skoll, Omar Amanat, Dean Schramm, Diane Weyermann, and Matt Palmieri. |
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168 |
The Other Side of Immigration |
The Other Side of Immigration is a 2009 documentary film directed by Roy Germano that explores why so many people leave the Mexican countryside to work in the United States and what happens to the families and communities they leave behind. The film is based on Germano’s interviews with over 700 households in Mexico, which he carried out while doing Ph.D. research on remittances at the University of Texas at Austin. The Other Side of Immigration is distributed by Team Love Records, a company founded by musician Conor Oberst. |
All content in the notes section in the table above is from Wikipedia.
Selected Film Reviews
Sin Nombre
Sin Nombre tells two stories about people in Mexico who attempt the journey to cross border. The film primarily focuses on the journey they must take to reach the border, and eventually cross it in order to reach America. The film tells the story of Sayra, a young woman living in Honduras, who takes the journey to cross the border. The other is about Willie, a young gang member in Mexico. Their paths cross during a train robbery, where Willie, their gang leader and 12-year old boy Smiley rob passengers trying to reach the border. The gang leader attempts to rape Sayra, when Willie decides to save the young girl. The young gang member, Smiley, informs the gang of their leader’s death, and the hunt for Willie is set to motion. While the gang hunts for Willie, Willie accompanies Sayra and her family to reach the border. Willie eventually leaves knowing the threat for his life from the gang members would endanger Sayra and others around him. Sayra decides to leave the train and go with Willie, despite knowing that her life is in danger. Willie explains how he has messed up his life already, but reluctantly decides to accompany Sayra during her journey. They hide in various locations; a car, relative’s houses, and small resting areas. Sayra’s father is eventually found by authorities atop a train to cross the border, when he unfortunately falls and dies, leaving his son and Sayra the family’s only direct survivors. Willie eventually reaches a crossroads in his life, where he decides to leave Sayra during their last obstacle to reach America. Willie hands over his camera; his last and only item that can be traded to the lake crosser for Sayra to pass, and leaves her. Willie knows the time will come when his gang finds and executes him. After giving the camera as payment for Sayra, Willie is found by the young gang member, Smiley, who executes him. The rest of his gang arrive and brutally shoot Willie, while Sayra from the other side of the lake cries watching. The final shot of the film shows Sayra, finally crossed the border, who calls her cousin in New Jersey.
The film has beautiful shots of scenery that depict Mexico’s urban background. The depictions of the train and urban areas appear very well-made. Also the depiction of the gang seems very real and ultimately the entire film seems like a depiction of how the ongoing terrors in Mexico continue to this day. Despite being a fiction, the film could definitely be a true story, as unlike in most movies, there are almost 0 scenes that could possibly be unrealistic.
Gran Torino
Gran Torino is another immigration film that depicts the experiences of 80-year old war veteran Walt Kowalski, after his wife’s death. As a racist and grumpy old man, he eventually gets into a conflict with his Chinese neighbours, where both sides mutually hate each other. Having fought in the Korean war in 1950, Walt is continues his hate for Asian foreigners, often referred to as the “gooks”. When the young, quiet but intelligent son of the Chinese neighbours, Thao, is picked up by his gangster cousins, he is brought into a test where he must steal Walt’s 1972 Gran Torino. He is caught by Walt who since the war has constantly been alert for any sudden disturbances. Thao escapes from Walt but Walt now has a greater dislike for his neighbours. Young and honourable Thao decides to apologize to Walt. When their paths cross this second time, Walt eventually decides to agree to let Thao do chores for him as an apology for trying to steal his prized car. They eventually develop an amazing friendship, where Walt teaches Thao and finds him work to do. Thao, happy to work, is teased by his gangster cousins, who damage his equipment and burn his face with a cigarette. Walt, enraged by these malicious acts, approaches the Chinese gangsters and beats them up, warning them to stay away from Thao. Eventually the Chinese neighbours come to like Walt as he develops a relationship with them. When the gangsters decide to retaliate, they shoot at Thao’s house, hurting his beloved sister. An enraged Thao wants to seek revenge, but Walt decides to wait. Walt then traps Thao in his basement, knowing that Thao might decide to take Walt’s weapons and attack them himself. Walt decides to approach them himself, unarmed, to mock Thao’s cousins. Walt is then shot at by the many gangsters, when the police immediately arrive at the scene to arrest them. Thao finds out that Walt has died but brought his gangster cousins to justice by imprisonment. In Walt’s will, he decides to give his 1972 Gran Torino to Thao.
The film does not primarily discuss immigration, but instead depicts how Asian immigrants could be perceived by the older generations.
Get the Gringo
Get the Gringo is a film about how an American is caught in between the border, and is ultimately taken by the Mexican authorities. After successfully stealing $2 million from an old business associate, the corrupt Mexican authorities put him in a nice prison in return for taking all the money. The film shows how the main character (Mel Gibson), unnamed, is perceived by the Mexicans. Usually it is the foreign Latino people that are in America being depicted in immigration films, but in this film it is made the other way around.
In the prison, the unnamed Gringo (a white person from an English-speaking country) meets and boy that witnesses him robbing other prisoners. After gaining mutual respect from each other, the Gringo decides to teach the kid and eventually he bonds with the boy’s mother. The Gringo learns about Javi, the leader of the crime family that runs the prison El Pueblito. Javi is having a failing liver and the boy is the only viable match. The Gringo helps the kid in his plan to kill Javi. The Gringo ingratiates himself to Javi by helping Javi's brother, Caracas, and revealing the money stolen by Vasquez and Romero (the corrupt cops). Javi sends his men to find the Vasquez and Romero, who have been tortured by the men sent by Frank, the crime boss whom the Gringo stole from. The money is taken in by Javi who soon will have his liver transplant operation. The Gringo offers Javi an opportunity to get rid of Frank and promises to never come back. After setting up Frank with a business meeting, the Gringo returns to El Pueblito to take back the money and save the boy. As the Mexican authorities begin to raid the prison, the Gringo caught in the middle of fire reaches the operation room in time before the transplant. He forces the surgeons to return the liver back into the boy, and Caracas (Javi’s brother) comes and threatens the Gringo at gun-point. Caracas feels relaxed when the surgeons pull out a gun on the Gringo, which gives him the opportunity the shoot Caracas. They escape the raid disguised as surgeons, and live happily ever after.
The film is an excellent thriller and the plot is very well-structured. Relating to immigration, the film shows how easily crime organizations are able to create fake identities, which allows the Gringo to easily cross the borders despite not having the proper documents. The film also depicts the corrupt Mexican authorities, who would not have taken the Gringo in if they hadn’t seen the 2 million dollars he had. Despite the excellent directing and plot, the film is not perfect. The first few minutes of the movie may lead the viewer to think it is your typical border-action movie. When I first watched the movie back in 2012, I remember many movies relating to people crossing the border were popular at the time. However despite this, the film does make up for it as the narration by the character in the prison that comes after is very entertaining. Overall I found Get the Gringo to be a very entertaining movie and is well worth watching.
Conclusion
An immigrant is a person who moves from their native country to settle in a different country. There are a range of motivations why people would want to become an immigrant. For example, one would want to emigrate/move from Mexico to the United States for the desire of better economic opportunity, the wish to avoid conflict, or simply a want of change to his/her surroundings. While there can be many personal factors why one would want to become an immigrant, the process of becoming an immigrant itself can range from being difficult to easy. Especially for developed countries, immigrants are either being a help or a problem. After coming to the increasing attention of the media in the past few decades, immigration is becoming a subject of much awareness in our society today. Movies, a primary medium of entertainment in our culture have had many productions involving immigrants, or depicting the process of immigration itself. As immigration is a phenomenon that will continue to gain attention, it is also important for careers involved in immigration to learn how it is implemented in our culture, how certain immigrants may be depicted, or how the process was during the 20th century, up to today. That said, I hoped you valued the input and resources I gathered to make this list, and used it to your positive motives for learning more about immigration.
Reprinted with permission
About The Author
Philip Spassov is a freelance writer in New York, NY. He is currently working on his own movie production.
Good luck with the film!
V.S.