Heidi Ewing was nominated for an Oscar for her documentary
Jesus Camp (2006). This is her first foray into narrative filmmaking, using actors and such. There is though a documentary aspect to this film. Ewing is telling a true story and the real-life subjects are featured here. That true story is that of two Mexican men who immigrated to the United States in the 1990's. Yes, there have been plenty of films about undocumented travelers from Latin America or elsewhere. What sets this one apart is the fact that the two men in question are gay. They fell in love in Mexico, left the country separately and reunited in the United States, not letting miles and miles or even borders keep them away from one another.
The submission from Mexico to the 93rd Academy Awards was I'm No Longer Here (Ya No Estoy Aquí). It was about a young Mexican man who fled the country to the USA due to gang-related violence. We've seen other films where people have fled countries due to impoverished conditions and searching for a better life or more money. What's interesting is that this film had the characters leave their country not for those obvious reasons. They don't leave because of violence or due to extreme poverty. Given that the two men are gay, one might assume that they leave due to homophobia, but that's not it either. Yes, homophobia plays a factor, but that's not the real reason.
Armando Espitia stars as Iván Campos, a Mexican man in his early or mid-20's. He lives in Puebla, Mexico, which is in the center of the country about 3 hours south of Mexico City. He works in a restaurant there, but he does maintenance jobs or janitorial work, like fixing the toilets. He went to culinary school and got a degree. He wants to be a chef, but he seems as though he's only able to get low-level jobs. It seems as though he'll eventually move up and work as a cook, but it's not happening fast-enough for him. He's especially struggling because he has a son. He's not married to his son's mother, but he can barely pay his rent because any money he receives he gives to his son's mother.
Again, he has a degree, which he could use to get a better job or work his way up slowly. He thinks he can get more money or money faster if he goes to the United States and gets a job there. The process of legally going there is a tedious one and may not be approved, so crossing the border illegally is the way he decides to go. He's not in any physical danger. His financial status isn't in great jeopardy and he's not being persecuted, so his reason for leaving aren't compelling in the usual ways.
Christian Vázquez (
3 Idiotas) co-stars as Gerardo, a teacher at a college. He comes from a pretty well-off family that has its own farm. He has a good job and a nice place to live. He's comfortable and relatively safe. Yes, he's openly gay and he and his friend get attacked physically for it. Otherwise, he goes to gay bars and lives a relatively happy life. One might imagine that he would've stayed in Mexico for the rest of his life, if not for Iván. Gerardo meets Iván in a gay bar one night and the two immediately connect and fall for each other. When Iván says he's going to the United States, Gerardo doesn't want to abandon his home and his country, but Gerardo realizes that his feelings for Iván are so strong that he can't bear being apart. Therefore, Gerardo immigrates to be with the man he loves.
Ewing does a good job of charting the individual decisions that these two men have to make. She also incorporates the harrowing journey that each has to take, the journey that could've killed both. She conveys a sense of the treacherous path upon which each had to embark. She also dips into the difficulty that each face as undocumented immigrants in New York City, which is where the two land. Ewing embraces a kind of filmmaking, which felt reminiscent of Terrence Malick with hushed voice-over and cinematography where the camera is stalking the subject from behind or floating through spaces.
There is a time jump where the film goes from 1994 to the present, which is likely 2018 or 2019 when the film was shot. We then see Iván and Gerardo after 20 years where they're either in or approaching middle-age. The film then becomes about these men enjoying their lives in the USA but also reflecting back to what they had back in Mexico. Gerardo seems to have moved on and fully accepted his life in the USA. Iván still is longing for Mexico and a part of him wants to return, mainly because he has a son there that he left. The title of this film is in fact a reference to Iván's longing and specifically his memories of Mexico.
If one likes this film, some other documentaries on similar topic include Alex & Ali (2015) and Out of Iraq: A Love Story (2016).
Rated R for language and brief nudity.
Running Time: 1 hr. and 51 mins.
Available on VOD and DVD.
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