The wonderful acting by Sigal Erez is likely to be the first outstanding thing that one notices in this film. Her character is created with intensity, partly by the amazing acting and partly by the well-written script. But the entire cast is excellent, including fine performances by actors whose work I had not previously known--for example, Julio Dolce Vita, Carlos Carrasco, and Brian Bloom are especially good. Bloom's anger and brutality are as convincing as the reassuring humanity of Dolce Vita and Carrasco. (Bloom's astonishing feat of leaping, in one fast action scene, is among the most dextrous film leaps that I've seen).
The story concerns the troubled lives of border-crossing Latinas and Latinos, and also the equally troubled history of the official responses to these immigrants in the U.S. But the film is never preachy. The action is fast or tender, always moving, convincing, and shot with the art that conceals art. Like the careful and and smart photography, the awareness of the film's deeper resonance is likely to occur to you only later, when you return to it, which I have already done several times.
Movies with which to compare this one include THE BORDER, EL NORTE, and LONE STAR. Nowhere among these movies is any performance as subtle, skillful, and deep as what Sigal Erez achieves in ACROSS THE LINE. And under Spottl's superb direction, this film is an outstanding contribution to that line of good movies. Highly recommended--one of the very best recent films.
