Alambrista!

Sometimes powerful but too often sluggish film about MAGA's favorite bogeyman, illegal immigrants of color. Best thing about it is its raw, grainy, docu-drama look and feel, with unknown actors (Ned Beatty and Jerry Hardin excepted), giving it a most welcome, non Hollwoodized look at the travails and very fleeting happiness of a farm worker named Roberto (well played by Domingo Ambriz) who makes the ill fated decision, as did his father, to leave his home for The Land Of Opportunity.

The film's biggest flaw is that Roberto's journey is a way too slow one. If director Robert M. Young had ever internalized the art of pacing it does not show in this movie where scenes tend to go on way too long (for example, the one where Roberto's fellow alambristas instruct him in how to order breakfast at a diner, the one set in the Holy Roller church, the interminably dull story Hardin's redneck character tells, etc), thus draining them of excitement and interest. Fortunately, the key scene, where Roberto finds out about his father and, as a result, has a break down and returns home is handled quite effectively with a general lack of sentimentality that makes Roberto's crack up heartbreaking rather than merely hysterical. And the scenes set in down and out Stockton rival those of John Huston set in that same place in "Fat City", made at around the same time. I also liked the musical score by Michael Martin Murphey that is a combination of Ry Cooderish border, blues, ranchera and country and that helps to get the viewer over the film's frequent speed bumps. B minus.

After the birth of his first child, Roberto, a young Mexican man slips across the border into the United States. Seeking work to support his family back home, he finds that working hard is not enough.

I wish I could recall the name of another film I watched not too long ago about the immigrant experience of crossing the border and trying to find work in America. While different, the two make a good pair and a thorough analysis comparing and contrasting them would make for a great essay.

One of the more interesting things about this is how smoothly things go, for the most part. Yes, there is an incident in the junkyard concerning bad food, but one of the first Americans encountered goes out of her way to help the man despite knowing almost no Spanish at all.

When his daughter is born, Domingo Ambriz leaves his hardscrabble farm in Mexico to get money by working in the US. But the life of an illegal alien in the US is a hard and chancy thing.

Robert M. Young's first feature -- he had spent twenty years as a cameraman and director of documentaries -- is an effective movie. In between beautiful shots of a multi-color sky, Ambriz gives a fine performance, relying on a wary, uncertain look as he moves from one chancy situation to another. With Edward James Olmos and Ned Beatty.

Young got into moviemaking as a member of the armed services, working in a photographic u it in New Huinea during the Second World War. He died in 2024at the age of 99.

I saw this in Sociology class at the University of San Francisco. Outstanding narrative of a poor young man who simply wants to support his family. What's refreshing and quite funny is the depiction of some of the most bizarre aspects of American life. The scene where the lead attends a tent revival and witnesses some of the members heaving and pitching on the floor is hilarious.

What I appreciated most about this film was the film's statement that many white Americans need to deal with much the same insecurity and yearnings as do their Mexican brethren. Capitalism's most brutal aspects are laid bare and it doesn't matter who is in way if profit is to be collected. Highly recommend this to anyone who is fed up with the moronic fare of current Hollywood films...

It's surprising how "Alambrista!" has slipped into near-total oblivion after being shown at Cannes and receiving some measure of admiration there. But it seems to have never enjoyed a release on VHS, and hasn't appeared on DVD until quite recently. It's a shame, because this film serves as a very piercing, close-up examination of the life of an illegal immigrant.

Robert M. Young has made a number of daring and unusual films in his career, off-center stories with characters most people wouldn't notice. In "Short Eyes" it was a young pedophile in prison, and in "Dominick and Eugene" he focused on the everyday life of a mentally retarded man. Here, he takes a deep trip into the underbelly of American society, a side most of us will never come close to seeing. "Alambrista!" is a basic tale, one that Young penned himself (it was the only film he'd ever both write and direct). It's uncomplicated, but not untrue. There's a familiar 1970s documentary approach, up close and personal, and it serves things well. Also doing his own cinematography, Young is very much in on the action.

Domingo Ambriz plays Roberto, a quiet and not entirely bright Mexican man. He's very kind, but completely innocent of cities and American life. It's a heartfelt performance, and it has to be. Everything hinges on his believability. Linda Gillen is very good as the waitress Sharon, also a rather innocent personality. The characters come almost secondary, because we don't get too far beneath their skin. This isn't an internal, mental film - it's a silent observation of things. Take a close look.