Bordertown

BORDERTOWN is more than a suspenseful film about a tragic reality that has been terrifying Juarez, Mexico for years. This film, written and directed by Gregory Nava ('Mi Familia', 'El Norte', 'Selena', etc), approaches a public service campaign on the part of Nava and the rest of his cast and crew - especially producer/star Jennifer Lopez. After the stunning effect of the film, the viewer is encouraged to watch the several excellent featurettes on the DVD - and then try to remain uninvolved.

Chicago Sentinel editor George Morgan (Martin Sheen) convinces the reluctant reporter Lauren Adrian (Jennifer Lopez) to fly to Juarez, Mexico to cover a combustible story about the ongoing rapes and murders of women who work the factories along the border for little pay. Lauren would prefer becoming a foreign correspondent and extracts a promise that if she takes on this ugly assignment ('I don't speak Spanish and I don't know anything about Mexico'), Morgan will grant that request. When the beautiful blond Lauren arrives in Juarez she is shocked by the reality: a very young factory worker girl Eva (the fine young actress Maya Zapata) has managed to survive a rape and attempted murder, literally climbing out of her grave and escaping. Lauren and Eva bond and Lauren realizes that her story about the 5000 victims of this heinous serial killing may just rest with the information Eva holds: she can identify her assailants. With the aid of anxious newspaper owner Alfonso Diaz (Antonio Banderas) the three begin the dangerous struggle to unveil the truths about the cover-up of the deaths: the police and government corruption in Mexico are matched by similar deeds in the USA in order to protect the NAFTA arrangement which apparently holds the profit of the mega-factories of more importance then the mere lives of thousands of Mexican women. How the trio infiltrates the corruption (and the buried secret realities of Lauren's humble beginnings) provide the remainder of the film.

Nava elects to shoot this film in garish light and emphasizes the tragic filth and mire of the living conditions of the peasants along the border - each hoping to escape the life situations by crossing into the US. He manages to maintain a coarse cinematic effect that enhances the story. Not only Is Lopez in top form, but also she is assisted by a fine cast of fellow actors including Sonia Braga, Juan Diego Botto, Zaide Silvia Gutiérrez, Rene Rivera among others. Yes, the story has been told before, but that only means there are many people who want this contemporary tragedy to end. In one of the features on the DVD we are given addresses and names to contact to help stop this horrendous 'feminicide'. Take serious note. Grady Harp

It was sad to me when people on this site asked if Gandhi was a fictional character, when they thought Judi Dench in "Ladies in Lavender" came off as a "dirty old lady," when they thought Kenny O'Donnell in "Thirteen Days" was a fictional character to give Kevin Costner a part when the film used White House transcripts (I guess they just stuck Kenny's dialogue into transcripts?) - it was sad.

But to laugh and give a negative review to a movie that tells an important story, whether or not it stars Jennifer Lopez, is awful and shows that there are people who are regulars on this board who are not just stupid. They're complete morons.

This is based on a true story about murders of young women that have been taking place in Juarez, Mexico for years, with a large number of women have been raped and murdered or simply disappeared. The women work in the maquiladoras, 24/7 companies that employ cheap labor, usually women, and create disposable products. Apparently the women are disposable too. The women are normally attacked as they are going home.

Jennifer Lopez plays a reporter who is assigned this story against her will but becomes involved in it, protecting a young woman who dug herself out of her own grave, and going undercover in a maquiladora herself to uncover one of the murderers.

This horrible situation is not dealt with efficiently by the government or the police. In part, this is due to political pressure and the fact that mob and drug money is often involved in the ownership of the factories.

The North American Free Trade agreement, NAFTA, was expanded in 1994 and provided new opportunities for the maquiladoras.

This was an issue director Gregory Nava wanted to explore, and Jennifer Lopez, Martin Sheen, and Antonio Banderas signed on. Because of the R rating and the opinion of several focus groups, it was not released in theaters.

It's not a great movie. As a TV movie, it would have been much better. It also doesn't look very expensive. I don't happen to think Jennifer Lopez is a horrible actress. Unlike some here, I thought her back story, shown in flashback, was very clear.

This is an important story, made by sincere people. One can at least appreciate that they wanted to raise awareness of this issue. It's easy to sit and criticize a film; it's another to go out and make one.

And maybe a few people will think about a rich country like Mexico - rich in minerals, tourism, manufacturing -- that pays people $3 to $5 a day and has a population that lives in poverty while the people that control the money send it out of the country. Is it any wonder they try to sneak into the U.S.? Anything is better than how they are forced to live. And nothing is done to help them. Nothing.

The story talks about Lauren(Jennifer López), an obstinate reporter working in Chicago Sentinel. She's assigned by her chief(Marin Sheen) going to a Mexican Bordertown, where in location of Juarez occur a series of killings when the workers are forced displacement. Eva(Zapata)is cruelly raped and with the help of Lauren and a Mexican journalist(Antonio Banderas) investigate the events. Eva is being protected by Mexican owner (Sonia Braga) but she flees and is caught by the border policemen when has to testify against the rapist. Meanwhile in order to discover the deeds Lauren is working in a Juarez factory where the workers are tired of being nothing more than manual laborers . Lauren gains trust of local factory proprietary(Juan Diego Botto).

Although this movie is fictional, at times it feels like a documentary. The story blends suspense, intrigue, violence and political denounce. Also deals the hardships work told in graphic detail, recounting a relentless criticism to NAFTA(North American free trade) organization . This is a dramatic and serious movie where the starring- well performed by Jennifer Lopez and Antonio Banderas- encounter in the midst of deep struggle oppressive forces outside their control, as they confront against nasty killers and corrupt people. Evocative musical score by Graeme Revell and colorful cinematography by Reynaldo Villalobos. The film was nominated for Golden Berlin Award. The motion picture is expertly directed by Gregory Nava. He's a specialist on Mexican thematic, such as 'Selena, A time of destiny, My Family', and his best movie: 'The North. This film will make you think twice about the product buy or make you food for the reason of long hours in jobs and low wages.

Lauren Adrian (Jennifer Lopez) is a reporter for the Chicago Sentinel. She is forced by her boss (Martin Sheen) to go to Juarez to do a story about a series of mysterious murders of young factory women who are attracted to the new jobs at the maquiladoras. She doesn't speak much Spanish and reconnects with independent reporter Alfonso Diaz (Antonio Banderas). The police is corrupt and trying to cover up the murders. Eva Jimenez (Maya Zapata) is a young woman who was taken by a bus driver to the dump where him and another man raped her and left her for dead. The only person she trust is Diaz. She goes to his newspaper but the police is close behind. Diaz is taken in by the police leaving Eva and Lauren alone together.

Writer/director Gregory Nava got a couple of A-list stars to do small roles in this but it's Lopez that's asked to carry this thing on her shoulders. She needs help as an actress to keep this movie moving. Banderas is good but he's not in this enough. The movie keeps separating them which is a mistake in my opinion. The story is ripped from the headlines with some action added in. Nava isn't good at the action scenes. This is generally a weak construction. There isn't much of a mystery since everything is laid out right in front of us. It struggles to be a thriller or a mystery. Nava doesn't have the skills and the tension is very low. Then Lopez goes undercover and all the logic goes out the window. I don't know why she has to work in the factory since they know it's the bus driver. Also I don't know why she doesn't have somebody follow the bus. It's a bus and isn't that hard to follow. But the movie isn't done and it keeps going down the rabbit hole.

This is not the kind of movie I usually see, and I must admit that while watching it on TV, I gradually realized that it was not the documentary film I expected. The story is based on a horrifying and tragic reality of raping and killing of women on the Mexican border, of which I did not know anything, as underreported throughout the world. The movie has so the laudable merit of bringing to light and denouncing the terrifying drama of thousands of women being raped and disappeared in those waste lands, working in those appalling "maquilladoras", where even the most basic human rights are completely disregarded, and where deep economic interests prevail over respect for human dignity. However, as the story progressed, I realized it was more an action-thriller than a documentary picture, standing out for gripping though improbable, twists, a tense and quick pace, intertwined with some more relaxed and relaxing moments, which appear as really improbable and above all of bad taste and out of place if we consider the grave topic of the movie. It is as if that worthy aim gives way to more entertaining and market needs. So my doubt was: how can such a highly committed movie be bent to the logic of the box-office? How can you shift your attention from scenes of rape of terrifying violence to the underlining of J. Lo's perfect silhouette? It is evident that the production aimed at attracting audience through an attractive cast and some shrewd devices, such as pacing action, a thriller-plot, sentimental flash-backs, some entertaining music, thus losing its seriousness and credibility. I watched it till the end, because it was gripping and, like all thriller movies, you want to know how it ends up, but I realize this is not the reason why I should have wanted to see it till the end, and in this sense I think it is, in the end, a failed movie.