After the birth of his first child, Roberto, a young Mexican man slips across the border into the United States. Seeking work to support his family back home, he finds that working hard is not enough.
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Title: Alambrista! (1977)
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4 wins.
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Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
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Domingo Ambriz | ... | Roberto |
| Trinidad Silva | ... | Joe | |
| Linda Gillen | ... | Sharon | |
| Ned Beatty | ... | Anglo Coyote | |
| Jerry Hardin | ... | Man in cafe | |
| Julius Harris | ... | 2nd Drunk | |
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Ludevina Mendez Salazar | ... | Roberto's Wife |
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Maria Guadalupe Chavez | ... | Roberto's Mother |
|
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Rafaela Cervantes de Gomez | ... | Midwife |
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Feliz Cedano | ... | Tomato Field Mayordomo |
|
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Edward Lopez | ... | Contratista |
|
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Evelyn Chieko Saito | ... | Strawberry Field Owner |
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Tom Tar | ... | Strawberry Field Owner |
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Gabriel Segura | ... | Strawberry Field Mayordomo |
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Paul Berrones | ... | Berto |
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Plot Summary
|
Add Synopsis
Storyline
After his daughter's birth, Roberto leaves his town in Michoacan to make money in the United States. He's "an illegal," crossing into California and taking work wherever he can: picking strawberries, grapes, lettuce, and cucumbers. He hitchhikes, rides freight trains, and depends on the kindness of strangers. Near Stockton, things look up when a sympathetic waitress gives him a place to live, and he gets a better job at a crop-dusting company. But immigration raids are a constant possibility that can end stability. Can Roberto hold onto his equilibrium in this foreign land where hard work is not enough? Written by <jhailey@hotmail.com>
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Details
Country:
USARelease Date:
16 October 1977 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
The Illegal See more »Company Credits
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Technical Specs
Runtime:
| (director's cut)Sound Mix:
MonoColor:
ColorAspect Ratio:
1.66 : 1
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Did You Know?
Connections
Featured in The Bronze Screen: 100 Years of the Latino Image in American Cinema (2002) See more »Frequently Asked Questions
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After the birth of his first child, Roberto, a young Mexican man slips across the border into the United States. Seeking work to support his family back home, he finds that working hard is not enough.
I wish I could recall the name of another film I watched not too long ago about the immigrant experience of crossing the border and trying to find work in America. While different, the two make a good pair and a thorough analysis comparing and contrasting them would make for a great essay.
One of the more interesting things about this is how smoothly things go, for the most part. Yes, there is an incident in the junkyard concerning bad food, but one of the first Americans encountered goes out of her way to help the man despite knowing almost no Spanish at all.