Bordertown

Bordertown is a fictional story based on actual events in Juarez, Mexico. The movie chronicles the detestable situation in Juarez that started in 1993, involving hundreds of unsolved murders. The victims of these murders were predominantly young females. The movie does an excellent job of telling a compelling story without coming off as preachy or propaganda. Although the ties to NAFTA are tenuous, the story does explore several explanations for these still unsolved murders.

The writing in this movie was exceptional. The plot revolves around actual events, inserting characters into a despicable set of circumstances evolving in Juarez, Mexico. The story involves a reporter who reluctantly agrees to investigate the unsolved murders in Juarez in exchange for an opportunity to be assigned as head of the Foreign Affairs Desk at her newspaper. She is a prize-winning journalist who returns to her own Spanish roots becoming drawn deeply into the story of suffering and fear. She teams up with a local journalist with whom she used to work. Politics, money and NAFTA play a heavy role in determining the direction of the movie which center on a young female survivor who can identify her attackers. Her story is compelling…will it ever be told?

The dialogue in Bordertown flowed smoothly and was easy to believe. Although the circumstances were sometimes convenient, they did not detract from the story. The characters were very well developed and captured my attention. I was rapt with the suspense as the layers of this story were slowly peeled away to reveal the sick under-belly of corruption and greed that caused the Governments of the United States and Mexico to “look the other way” while terrible events unraveled. The connection to NAFTA was weak considering the murders began before NAFTA was ever signed into law. The corruption angle would have been better served if it didn’t involve such ominous allegations. However, the political undercurrent in the story was integrated into the script in such a way as to create an appearance of entertainment and not preachiness. There were also some indications that snuff films were part of the issue causing the deaths. This aspect was never really explored.

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