Chèche Lavi (Looking for Life)

Seasoned camera operator Sam Ellison ("Manchester By the Sea," "Vox Lux") makes his directorial debut with this low-key but heartbreaking documentary about the painful impact of U.S. immigration policies on two well-meaning Haitian men. Following the devastating, December 2010 earthquake that left Haiti in physical and economic ruins, hundreds of young Haitians fled to Brazil to provide cheap, short-term labor. When that ended, a rumor the United States was giving preferential treatment to Haitians spurred these migrants to relocate to Tijuana and wait for a U.S. asylum interview appointment. Two of these hopefuls, Robens and James, are the focus of this film, though the fact that not much happens to them in the first half is part of Ellison's point. The pair meanders through Tijuana's streets, eating, talking about basketball—pretty much just killing time until their opportunity comes to cross the border into the U.S. legally. In the film's second half, James is whisked north but then trapped in the ICE detention system, leaving a forlorn Robens alone and much less likely to be admitted to America following the election of Donald Trump. As the film's title implies, the subject here really is life being lived even under the emotionally numbing weight of being an unwanted man unable to go anywhere but the undesirable place beneath his feet. Strongly recommended. Aud: I, J, H, C, P (T. Keogh)