There are a few movies I've seen where at the end I feel totally drained. I'm an extreme horror fan, and this film took me for a ride I hesitate to take again. This film falls in line with my favorite types of horror movies, the ones where the real monster is mankind, but this film took me to a place that was almost too dark.
The film, if you've heard anything of the plot, revolves around a young film crew that is shooting a documentary on the plight of illegal Mexican immigrants and decide to take it one step further by actually joining a group of immigrants as they cross the American/Mexican border. This highly illegal activity puts the entire operation in danger, but the immigrants are reassured since they have Americans in their midst. One young family in particular is featured as they express high hopes for a future free of the economic hardship they have back in Mexico. If anyone had any inkling about the direction their journey would take once on American soil, none of them would ever have taken it.
Enter the film's antagonists: so-called "Patriots". A group of paramilitary survivalist types who are nothing more than domestic-bred terrorists, who have taken it upon themselves to repel illegal Mexican immigration in their own special way. They are able rather easily to capture the group (including the film crew). They say they're willing to let the film crew go if they agree to shoot something of a "recruiting video" for their organization, which involves the most heinous tortures I can imagine (especially for the father of the young family I previously mentioned.) The director does an excellent job of placing us in the shoes of the naive film crew, as they are forced to document the crimes against humanity dealt out by the "Patriots". With their lives also threatened the crew sees little else they can do but stand by as the illegals are treated worse than animals. I personally felt the agony of the crew as you can see in their faces they are dying to do something to help the Mexicans. In many scenes, the actors apart of the film crew (Scott Mechlowicz, who I've been a fan of since "Mean Creek", in particular shows off his acting skills) have visible rage building up inside them. Several manage to try and help the victims, while others still try to escape and bring back help, only to be recaptured over and over again and degraded even further. Once they realize that their captors will probably kill them too, they know they must muster all their strength to try and somehow stop the madness going on around them before it's too late.
That's the gist of the movie, and while some may classify most of this movie as "torture-porn" I disagree. There certainly is torture involved, but anybody who might get off on this stuff is probably not right in the head. No, this film is different. This is a full-on assault of your senses and sensibilities.
Besides Mechlowicz, another stand-out in the cast is the great Peter Stormare (the lead nihilist in "The Big Lebowski"). He plays his role "Z", the leader of the "Patriots", convincingly and with considerable menace, and even with a certain amount of charm. To his credit, he does all of this without really showing his entire face throughout most of the movie. Alona Tal, the female lead, also plays her role well as one of the bravest members of the film crew, several times standing up against "Z" and his demented patriotism.
I wouldn't call this a political movie, but I do think it says something about people who think they have some sort of right that makes them better than others. Keep in mind this film repulsed me while at the same time showing me it was a very well-made little film. If you are willing to watch a challenging piece of quality cinema, with no fluff and lots of in-your-face cruelty, I suggest "Undocumented" is a great film to start with.
The film, if you've heard anything of the plot, revolves around a young film crew that is shooting a documentary on the plight of illegal Mexican immigrants and decide to take it one step further by actually joining a group of immigrants as they cross the American/Mexican border. This highly illegal activity puts the entire operation in danger, but the immigrants are reassured since they have Americans in their midst. One young family in particular is featured as they express high hopes for a future free of the economic hardship they have back in Mexico. If anyone had any inkling about the direction their journey would take once on American soil, none of them would ever have taken it.
Enter the film's antagonists: so-called "Patriots". A group of paramilitary survivalist types who are nothing more than domestic-bred terrorists, who have taken it upon themselves to repel illegal Mexican immigration in their own special way. They are able rather easily to capture the group (including the film crew). They say they're willing to let the film crew go if they agree to shoot something of a "recruiting video" for their organization, which involves the most heinous tortures I can imagine (especially for the father of the young family I previously mentioned.) The director does an excellent job of placing us in the shoes of the naive film crew, as they are forced to document the crimes against humanity dealt out by the "Patriots". With their lives also threatened the crew sees little else they can do but stand by as the illegals are treated worse than animals. I personally felt the agony of the crew as you can see in their faces they are dying to do something to help the Mexicans. In many scenes, the actors apart of the film crew (Scott Mechlowicz, who I've been a fan of since "Mean Creek", in particular shows off his acting skills) have visible rage building up inside them. Several manage to try and help the victims, while others still try to escape and bring back help, only to be recaptured over and over again and degraded even further. Once they realize that their captors will probably kill them too, they know they must muster all their strength to try and somehow stop the madness going on around them before it's too late.
That's the gist of the movie, and while some may classify most of this movie as "torture-porn" I disagree. There certainly is torture involved, but anybody who might get off on this stuff is probably not right in the head. No, this film is different. This is a full-on assault of your senses and sensibilities.
Besides Mechlowicz, another stand-out in the cast is the great Peter Stormare (the lead nihilist in "The Big Lebowski"). He plays his role "Z", the leader of the "Patriots", convincingly and with considerable menace, and even with a certain amount of charm. To his credit, he does all of this without really showing his entire face throughout most of the movie. Alona Tal, the female lead, also plays her role well as one of the bravest members of the film crew, several times standing up against "Z" and his demented patriotism.
I wouldn't call this a political movie, but I do think it says something about people who think they have some sort of right that makes them better than others. Keep in mind this film repulsed me while at the same time showing me it was a very well-made little film. If you are willing to watch a challenging piece of quality cinema, with no fluff and lots of in-your-face cruelty, I suggest "Undocumented" is a great film to start with.