Um Dia sem Mexicanos

It's a dark comedy, people. And it's brilliantly done. Sure, it's made on a low budget, with mostly unknown cast, but it really is an interesting question-if we deport all the Mexicans, what would happen to a city like Los Angeles where they fill a major role in so many areas of life and commerce. In this case, the world falls apart, and the results are entertaining but telling. There's always a ring of truth amidst the satire and humor. I saw this on a whim years ago when it first came out, and I continue to remember it all these years later. That's how powerful it is. Deserves a look for anyone debating immigration because of the questions it inspires. And it's also a diverting film. Highly recommended.

Sergio Arau is a Mexican artist whose main work has been done in the field of visual arts and in music, but in 1998 he along with his wife Yareli Arizmendi, wrote and directed a short comedy named "A Day Without a Mexican", a fake documentary chronicling the fictitious events that happened in California when suddenly all the Hispanic people disappeared without any reason. Their fake documentary was a satire about U.S. immigrant policy and the unfair treatment the Hispanic immigrants received. Their work was well received but the couple decided to take their message to the main audience by turning their short film into a feature length film.

Like Arau's original short, the movie's premise is that for strange circumstances all the Hispanic immigrants (not only Mexicans) disappear of the state of California and the state is surrounded by a mysterious fog that isolates the people leaving them without the work that Hispanics usually do. The movie chronicles the events happening in that situation and showcases how important are the immigrants for the development of California.

Writer Yareli Arizmendi plays Lila, a reporter hired for her Latin looks who later becomes the center of the attention as she becomes "the last Latin in California". John Getz plays Senator Steven Abercombie III, an anti-immigrant politician who becomes governor of California after the actual Governor disappears due to Hispanic heritage. Muse Watson is Louis McClaire, owner of a ranch who understands the importance of the immigrant's work but who has to deal with his overtly patriotic and racist son George (Bru Muller).

These three main stories as well as other minor subplots get together to showcase different situations of the immigrants in California. Arau mixes "interviews with experts" giving opinions on the Hispanics disappearance and noticing the importance of their presence for the country. Using comedy as a medium to deliver his message, Arau's film delivers good laughs and flows smoothly most of the time, however, at times it is notorious that the project started as a short as there are scenes that seem to be shot only to reach the runtime of a feature length film.

Being a music video director before, Arau can't help but to display the influences of his previous work, giving the movie a modern albeit a bit MTV-like look. Also, the movie has been severely criticized for its highly fictitious premise. While this criticism is valid in the sense that the unexplained disappearance and the comedic tone do diminish the importance of the subject matter, Arau makes his point clear despite the flawed conception of his plot.

The acting is good on the main roles, but the apparently undeveloped script makes it look a bit forced at times. Arizmendi and Getz shine in their respective roles and without a doubt they are the driving force of the film. The rest of the cast is also good, but nothing spectacular. This in my opinion is due to the lack of details in the script that leaves some characters at a very shallow stereotypical level.

"A Day without a Mexican" may not be subtle in its approach, and probably it forces its message a bit too much, but still raises very important points and delivers its message without problems. The Arau couple had a brilliant idea and raised very good points, however, the film still feels as if it could had been better. Hopefully the couple will continue making films that will be better than this first attempt. 7/10. Interesting film.

When a mysterious fog surrounds the boundaries of California, there is a communication breakdown and all the Mexicans disappear, affecting the economy and the state stops working missing the Mexican workers and dwellers.

"A Day without a Mexican" is a promising idea about the importance of Mexican immigrants the in the economy of California. There are several references to prominent Mexican personalities that have immigrated to USA and also to the states that belonged to Mexico and have been incorporated to the USA. However, the plot is limited to one joke only and wasted in a boring and unnecessary soap-opera. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "Um Dia sem Mexicanos" ("A Day Without Mexicans")

Altogether I found A DAY WITHOUT A Mexican to be highly entertaining - I would've hoped for something of the caliber of DO THE RIGHT THING or BLAZING SADDLES, and this is definitely not up to those standards, but as independent films go, this one definitely beats a lot of the competition.

Basically a b-movie, sci-fi spoof with a lot of social commentary thrown in, I found A DAY... to be a bit didactic in places - the interrupting statistics were highly unnecessary and nearly destroyed the energy in an otherwise fine film. But I think one's ultimate take on this film will come down to ones' politics - I agree with those expressed in the film, so - while I found the film to be hammering its' points a bit harder than it should (not all Americans are THAT ignorant of the rest of the world), overall I considered it to be fun and provocative.

I have seen tons of indie films, and - just in that I was actually able to watch this one all the way through - this one manages to be quite good. Film shouldn't just be about explosions, or wallowing in some hipster's fantasy of 'the underground,' or dream sequences with midgets, or boring white 20somethings screwing around - a film that tries to engage with the world is a real breath of fresh air every now and then.

There are times when you just have to take a movie for what it is- a movie. Instead of worrying about racism and social commentary-enjoy the idea of the movie. I liked the movie as a whole because it had an original idea for a script. It gives you an idea of what an important role each of us plays in this big old world we live in. At the very least, the music can be appreciated. It was diverse, appropriate, and fun to listen to. It wasn't the best movie I've ever seen, but if you've ever lived in Southern California, this movie will make you laugh (at least a couple of times). And if your really lucky, it will also broaden your mind.