CS Daily Archive > Weekend Read > 05/21/04

South of the Border

By MATTHEW REYNOLDS

Citizens of Los Angeles realize how important the Mexican population really is when they wake up one day discover them all missing; it's a one-note satire, but that one note should have you talking for hours.

A Day Without a Mexican

Sergio Arau, Yareli Arizmendi and Sergio Guerrero

It starts off like a normal day in Los Angeles, when suddenly, one by one, the Mexicans disappear. There is the typical fallout -- the rich folks, suddenly without their housekeepers and gardeners, find themselves unable to function, the Border Patrol's jobs become meaningless, and some Caucasians find themselves without their spouses. As the economy (and the Dodgers, but not the Lakers) collapses, there is only one hope: Lila (Yareli Arizmendi), one Mexican who has inexplicably not disappeared. She submits herself to scientific experiments to find a way to bring them back; the secret she keeps holds part of the lesson we all need to learn.

This is a clumsy movie with a good point that shouldn't need to be made: "We're Mexicans, we're here, deal with us." Indeed, Los Angeles would be brought to its knees if its Mexican population suddenly disappeared, if only because they make up the bulk of one entire strata of its workforce. So, if the Irish population of New York City were to disappear, stereotypical thinking holds that it would lose a lot of its police force. Whether or not that is social commentary is debatable.

Like a Michael Moore film, this is mostly entertaining, and it involves an important issue. But also -- like a Moore film -- it recklessly brings in characters who are extreme in their behavior in order to prove its point. The senator is cartoonishly racist, the border patrol agents are lunkheads, and the news producer is a sleazeball. Most people won't see themselves in these characters.

(And it's disheartening here that the filmmakers chose to include enough profane language to earn the film an "R" rating. Why close this film off to teenagers? Why discourage families from going to a movie that could prompt such real discussion afterwards? While it's always popular to point fingers at the MPAA for not granting a film like this a PG-13, the filmmakers should have played it a little safer to begin with.)

In the end, the question becomes: is Los Angeles dismissive of its Mexican population? If the movie makes some viewers change their answer from "no" to "maybe," then it's done its job for being thought provoking (which is, needless to say, more than what the vast majority of movies out there can say for themselves). But the bigger issue of immigration (illegal and otherwise) is carefully skirted here, which may be just as well. Though it does lead to another thought: this may be a city teetering on overpopulation, but Mexicans aren't the only ones desperate to move in, seeking a better life. Indeed, maybe they should put up some yellow signs with little running silhouettes of wannabe actors, writers, and directors. But if not for them, then who would get us our coffee at Starbucks?

Although not nearly as funny or as biting as it could have been or thinks it is, this film, along with Saved! (reviewed next week), more than earns its way simply for giving you something to talk about afterwards.

A Day Without a Mexican
Televisa Cine
Rated R; 100 min.


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Matthew Reynolds is a former journalist now working in feature film development. He is not responsible for items lost or stolen during the reading of this article.

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