This movie talks about immigration as the central theme that links the 3 protagonists, all from different countries around the world, together. We learn about three children: Prisciliano from Mexico, Angel from Cuba, and Fatima from Morocco. They share one thing in common: their fathers have left to go to a more prosperous country to find work and take care of their families from afar. Prisciliano and Angel’s father went to the US, and Fatima’s father left for Spain. Furthermore, all three children decide to try to go to the other side and find their fathers to bring home. Are any of them successful? You’ll just have to watch to find out!
Although there is a lot of controversy around immigration, especially for Hispanic communities, I know that some teachers are shying away from showing any movie about illegal immigration in their classrooms. And even though a part of me understands that we don’t want to perpetuate a stereotype, I’m actually in favor of showing my students a movie about immigration because it shows the courage and strength that it takes to make it to the other side unscathed. Also, it’s a wonderful way to personalize a constant issue that many countries such as the US face: how do we regulate immigration? To what extent will we open our arms and borders to other people who desperately need it? It’s important to show the issues in hopes that the younger generations will work to resolve them. And I do believe that this movie is the perfect one to address this difficult topic.
As I said, I show this to my high school classes – ages freshmen and up. I normally show it in Spanish 3 or higher (even showed it to a few of my AP classes and they loved it). Because you see scenes take place in Mexico, Cuba, and Spain, it also gives the students an opportunity to hear and learn different accents and slang from the three countries, which is an added bonus. There are subtitles, therefore, it can be shown at any level. Even if you’re not a teacher, I do recommend it to learn more about the struggles some families face and why some leave to follow their “American dream”, and how that affects the ones they leave behind. All in all, I loved this movie and hope you do, too!
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