Frontera premieres Theatrically September 5th and Stars Michael Peña, Ed Harris & Eva Longoria
Reviewed By Bel Hernandez
Just when you think Frontera is “just another immigrant story”, it draws you in, enveloping you in the story, putting aside the political dogma you’re so used to seeing on the news when it comes to immigration. Its not about “Those Illegals”, “Those Coyotes” or even “Those Vigilantes” it’s about making it personal and telling the story of the many casualties of one of the deadliest deserts – whether you live south or north of the Mexican border. It’s about humanity.
Miguel Ramirez (Michael Peña) and Jose (Michael Ray Escamilla), the companion he is saddled with as a favor to his dad, have just crossed the border and are walking down a private river wash. Meanwhile three young “vigilantes” take it upon themselves to scare them back to Mexico. Instead they spook the horse of the kind woman (Amy Madigan) who had earlier given Miguel and Jose some water and advised on where they could find work.
Roy (Ed Harris), a former Arizona sheriff rushes towards the gunfire to find Miguel, holding on to his wife’s horse and towering over her. He is eventually arrested and charged with murder, but as more facts come to light, Roy has his doubts Miguel was responsible for his wife’s death.
In his second starring role as a Latino character this year, Peña (who earlier this year played the title role in Cesar Chavez) turns in a powerful, nuanced performance (in surprisingly good Spanish) as an “illegal alien” wrongfully accused of killing an American. While in jail and fighting to convince the current Sheriff of his innocence, Miguel finds out his pregnant wife Paulina (Eva Longoria) has been raped as she attempted to cross the border to come and see him in jail.
Longoria, in what is her best dramatic film work to date, turns in a great performance also totally in Spanish. She transcended her Desperate Housewife persona. No glamour shots here, just dirt and grime and an unfortunate turn of events, as her character becomes another victim of a cruel and heartless Coyote.
Longoria fought for this role. She reached out to first-time director Michael Berry to ask to be considered for the role. She especially liked the fact that the film didn’t take sides, rather it just tell a story of two family’s tragedy and the love for one another. Most of all it’s a story that deals with immigration, a topic she is both familiar with and an advocate for.
Berry makes his directorial debut from a script he co-wrote with Louis Moulinet. The script explores different sides of a complicated issue, some of which are rarely dealt with. Berry and Moulinet’s film seeks to want to examine and understand the immigration conundrum, and kudos go to the filmmakers for doing so and staying way from stereotypes — on both sides of the issue and border.
Set along the tumultuous Arizona-Mexico border, the film starts off a bit slow, slowly pulling the audience along. In the end we realize that these are human beings who yearn, make mistakes and hurt no matter the color of their skin or the geography of where they were born.
Supporting cast Aden Young as conflicted Sheriff Randall Hunt and Michelle Rios as Flora, who works serves as interpreter at the Sheriff’s station and is Roy’s co-conspirator, turn in some solid performances.
However, a bit of a distraction is that not all the supporting actors did their required homework for playing a native Mexican. Although Peña and Longoria did a terrific job with their Spanish, some of the supporting cast fell a bit short. As trivial as it may seem to some, there are millions of Latino filmgoers that will cringe at the butchering of the Spanish. As avid filmgoers many of them know the difference between a native Spanish speaker and a “Pocho” U.S. Spanish speaker. Keeping it real with the language is important; knowing the difference at the casting stage is key.
Frontera will be released theatrically on September 5th
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