3/16/2023 0 Comments Those who remain codesThe film does not preach, but simply informs. So much so that, in the end, I was unable to decide for myself whether it seemed that the risk and hardship was worth it for these people or not. Indeed, the film presents a remarkably balanced perspective. But others proudly show the film crew around the house that they are building with the money that is sent back, and discuss the education they can now afford to give their children. Another woman fights to hold back tears as she recalls the last phone call with her husband, before he was mugged and killed so far from home. A child tells the filmmaker that she doesn’t care what they are forced to eat she just wants her daddy to come home. Worse still is the emotional hardship that the long-term separation can bring. The men who choose to remain in the depopulated villages find themselves in an unviable economic position they suffer for the needs of their neighbors. ![]() The more people who leave, the less reason there is for people to stay. Certainly, we see houses being built and homes improved with the money that filters south over the border, but it is the desire for their children to be educated, and thus to be able to make a life for themselves without resorting to an illegal, dangerous journey into America, that drives many of these men away from their families.īut behind them, they leave ghost towns. Time and again we are told that the reason that fathers leave home–in one case for seven years–is to pay for their children’s education. But the real answer is staring us in the face. Money, gifts and gold chains is the answer they give their teacher. Every child has an answer, just as every child’s father is, or will soon be, absent. ![]() The film opens with a group of young school children being asked why their fathers travel to the US (apart from one young woman, it is exclusively men who are shown in the film to have left). Though it is a thought-provoking exploration of the impact that the long-term absence of husbands, fathers, sons and daughters can have on their loved ones, the film’s decision to omit any reference to the underlying issues that force the illegal workers north undercuts its effectiveness. ![]() Directors Carlos Hagerman and Juan Carlos Rulfo turn the tables and shine a light on a group of people often ignored in America’s immigration debate: the families that the workers who slip into America to work illegally have to leave behind as they search for a better life. I’ve seen a fair number of documentaries which depict the journey and plight of migrant workers, most recently H2 Worker which was finally released on DVD. Viewed at The Mann Festival Theatre as part of the 2009 Los Angeles Film Festival. Those Who Remain (Carlos Hagerman, Juan Carlos Rulfo, 2008): Mexico
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