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Frontera (2014)

Part of me says: any movie that helps our understanding of the real illegal immigration situation from Mexico should be watched. This does that.

The problem is made immediate and intimate, and you are meant to understand both sides of the issue. It also avoids for awhile the sensationalism of lots of these cross- border dramas. A young man crosses into Arizona in one of those remote areas where it seems possible to sneak through and walk away. Some American kids taking pot shots at him with a high powered rifle end up accidentally killing an American woman on her horse (she falls off when the horse is spooked) and the immigrant becomes the main suspect.

This all happens early in the movie, and it is the dead woman's husband, played by Ed Harris, who holds up the other half of the movie. We follow then the Mexican (played by Michael Peña) as he flees and encounters "justice" (and later his wife, played by Eva Longoria arrives to help him). And we follow Harris who steadfastly digs into what really happened.

So there is plenty of drama here (one reviewer on rotten tomatoes said this had no drama, and that is completely false—just wait until you get to the coyotes kidnapping people). And yet there is a sense of balance, that there are good guys and bad guys and misapprehensions on both sides. You might say this makes the movie too balanced, so it lacks punch, but instead I think it has depth, which is better.

It's imperfect, for sure, as things get wrapped up and plots become increasingly intertwined. But overall I found it strong and well intentioned. And well acted, set in some genuine looking arroyos and deserts (it was filmed in New Mexico).

Two Mexicans trying to cross the border are implicated in a murder they didn't commit. The film follows the fallout as the dead woman's husband pieces together the mystery of who was responsible for her murder.

This is an excellently played and filmed modern day western drama which thankfully steers clear of many of the obvious clichés and is never predictable. The intelligent script sparkles and is helped by a superb cast led by Ed Harris, Michael Pena and Eva Longeria all of whom put in superb performances.

The ending for me was a little rushed and disappointing and therefore it just falls short of a great movie in my opinion. This is just a personal opinion though and for others it may work out fine.

Frontera is a good addition to the modern western genre and well worth watching.

A very relevant and worthwhile watch. The acting is good. The story is complex, deep and without a perfect solution, and so goes life on earth, and that's exactly what this film really hits you with. There are no perfect solutions to many of our problems, and also that innocently intended pranks can sometimes result in drastic and irreversible consequences. There certainly is a good size audience out there that will appreciate this film. So far it hasn't found enough of that audience it seems. This is a very realistically minded film that will make you think and feel, either that or its realism will just scare you even further back into your already well zombified state. Goodnight sleepwalker!

7.5/10.

A former Arizona sheriff's wife (Amy Madigan , Ed Harris's real wife) is mudered while riding on their ranch property. It would appear a Mexican man (Michael Peña) illegally crossing into the US is at fault and he's framed and relentlessly pursued as a killer . As the former and the current sheriff (Ed Harris) search for answers, but things go wrong . As he decides to take a stand for his deceased wife and against the corruption he's found out into the police station ; eventually , he'll stop at nothing , at whatever cost. The hard investigation of the complex case will change their lives forever . As the ex-patrolman moodily scratching his conscience pitying the poor immigrants and wetbacks and going up against undercover operations .

An interesting film exposing tragedy and corruption along America's chain-link souther frontier . The border is not only a fence between two countries , it's a moral line between decency and indecency, between moral compromise and being our starring a truly humane and compassionate person , regardless of the consequences . Not an award-winner, but an effective and interesting character study . All of the actors here deliver nice but rather under-rated performances . Ed Harris plays a on-the-take ex-border patrol cop or sheriff trying to go straight, but surrounded by corruption on both sides of the fence . Ed Harris finally has to choose between fitting in by being a good man and being true to himself and cutting his ties with his other colleagues . With Ed Harris , there's no theatricality, no eccentricity, just a good, straightforward, impassioned portraya l. Portraying the desperation of a man trying to make a difference , and do the right thing . And being well accompanied by Michael Peña as the unfortunate Miguel , Eva Longoria who is lovely and extremely engaging in spite of her distresses , and one might wish that she'd had more opportunities in American film over the years, as well as Amy Madigan and Aden Young. Michael Berry made his professional feature film debut with this border drama Frontera which he directed and co-wrote. He often uses Mexican/Hispanic based characters and themes in his films . Following Frontera, Berry wrote the screenplay and directed the original musical feature film Stuck, which is based on the stage play of the same name. And Berry also directed the stage production of Stuck in New York. Berry has an extensive background as a New York based stage actor and has appeared in Broadway productions, including Next To Normal and Les Miserables .

This ¨Frontera¨ 2014 belongs to a subgenre usually set in the Tex-Mex border concerning illegal immigration , such as : ¨Border Incident¨ 1949 by Anthony Mann with Ricardo Montalban , George Murphy , Howard Da Silva . ¨Borderline¨ 1980 by Jerrold Freeman with Charles Bronson , Bruno Kirby , Michael Lerner , Wilford Brimley and Ed Harris . ¨The Border¨ 1982 by Tony Richardson with Jack Nicholson , Valerie Perrine , Warren Oates , Harvey Keitel. ¨Crossing over¨ 2009 by Wayne Kramer with Harrison Ford , Ray Liotta , Jim Sturgess , Alice Eva , Alice Braga , Ashley Judd . ¨Desert¨ 2015 by Jonás Cuarón with Jeffrey Dean Morgan , Gael Garcia Bernal, among others.

I really enjoyed this movie. Good story, good writing, very well acted, nice camera work… it pretty much hits all my buttons. But at its core, its a good story about good people caught up in a whirlpool of unfortunate events, some to be expected, some unexpected. But all sadly plausible.

Here's a hot tip to those who drag around their political and racial baggage with them: leave your suitcase of gripes in the lobby. If you can't enjoy the movie for what it is without yapping about imaginary liberal/marxist/PC conspiracies and propaganda, better not see it at all. It might just challenge your prejudices.. and then where would you be?

But I don't want to emphasize the wrong things in this review. Its a good movie. Go see it.

I watched this film out of respect for a friend associated with the movie. Being in the industry I wasn't expecting too much but to my surprise it was great! Ed Harris doesn't let us down. Casting was done perfect, and the writing was superb. I am not a big fan of subtitles but this movie grips you to were you can't let go and don't even notice the subtitles. Eva Longoria is excellent, such a gorgeous woman in real life but not for this production giving us a performance that we won't forgot. See Michael Pena in numerous roles over the years I can safely say an award could be coming his way. I can't say enough about the film. A great drama, enough action and some romance make for a great view. Go see for yourself and let me know...

A competent rehash of drama plots we've seen before, Ed Harris and Michael Pena manage to keep this film afloat with the sheer passion of their performances. That being said, Frontera goes off half-cocked, and fails to deliver on its promises.

It's clear by now that Harris enjoys Western films and the influences are obvious, from the settings to the music. It's a shame he couldn't explore its themes more comprehensively, and it seems clear to me that much of Frontera was left on the cutting room floor to fit into a 90 minute running time. There are loose threads of plot left floating and multiple elements of the story that remain unsolved. Some scenes feel rushed and much of what happens to minor characters occurs off screen, perhaps having fallen victim to editing.

This is unfortunate because the key elements of a good drama are here. They just needed more polishing. As it is, Frontera is a dull rock reminiscent of a diamond but lacking the shine.

Other nagging problems weigh down this otherwise interesting rural drama. The direction is inconsistent, and can never quite reach the level of tension it aims for. Ed Harris is left with criminally few lines to speak, and fills his screen time with furrowed stares and glowers. I found him to be a joy to watch, and when he does speak he has good lines, but it feels like he could have brought so much more to the film. I found Michael Pena to be pleasantly immersed in his role and applaud his subtle, understated acting style. Unfortunately it's a misplaced effort.

The biggest issue is the fact that the mystery is answered immediately: we know "who dunnit". What's left to watch is a procedural where the criminals head inexorably toward a predictable fate, and the effects on those caught up in the crime. Perhaps removing the perspective of the crooks would have made the film more suspenseful and interesting, as ultimately it turns into an episodic anthology of stories on the American-Mexican frontier.

Given the current trend of polished HBO crime dramas, this would have made good competition for True Detective and the late Breaking bad as a series.

Recommended.

Having worked as a photojournalist in New Mexico I am always a bit hesitant to watch movies purporting to depict the "Border Problem." Thus when I ran into this movie on Netflix I was at first hesitant to give it a try. Happily, my reservations proved unfounded as this turned out to be one of the best movies I've seen in the past year or two. The lead role was virtually made for Ed Harris and his stoic, unwordy, acting style fits into the theme like a hand fits into a custom made glove...just right! Residents of the American Southwest are not known for wordiness and Ed's quiet although intense acting more than rings true throughout...lending an air of authenticity all too rarely encountered these days.

Michael Peña, Amy Madigan, and Eva Longoria were all excellent and the cast fit together as well as the hand fit the custom made glove referred to earlier.

As far as comments made by other reviewers relating to the movie sidestepping the more controversial aspects of the current immigration scene I'm not sure I agree. It's a complex issue and any movie attempting to render solutions will fall flat. Surely it's more than enough to attempt to put a human face on what's become a political hot potato and media frenzy bullseye and this movie more than succeeded in doing that.

I wish I could give this a better rating than 5/10. It has a good cast with good performances from Ed Harris, Michael Pena and Eva Longoria. It's also a pretty good story. The problem is this "border-crossing/modern-day western" (Dennis Schwartz) was already done in much better films like John Sayles' "Lone Star" (1996) and particularly Tommy Lee Jones' "3 Burials (of Mequiades Estrada)" (2007). It resembles the latter movie so closely (mysterious border killing, corrupt law enforcement, civilian taking matters into his own hands, etc.) that it comes perilously close to rip-off territory. Julio Cesar Cedillo, who plays the rather brutal "coyote," even has a starring role in 3 Burials. Both of these other films are much better. Also this story stretches credibility at times with Ed Harris being rather unbelievably in the right place at the nick of time on a number of occasions in the film. It also is much more blatantly PC with a rather forced heartwarming ending that doesn't ring true. I urge those who gave this a better rating than I to see "Lone Star" and "3 Burials." They both cover almost the same territory in a better way.

"I told you we're only gonna scare them." Miguel (Peña) is a Mexican who is looking to make a better life for himself. He sets off for America and crosses the border on Roy's (Harris) property. When a group of kids who don't like illegal aliens start shooting at Miguel to scare him they inadvertently kill Roy's wife. With no eyewitnesses Miguel is left to take the blame for her death unless he can convince Roy what really happened. This is a hard movie to review. The beginning was very good and the end was very good but the middle drug a lot and it was hard to stay focused on for the entire time. On the other hand though the movie is worth seeing and I did like it. I think if the movie was about 15-20 minutes shorter or had a little better pacing it would have been much better. The acting is great and the idea isn't something that seems too made up. I'm sure things like this happen more than we care to know about. Overall, a good movie that is very much worth seeing with a great beginning and end but a slow and less interesting middle. I give it a B.

I never thought I would see a film as tense and involving as a portrait of what people will do to get into the United Stated as El Norte, the best film ever made about illegal crossing into the US. Frontera is every bit as good as that film; primarily due to the great job done by Ed Harris; his best performance since The Right Stuff. He richly deserved the Oscar nomination he received for the film. The direction and production values of the film are of the highest caliber; but it is the story that will grab you. Like every other people in the world, there are good Mexicans and bad Mexicans. There are good Americans and bad Americans. There is no perfect society. Don't miss this film; it is a real cinematic treat.

Loved the story but should of used actors who spoke spanish better. The spanish speaking cast had a hard time speaking spanish.

The Title of this Film has a Dual Meaning. "Frontera" Translated Means "Border" and Frontier, as in the "Wild Frontier" can also be Inferred.

Ed Harris and Amy Madigan are Seniors Living the "Good Life", and are Good People, on Their Ranch. It Happens that the Land "Borders" the Mexican Line and is a Pathway for Illegals to Make Their Way to the Promised Land.

This is a Story about the Folks on Both Sides of the Border and Their Inter-Connectivity that Results from some Unintended Consequences. It Shows the Difficulty in Trusting the "Coyotes" and the also Difficult Trek that Many Make and are at the Mercy of the Desert and the Indigenous Population that Range from Quietly Indignant to Hostile.

It is a Rich Little Movie that is Underplayed and Softly Explores the Situations from a Number of Perspectives and isn't Preachy. Effective and Engaging with Strong Acting and Excellent Cinematography, the Movie May be Slight in Solutions, but is Neutral in its Politics and Therefore is Commendable.

Overall, it's Worth a Watch and is Nothing too Deep and for some that May Not be what is Needed in this Current, Divisive Political Landscape. The Movie Doesn't Take Sides and might Leaves some Viewers with a Frustrating Experience. But as a Modern Drama it is quite Good.

I'm a big movie buff and I focus on the values of writing, production, and entertainment. I'm tired of all the buddy-cop, cookie cutter action movies these days. They are ALL THE SAME. I look for movies that have interesting ideas.

Frontera was a welcome relief to my annoyance with the current movie industry. The writing was very well done and the pacing was perfect. I felt interested and engaged the entire time. I like how the Mexicans actually spoke Spanish. Even though there were a lot of subtitles, it was much more realistic.

I loved the implications of importance placed on the family. The families of Miguel, Roy, and the sheriff are all placed in extremely difficult situations which must be overcome. I feel like most people could relate to these situations in some way-- I did. In addition, the things that Miguel's wife goes through sheds light on the circumstance and difficulties of those looking for a better life. The maltreatment and suffering they go through are real.

Finally, I loved the ending. My heart was racing because I had established a personal affection for the characters. This movie was well worth my time.

Frontera" can sometimes feel heavy-handed in its approach to political themes. The movie is not subtle in its message, and some viewers may find it preachy or manipulative.

Additionally, some of the supporting characters can feel underdeveloped and one-dimensional, which can be a bit distracting. Overall, "Frontera" is a well-made and engaging drama that raises essential questions about the US-Mexico border and the people who live there. While it may not be perfect, it's worth a watch for anyone interested in the ongoing debate surrounding immigration and prejudice.

Michael Peña delivers a powerful and moving portrayal of a man wrongly accused of a crime he didn't commit. Ed Harris, on the other hand, is excellent as the former sheriff who sets out to uncover the truth behind the murder. Eva Longoria is also compelling as Miguel's wife, who is forced to confront the harsh realities of life on the border.

To say that I enjoyed Frontera is an understatement … because I rarely ... take the time ... to write a review. So when I say I really enjoyed the film and was entertained, I am really thanking all involved for its production. This film had a western genre feeling to it that I personally like, and it had many social topics that plague our society, i.e., desperation, survival, rape, hate, man's inhumanity to his fellow man, et cetera. The actors' performances were superb in that the flat/stock/stereotypical characters were well-developed and rounded. Ed Harris' Texas Ranger Style of police work and justice was a bonus. I would have to say that this film/movie/picture had a little something for everyone. Again, the social and ethical implications regarding nepotism that sheriff was considering for his son, border issues, gun control, etc., were many and depicted quite well. This film is a must see – Great Job!

Frontera is a great story about the struggle and reality of immigration and the consequences Americans face while trying to take the law in their own hands. It gives you a understanding of the struggle and experiences Mexicans take to cross the border for a chance to work and help provide for their families back in Mexico. It also shows the struggle what Americans face dealing with the property damage and violence that occurs during the trip across the border. This movie will help you appreciate the life you have as an American and the understanding the reality Mexicans sacrifice for a chance at the American dream.

Ed Harris is a great actor with incredible skills and intuition. I am disapointed with his choice to take this movie on. In may ways, this movie is a platform for propaganda designed to foment fear of other people, particulatrly those of latin and middle eastern roots. It is being used as a propoganda tool. Watch it (if you choose) with a disciminating eye.