The films continue

Two more films experienced. Short Docs and the wonderful "Sin Nombre." The shorts performance for docs was a little disappointing, to be honest. I saw short Docs last year, and they were some of my best films. This year was not the same. Two of the short Docs were interesting, but as a whole, it did not leave me inspired. One of them, called “Utopia: Pt. 3” was about the biggest mall in the world. It is in China, and twice the size as the Mall of America. It was built in an area of China that is not connected to any freeways, and is a tiny, undeveloped town. Therefore, no one is going to the mall. In fact, there are only twelve shops open for business in the entire complex. The film was full of epic isolation shots – completely empty hallways, and vacant storefronts. It was eerie. Besides that, the Docs were a disappointment.

"Sin Nombre," on the other hand, was incredible. A film about immigration from Honduras all the way through Mexico and into the United States, "Sin Nombre" was every bit a real depiction of the struggle. Immigrants would travel on the tops of trains all the way across the Mexican countryside. The film was so real, and heavy. It was hard to watch. It was the prototypical Sundance film. "Sin Nombre" forced viewers to be real with a real situation. This is happening. Right now, its happening.
People are dying in the desert, falling off trains, being exploited
– and some actually make it to the States.
It’s hard to swallow.
The film really moved me.