Bordertown (2006)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

Gregory Nava

Writer (WGA):

Gregory Nava (written by)

Release Date:

22 February 2007 (Germany)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Lies. Corruption. Murder. One reporter will break the silence.

Plot:

A journalist investigates a series of murders near American-owned factories on the border of Juarez and El Paso.

Plot Keywords:

Factory | Journalist | Factory Worker | Electrocution | Ex Girlfriend

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Maya Zapata	...	Eva Jimenez
Irineo Alvarez	...	Domingo Esparza
Rene Rivera	...	Aris Rodriguez
Jennifer Lopez	...	Lauren Adrian
Martin Sheen	...	George Morgan
Karolinah Villarreal	...	Young Lauren
Debrianna Mansini	...	Flight Attendant
Randall Batinkoff	...	Frank Kozerski
Gonzalo Mauro Montiel Aguirre	...	Curandero (as Gonzalo Mauro Montiel)
Antonio Banderas	...	Alfonso Diaz
Zaide Silvia Gutiérrez	...	Lourdes Jimenez (as Zaide Sylvia Gutierrez)
Amelia Zapata	...	Lourdes's Friend
Julio Cedillo	...	Julio (as Julio Cesar Cedillo)
Jorge Urzua	...	Eduardo Lopes
Ruben G. Rojas	...	Eduardo's Man (as Ruben Rojas)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence including a brutal rape, sexuality, nudity and language.

Runtime:

112 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R | Netherlands:16 | Germany:12 | Portugal:M/16 | Finland:K-15 | Argentina:16 | Singapore:M18 | Peru:18

Filming Locations:

Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA

Company:

Möbius Entertainment

Trivia:

Loosely based on a series of unsolved murders in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, an industrial border town near El Paso, Texas. Although estimates conflict, innumerable young women have been kidnapped, tortured and murdered since 1993.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: (2008-02-16)" (2008)

Soundtrack:

Y Preguntan

See the Film, Pass the Word: A Call for Involvement in Public Action

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