On B List of Movie Reviews
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Border Incident (1949)
Rate:
8
Viewed:
10/14
10/14:
Border Incident is a perfect example of a story-driven film.
The editing and the narration are what makes it compelling to watch. Although the cast is mostly bland, it's James Mitchell
who gives the best performance as Juan Garcia the common peasant bracero. Because of his face, Ricardo Montalbán sticks
out too much like a sore thumb.
Border Incident is as every bit film noir as it can be. There's a great deal of docu-drama which heightens
the realism of the atmosphere. It doesn't pull punches, either, as a shocking scene of murder is shown. The quicksand scene
is also thrilling.
What's interesting about the whole migrant worker scheme is that it's relevant today not only in Mexico but also
everywhere in the world for various ventures such as sex and drugs. That's how people become victims as they're converted to
slaves due to dire financial circumstances and end up being forced to repay the debt as a promise for their freedom. Usually,
they wind up dead after having outlived their usefulness.
Farm work is no joke, and most Americans are not willing to do it, so that's why Hispanic immigrants are more than happy
to take over and earn the kind of money that won't be matched if they did the same job in their native countries.
All in all, the problems shown in Border Incident continue to this day.