The impact of illegal immigration on middle-class America is the subject of filmmakers Carlos Sandoval and Catherine Tambini's technically conventional but intriguing documentary Farmingville, originally shown as part of PBS's POV series. What is unusual here is that the community affected by an influx of Mexican workers doesn't lie in the Southwest, but rather on New York's Long Island, where plentiful jobs in construction and landscaping attracted undocumented day laborers who eventually comprised a tenth of the population of the titular middle-class town. The film concentrates on the reaction of the locals--some band together to fight what they perceive as a threat to their safety and way of life, while others respond with efforts to support the workers and seek resolutions that might restore peace to an increasingly divided community. In brief interviews following the documentary, the filmmakers explain that their intention was to draw a balanced portrait of the contending parties, but it's not difficult to perceive where their sympathies lie (the frequently abrasive attitudes of the anti-immigrant forces are spotlighted and a brutal attack on two Mexican men is employed as a sort of leitmotif throughout). Still, even though Farmingville has a distinct point of view, it also focuses much-needed attention on a sociopolitical problem that has become, sadly, even more urgent and inflammatory in the aftermath of 9/11. DVD extras include deleted scenes. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)
Farmingville
(2004) 78 min. VHS: $39.95, DVD: $26.95. Docurama (avail. from most distributors). Color cover. Closed captioned. ISBN: 0-7670-6812-2 (vhs), 0-7670-6813-0 (dvd). Volume 19, Issue 6
Farmingville
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