L'Exilée

Watching this movie by myself, I heard my own voice saying "oh my god", is not that I am religious or so but that is the kind of emotion that this film gives. It makes you feel and think, how irrelevant is the color of your skin or the place where you were born; it gives us a reminder about the consequences of our everyday acts. And unless you are a privileged individual who never has experience the partial or total loss of someone you love, then this movie will mean nothing to you, otherwise you will feel angriness, sadness and despair because of the convincing and compelling performances and situation of this young mother and this little girl. Less manipulative than "la misma luna" "Under the Same Moon" (2007), don't misunderstand me, I loved that movie, but "The girl" is a more tragic experience, in a different level than "A Better Life" (2011) One line that stuck with me was: "Just drop her at the corner and don't look back" How hard can that be on real life? What would you do? "The Girl" is one of the reasons I watch movies from all over the world and this one is very close to home, my first language is Spanish. Certainly I did not have idea of whom Maritza Santiago Hernandez is but after this movie I can say that, she has a talent that deserves to be recognized and appreciated and Abbie Cornish gets redemption after the awful "Sucker Punch", she does an incredible job and she could have fool me into believing that she has been speaking Spanish her whole life! Cinephiles get ready for this one!

I loved this little film. The acting was good and the sentiment was sweet and tender without pushing an agenda. Ms. Cornish is an excellent actor and the little girl, "Rosa" was superb.

I had no opinions or expectation on this film. It all started out with a crush on Abbie Cornish, but I ended up with a great deal of respect for her acting (and her Spanish) in this film. She showed a side of her that I had never seen before, but more importantly the film (and Abbie) made me aware of the culture on both sides of the Rio. The film starts with a sharp edge on the Texas side of the river, proceeds into a learning phase for me and Abbie/Ashley, and finally it softens and becomes a touching film on the Mexico side. Ashley is a much better person at the end of the film than the beginning - I hope that this is not considered a spoiler. I recommend this film wholeheartedly.

Horridly misleading synopsis. More to the point: A poor Texas woman, about to lose her son to social services, tries to smuggle Mexicans across the border for $4000 and becomes morally responsible for the small girl left behind.

A poignant story of mixed emotions, futility and hope, from both sides of the event. I agree with Box Office Magazine when they say "Abbie Cornish gives the most impressive performance of her career."

Every site on which I post reviews has consistently found the above an example of "helpful" (acceptable) information and opinion. I cannot see where ten lines of babbling fluff are required over five lines of succinct information. If IMDb finds me too offensive to print, then I have no problem with not printing for them.

This movie is all about Abbie Cornish performance ! She delivered Oscar like performance in the movie. She portrays several expressions - Guilt for being bad mother to her son, Stress due to the poverty, circumstances. He has brilliantly expressed the pain and suppressed anger she is going through in her life. Finally comes a situation where she becomes indirectly responsible for a young Mexican child girl to loose her mother. The movie reminds us how we all belong to same humanity and how circumstances changes us. Abbbi redeems herself by showing compassion to the young girl!