Crossing Over (2009)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Wayne Kramer

Writer:

Wayne Kramer (written by)

Release Date:

26 February 2009 (Bahrain)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Every day thousands of people illegally cross our borders... only one thing stands in their way. America.

Plot:

Crossing Over is a multi-character canvas about immigrants of different nationalities struggling to achieve legal status in Los Angeles...

Plot Keywords:

Fraud | Green Card | Pistol | Liquor Store | Koreatown

Cast

Harrison Ford	...	Max Brogan
Ray Liotta	...	Cole Frankel
Ashley Judd	...	Denise Frankel
Jim Sturgess	...	Gavin Kossef
Cliff Curtis	...	Hamid Baraheri
Summer Bishil	...	Taslima Jahangir
Alice Braga	...	Mireya Sanchez
Alice Eve	...	Claire Shepard
Jacqueline Obradors	...	Special Agent Phadkar
Justin Chon	...	Yong Kim
Melody Khazae	...	Zahra Baraheri
Merik Tadros	...	Farid Baraheri
Marshall Manesh	...	Sanjar Baraheri
Nina Nayebi	...	Minoo Baraheri
Naila Azad	...	Rokeya Jahangir

MPAA:

Rated R for pervasive language, some strong violence and sexuality/nudity.

Runtime:

USA:113 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | DTS | Dolby

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #44822) | Singapore:M18 | Norway:15 | Finland:K-15 | Hong Kong:IIB | Ireland:16 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | Germany:16 (f)

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

C.O. Films

Trivia:

Director Wayne Kramer's original cut was 140 minutes long, but despite having the right to final cut he agreed to be involved in editing the film down to two hours when Harvey Weinstein allegedly threatened to release the film straight to DVD, and bypass theatrical altogether.

Movie Connections:

References A River Runs Through It (1992)

Soundtrack:

Mistake the Enemy

self-indulgent patriotic propaganda

first things first; to me it seems that this movie only attempts to cash in on the success that "crash" has had 2-3 years back.

on the surface the feature has some good performances(the boring professional sort if you ask me) and 1 good scene( Cliff Curtis -the supermarket) but everything else is a cliché, and of the worst kind; trying hard to please the American viewer as in how he would LIKE to FEEL(in general) but not how the reality IS; this aspect would be OK but as part in the "fiction" category, and not as advertised - "realistic" drama"...

the dialogs come out straight from the government public relations department. the subliminal patriotic message is promoted in almost EVERY scene in a direct or indirect manner. some tear-jerking scenes for effect and "compassion" but which in a very offensive manner promote exactly the OPPOSITE in how the viewer should asses the reality...

also what really upsets me is how LITTLE the screenwriters actually do NOT know about immigrants.for starters there is an ABSURD out-of-date interpretations as in why people come to America this days. the immigrants are seen as "sheeps" and the "true" Americans as very sensible people even when in the wrong.

in a sentence - this plot attempts to influence the American public that they have it much much better then the rest of the world and keep them content.

to be frank, i would have preferred to watch "crash" all over again instead of this. at least that director has lived WITH immigrants for so long and he did have some things to point out unlike this brainwashing parody of a "drama".