Split Decision

If the Hollywood big shots were paying attention (not likely!), they'd see that the story of Jesus "El Matador" Chavez has all the making of box office gold: it's a fight film about following one's dreams in the face of enormous cultural and personal adversities, featuring a young and handsome Latino leading man. It is unlikely, however, that Hollywood could do any better in bringing out the drama of this story (or the underlying social issues) than filmmaker Marcy Garriott has here. Born in Mexico and raised on Chicago's mean streets, Chavez was a kid who showed early promise in the ring, and then promptly blew it by landing in prison for seven years on a robbery rap. Upon his release, he was immediately deported back to Mexico, only to return to the States as an illegal. Determined to put the past behind him, Chavez again passionately devoted himself to the ring, eventually making it to within near reach of the world super-featherweight championship. Then the INS, armed with new, tough on crime immigration legislation, caught on, clamped down, and bounced him back to Chihuahua. A stranger in the country of his birth, Chavez was forced to work his way up again, against stiff odds. The film ends on a Rockyesque upbeat note, with his taking of the Mexican National Championship, and a glimmer of hope for clemency and a return to the U.S. on the horizon. Garriott is a skilled and compelling storyteller, although if there's a central flaw in her approach, it's her tendency to use Chavez' case as a basis for over-simplified and over-generalized criticism of immigration policy. The issues are simply too complex to deal with effectively in this limited context. Despite this shortcoming, Split Decision is an engaging and worthwhile video. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (G. Handman)