Credited cast: | |||
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Ben Masters | ... | Self |
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Jay Kleberg | ... | Self |
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Filipe DeAndrade | ... | Self |
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Heather Mackey | ... | Self |
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Austin Alvarado | ... | Self |
Beto O'Rourke | ... | Self | |
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Will Hurd | ... | Self |
Rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
George W. Bush | ... | Self (archive footage) | |
Bill Clinton | ... | Self (archive footage) | |
Hillary Clinton | ... | Self (archive footage) | |
John McCain | ... | Self (archive footage) | |
Barack Obama | ... | Self (archive footage) |
The River and the Wall follows five friends on an immersive adventure through the unknown wilds of the Texas borderlands as they travel 1200 miles from El Paso to the Gulf of Mexico on horses, mountain bikes, and canoes. They set out to document the borderlands and explore the potential impacts of a wall on the natural environment, but as the wilderness gives way to the more populated and heavily trafficked Lower Rio Grande Valley, they come face-to-face with the human side of the immigration debate and enter uncharted emotional waters.
This movie could be best described as The Socialist Manifesto illustrated by Reubens. The filmmakers created a beautiful film that shows the value of what we must to preserve - albeit with highly questionable scientific, ecological, biological, and social data. The conclusion / findings were obviously pre-determined, as the information selected for the movie re-enforced the open border solution (but then we must keep in mind that two members of the crew were children of parents who entered the country illegally). They included politicians who vilified the President without producing any information about the negative affects of illegal immigration.
In my opinion, they should have focused on the river and an honest assessment of the ecological impact. Having a bird-watcher talking in a very sad voice about the impact a wall would have on bird populations is a bit silly, as the impact would be minimal on the bird populations. Having someone point out that Americans will not be able to enjoy the pristine northern shore of the river, then show people fishing on a heavily littered southern shore that is bare of all flora and fauna doesn't really make the case very well.
Maybe their next movie can focus on how we could increase the rate of legal immigration and temporary workers, eliminating the need for fences and walls.