Exile Nation

The rough edges of Charles Shaw's documentary can be forgiven, as key sequences had to be filmed with miniature videocams and cell phones while Shaw explored the dangerous Zona Norte, a no-man's land on the outskirts of Tijuana. Located some 20 miles south of San Diego, the area is a poster child for dysfunctional immigration policies on the U.S.-Mexican border. Narrator Edward James Olmos (who also co-produced) says that this is where Mexican-Americans, including those with many years of U.S. residence, are summarily dumped/deported for relatively minor lawbreaking (such as drug use) and incomplete citizenship. The blame is placed on badly written laws, ranging from racist anti-Mexican legislation of the 1930s to hysterical policies enacted after 9/11. Either way, Zona Norte is a violent, volatile place of banishment for these largely homeless, so-called plastic people—Mexican-Americans who are welcome neither in Mexico nor America. No official voices from either country are heard here, although the filmmaker does talk with grassroots activists, such as the late Chris Bava, a photographer who made a specialty of humanizing these outcasts. A timely film given the current election-year immigration controversy, this is highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (C. Cassady)