Alambrista! (1977)

Great Film overall

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

I saw this in Sociology class at the University of San Francisco. Outstanding narrative of a poor young man who simply wants to support his family. What's refreshing and quite funny is the depiction of some of the most bizarre aspects of American life. The scene where the lead attends a tent revival and witnesses some of the members heaving and pitching on the floor is hilarious. What I appreciated most about this film was the film's statement that many white Americans need to deal with much the same insecurity and yearnings as do their Mexican brethren. Capitalism's most brutal aspects are laid bare and it doesn't matter who is in way if profit is to be collected. Highly recommend this to anyone who is fed up with the moronic fare of current Hollywood films...

After the birth of his first child, Roberto, a young Mexican man slips across the border into the United States. Seeking work to support his family back home, he finds that working hard is not enough.I wish I could recall the name of another film I watched not too long ago about the immigrant experience of crossing the border and trying to find work in America. While different, the two make a good pair and a thorough analysis comparing and contrasting them would make for a great essay.One of the more interesting things about this is how smoothly things go, for the most part. Yes, there is an incident in the junkyard concerning bad food, but one of the first Americans encountered goes out of her way to help the man despite knowing almost no Spanish at all.

Excellent film about the experiences of a Mexican migrant worker (Domingo Ambriz). Shot in a very authentic documentary style, it follows Ambriz's fleeting experiences. In the blink of an eye, the man's life changes, and he has no choice but just to go along with wherever the wind takes him. One moment he's traveling across the country with his buddy (Trinidad Salva), the next moment his friend's gone forever. One moment he's involved with a single mother (Linda Gillen), the next moment he's being transported back to Mexico by Immigration officers. This was director Young's first film, made for PBS. IMDb actually lists his Short Eyes, which is an even better film (a masterpiece, in my opinion), as having come out first. Young re-edited the film into a director's cut in 2001, actually shortening it by about 15 minutes. That's the version presented by Criterion on their new edition. It's an unearthed gem.

Also released as The Illegal, Alambrista! (which actually translates as tightrope walker) relates the story of a Mexican man who emigrates to the U.S. in order to make a better life for his family south of the border. Domingo Ambriz delivers a flawless performance as Roberto, who hopes that Yankee dollars will enable him to provide for his wife and new child but quickly learns that he's just a tool in the hands of coyotes (one of whom is played by Ned Beatty) and employers alike. He meets a friendly American waitress (winsome Linda Gillen), gets taken to an evangelical church service, and eats LOTS of ham and eggs before he decides life was better back home. Directed by Robert M. Young (not the actor, but the helmer of the equally excellent Short Eyes), Alambrista! won the Golden Camera at Cannes in 1977, but quickly sank into oblivion thereafter. That's understandable considering it's a sympathetic take on one of America's favorite whipping boys, but the film comes highly recommended for those willing to overlook the protagonist's disdain for federal immigration laws. One to avoid for the Tom Tancredo crowd.