Immigrants invisible in the movies?

Sep 11, 2007 18:56

So I've been thinking ( Read more... )

expats, culture, film

Leave a comment

Comments 24

soshesays September 12 2007, 04:35:28 UTC
Oh, I can think of loads off the top of my head. I saw 'Wetback' and 'Crossing Arizona' over the summer, and they were really interesting. There was another one about INS headaches, I'm not completely sure about the title though -- 'Founded Fears' or something? Those are both more documentary than drama, though, so I'm not sure if they're what you're looking for. Other films I can think of:

Bread and Roses, Mexico
House of Sand and Fog, Iran
West Side Story, Puerto Rico
The Joy Luck Club, China
Bend it Like Beckham, India
The Mambo Kings, Cuba
Lost Boys of Sudan, Sudan obviously
God Grew Tired of Us, Sudan
Spanglish, Mexico
Stand and Deliver, Mexico (I think, it's been eons since I saw this)

Oh, and AN AMERICAN TALE, which I was positively obsessed with when I was a kid.

Reply

soshesays September 12 2007, 04:42:47 UTC
Wait, some more I've thought of since hitting submit.

Maria Full of Grace, Colombia
Crash, general
The Terminal, bit of a stretch but same idea

Reply

blue_hours_too September 14 2007, 06:51:26 UTC
Haven't seen "The Terminal", is that with Tom Hanks? "Maria Full Of Grace" was interesting and I liked "Crash" even though I thought they really took it to the extremes.

Reply

stainsteelrat September 12 2007, 12:39:45 UTC
Several of these came to mind for me as well

East is East (1999) also. Like Bend it Like Beckham this is also set in the UK.

Reply


cloud_plougher September 12 2007, 04:57:41 UTC
I know you are looking for features, but I just saw a documentary on PBS about garment workers called *Made in L.A.*. But you probably know that. I thought it was very good.

Reply

blue_hours_too September 14 2007, 06:20:11 UTC
That reminds me of "Real Women Have Curves". I love PBS, will look for it there, thanks.

Reply


birgitte September 12 2007, 06:04:07 UTC
I thought of two movies when I read your post, Man Push Cart about a Pakistani coffee seller in Manhattan and the more positive What's Cooking about thanksgiving in an LA neighbourhood, where one family is Mexican and another Chinese. Ah, and then of course The Namesake about the gap between the American-born Gogol and his Indian parents.

Reply

blue_hours_too September 14 2007, 06:23:26 UTC
Oh wow, "Man Push Cart" sounds really interesting, so does "The Namesake", thanks - I put in it my Netflix queue. :) I have seen "What's Cooking" and thought it wasn't that great but it definitely was on topic.

Reply


sindhu_rella September 12 2007, 07:48:44 UTC
Wow, just reading thru your comments reminded me of a bunch of movies I've been meaning to see and haven't as yet!

Reply

blue_hours_too September 14 2007, 06:24:17 UTC
Good. =) I'm a movie addict.

Reply


plicease September 12 2007, 07:54:35 UTC
This year I saw an Australian film: "Romulus, My Father" which I liked a lot, which is about the immigrant experience here in Australia. Franka Potente was in it. I am not sure if it ever made it to the states. Australia, like America is a country of immigrants.

I have always been interested in the subject, but mostly because it's more personal than for most people.

Reply

blue_hours_too September 14 2007, 06:27:17 UTC
Yeah, it's personal for me too. I don't see "Romulus, My Father" on Netflix, maybe it hasn't made it here {yet}.

Reply


Leave a comment

Up