Walls of the World: Security, Division & Unity

There's not much here that's new in this sad documentary, which focuses strictly on the Mexico-U.S. border wall and its impact on real people's lives. In other words, the film is not about immigration policy or herding people into cages or any of that. An ugly and dehumanizing blot on the land, the wall's forbidding look and length in overhead shots make it appear an embarrassing admission of America's determination to demonize migrants trying to feed their families. Yes, there are indeed truly bad people crossing the border illegally, too, and we do hear from supporters of Donald Trump and from vigilantes who make a strong case for protecting their own properties from drug-runners. But those kinds of invaders are not the ones we see standing on one side of the wall clutching the fingers of their children standing helplessly and forlornly on the other side, with everyone in tears. Nothing here will really change anyone's mind, on any side of the argument, about illegal immigration. But it is good to see we're not talking about migrants in the abstract, but as flesh and blood people. Strongly recommended. Aud: J, H, C, P. (T. Keogh)