Film Review: 7 Soles

Mexican film review:

“7 Soles” (“Seven Suns”)

Directed by Mexican writer and journalist, Pedro Ultreras, “7 Soles” is a harrowing tale of crossing the Mexican-U.S. border through the Sonoran Desert. This film, based upon cases that Ultreras investigated and wrote about, humanizes the illegal immigrants who, with the help of coyotes, try to reach family members on the other side. I found it to be an extremely-difficult film to watch, as I knew what was going to happen. In a the video after the jump, Ultreras explains (in Spanish) that he was moved to make this film when he saw that an illegal immigrant had written on a piece of cardboard, “My name is… I am from… The coyotes mistreated us. They cheated us. They abandoned us. They left us here to die.”

This film is great for discussion, but its realism may be too much for some students. (In Spanish with English subtitles.)

Other films about migration to the U.S. include:

“Arizona”

Based on a real-life drama, Arizona, Death Valley presented in 1984 one of the rawest perspectives of the tragedies that the illegal emigrants encounter when they try to enter the U.S. without papers.

“La Bestia” (“The Beast”)

Pedro Ulteras portrays Central Americans who risk their lives in cargo trains en route to the U.S.

“Espaldas Mojadas “ (“Wetbacks”) in which a group of undocumented workers try to cross the Rio Grande River at the time of the “braceros.”

“Sobre el Lomo de la Bestia,”

In order to complete this documentary, Pedro Ultreras himself traveled by cargo train, to give a unique perspective to the experience of illegal immigrants.