Bordertown (2006/THINKFilm)

 

Picture: C+     Sound: C+     Extras: C+     Film: C+

 

 

Though Jennifer Lopez bashing has declined a bit, she never did get a fair shake on her acting or screen presence.  I know I was not the only one who found Monster-In-Law more amusing than critics would have you believe it was and as far back as Bob Rafelson’s Blood & Wine with Jack Nicholson showed she was more than just a dancer.  She reunites with her Selena director Gregory Nava for the thriller/drama Bordertown (2006) which essentially goes after an ugly situation due to the controversial NAFTA free trade agreement.

 

Women are being raped, tortured and killed along the border and Lopez plays a reporter sent in to investigate.  Turns out that while a killer is on the loose, the darker story is that women working for next to nothing to build TV sets with no security to and from work are perfect targets for victimization and the companies who make the product along with the government are as guilty for creating the situation as the attackers taking advantage of it.

 

The script by Nava tries to juggle the thriller and political angles, but is not always able to keep that up.  However, the film has more than its share of good moments and the guts to tell a censored story that deserves to be heard.  Maybe he should have seen more films from the 1970s that knew how to do this well, but the film is worth a look including good performances from a fine cast including Martin Sheen, Sonia Braga and Antonio Banderas.

 

The anamorphically enhanced 1.85 X 1 image is a little softer than a new production should be, but the print in clean and color consistent, while the Dolby Digital 5.1 mix lacks fullness throughout with dialogue not as well-recorded as it could be.  Extras include trailers for several THINKFilm releases including this one, featurette on making the film, and three pieces about how bad the real life situation is (3,000+ murdered and counting!) and ways you can get involved.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo