''Bordertown'' is a 2007 American
drama film
In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...
written and directed by
Gregory Nava
Gregory James Nava (born April 10, 1949) is an American film director, producer and screenwriter.
Personal life
Nava was born in San Diego, of Mexican and Basque heritage. Nava graduated from St. Augustine High School in San Diego and went on t ...
, and starring
Jennifer Lopez (who also served as a producer),
Martin Sheen
Ramón Antonio Gerardo Estévez (born August 3, 1940), known professionally as Martin Sheen, is an American actor. He first became known for his roles in the films ''The Subject Was Roses'' (1968) and ''Badlands'' (1973), and later achieved wid ...
, Maya Zapata,
Sônia Braga
Sônia Maria Campos Braga (; born 8 June 1950) is a Brazilian actress. She is known in the English-speaking world for her Golden Globe Award–nominated performances in '' Kiss of the Spider Woman'' (1985) and ''Moon over Parador'' (1988). She ...
and
Antonio Banderas.
The film is inspired by the true story of the numerous
female homicides in Ciudad Juárez
Female ( symbol: ♀) is the sex of an organism that produces the large non-motile ova (egg cells), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the male gamete during sexual reproduction.
A female has larger gametes than a male. Females ...
and tells the story of an inquisitive American reporter sent in by her American newspaper to investigate the murders.
Lopez also recorded a song for the film entitled ''Porque La Vida Es Asi''.
Plot
The opening titles explain that American corporations are using the
North American Free Trade Agreement by opening large ''
maquiladoras'' right across the
United States–Mexico border
United may refer to:
Places
* United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community
* United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community
Arts and entertainment Films
* ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film
* ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...
. The maquiladoras hire mostly Mexican women to work long hours for little money in order to produce mass quantity products.
Lauren Adrian (
Jennifer Lopez), an impassioned American news reporter for the ''Chicago Sentinel'' wants to be assigned to the Iraq front-lines to cover the war. Instead, her editor George Morgan (
Martin Sheen
Ramón Antonio Gerardo Estévez (born August 3, 1940), known professionally as Martin Sheen, is an American actor. He first became known for his roles in the films ''The Subject Was Roses'' (1968) and ''Badlands'' (1973), and later achieved wid ...
) assigns her to investigate a series of slayings involving young ''maquiladora'' factory women in a Mexican bordertown.
Worker Eva (Maya Zapata), originally from the southern Mexican state of
Oaxaca
Oaxaca ( , also , , from nci, Huāxyacac ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca), is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of Mexico. It is ...
, takes a bus to go back to her shanty-town home after work. After a while she is the last passenger still in the bus. The driver asks her if she minds if he goes to a gas station to fill up, and Eva agrees. However, he takes her to a remote place and assaults and rapes her, together with another man, who then tries to strangle her. The two men, believing she's dead, bury her alive. With the little energy she has left, Eva escapes.
Adrian heads to
Ciudad Juárez,
Chihuahua, on the U.S.–Mexico border to investigate the murders, hoping that if she does well she will be promoted by Morgan to be a foreign correspondent. In Juárez, Adrian meets up with Diaz (
Antonio Banderas), whom she had been working with six years before, and who is now the editor for the local newspaper ''El Sol de Juárez''. She also meets Eva.
The three try to find the two killers and have them prosecuted. For this purpose Adrian starts working in the factory in order to act as bait on the bus ride. The driver tries to assault her in the same way he did Eva, and although police assistance has been arranged, they are at the wrong place. She manages to escape her attacker. Later Diaz gets shot and killed in a drive-by shooting. Eva changes her mind and does not want to testify any more for fear of revenge, and tries to flee to the U.S., together with others in the trunk of a car. She gets caught and is sent back. Adrian convinces her to testify after all. For political reasons the ''Chicago Sentinel'' refuses to publish Adrian's story. Adrian quits and becomes the editor for ''El Sol de Juárez''.
Cast
*
Jennifer Lopez as Lauren Adrian: reporter for the ''Chicago Sentinel'', and daughter of Mexican immigrants.
*
Antonio Banderas as Alfonso Diaz: founder of newspaper ''El Sol.''
* Maya Zapata as Eva Jimenez: factory worker and rape survivor.
*
Sônia Braga
Sônia Maria Campos Braga (; born 8 June 1950) is a Brazilian actress. She is known in the English-speaking world for her Golden Globe Award–nominated performances in '' Kiss of the Spider Woman'' (1985) and ''Moon over Parador'' (1988). She ...
as Teresa Casillas: founder of an organization trying to help the women in Juárez.
*
Teresa Ruiz as Cecila Rojas: a young factory worker.
*
Juan Diego Botto
Juan Diego Botto Rota (born 29 August 1975) is an Argentine-Spanish film, stage and television actor.
Born in Argentina, he moved to Spain together with his mother (the actress and acting coach Cristina Rota) in 1978. Following early film appe ...
as Marco Antonio Salamanca: son of the extremely rich Salamanca family, owner of one of the maquiladora.
*
Zaide Silvia Gutiérrez
Zaide Silvia Gutiérrez (born November 2, 1958) is a Mexican actress whose breakout role was the 1983 film '' El Norte.''IMDb
film data ...
as Lourdes Jimenez: Eva's concerned mother.
* Rene Rivera as Aris Rodriguez: rapist.
* Irineo Alvarez as Domingo Esparza: bus driver and rapist.
*
Martin Sheen
Ramón Antonio Gerardo Estévez (born August 3, 1940), known professionally as Martin Sheen, is an American actor. He first became known for his roles in the films ''The Subject Was Roses'' (1968) and ''Badlands'' (1973), and later achieved wid ...
as George Morgan: Lauren's boss.
*
Randall Batinkoff
Randall Matthew Batinkoff (born October 16, 1968) is an American actor, known for his roles in the films '' For Keeps'', '' School Ties'', and ''Higher Learning''.
Early life and education
Batinkoff was born in Monticello, New York, the son of Ba ...
as Frank Kozerski: Lauren's co-worker and friend.
*
Kate del Castillo
Kate del Castillo Negrete Trillo () is a Mexican-American actress. At the age of 19, del Castillo became known for her lead role in the telenovela '' Muchachitas'' for Televisa in 1991. Afterwards, she continued her career in film and televisio ...
as Elena Diaz.
*
Juanes as himself
Production
Background
The motion picture is based on a series of unsolved murders in
Ciudad Juárez,
Chihuahua, a large Mexican
border
Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders c ...
city across the
Río Bravo del Norte
The Rio Grande ( and ), known in Mexico as the Río Bravo del Norte or simply the Río Bravo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the southwestern United States and in northern Mexico.
The length of the Rio G ...
(Rio Grande) from
El Paso, Texas
El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the county seat, seat of El Paso County, Texas, El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau w ...
.
When
Gregory Nava
Gregory James Nava (born April 10, 1949) is an American film director, producer and screenwriter.
Personal life
Nava was born in San Diego, of Mexican and Basque heritage. Nava graduated from St. Augustine High School in San Diego and went on t ...
first heard about the murders in Ciudad Juárez he wanted to do something. He said that his vision became to tell the stories through "an exciting thriller-drama".
[Gerson, Daniela]
''Spiegel International'', from Berlinale, February 15, 2007.
Gregory Nava
Gregory James Nava (born April 10, 1949) is an American film director, producer and screenwriter.
Personal life
Nava was born in San Diego, of Mexican and Basque heritage. Nava graduated from St. Augustine High School in San Diego and went on t ...
approached
Jennifer Lopez to do the film in 1998 and she was receptive. Lopez said, "Since first hearing of these atrocities in 1998, when
Gregory Nava
Gregory James Nava (born April 10, 1949) is an American film director, producer and screenwriter.
Personal life
Nava was born in San Diego, of Mexican and Basque heritage. Nava graduated from St. Augustine High School in San Diego and went on t ...
came to me with this project, I desperately wanted to tell this story. I began working to ensure we made this film in order to bring the attention of the world to
hetragedy and to pressure the
Mexican government
The Federal government of Mexico (alternately known as the Government of the Republic or ' or ') is the national government of the United Mexican States, the central government established by its constitution to share sovereignty over the republi ...
to bring to justice those responsible for these horrible crimes."
[''Mainichi Daily News'']
"Lopez to receive award from human rights group for ''Bordertown''," entertainment article, February 3, 2007.
Director
Gregory Nava
Gregory James Nava (born April 10, 1949) is an American film director, producer and screenwriter.
Personal life
Nava was born in San Diego, of Mexican and Basque heritage. Nava graduated from St. Augustine High School in San Diego and went on t ...
and executive producer Barbara Martinez-Jitner believed that the film would bring strong reactions.
Gregory Nava
Gregory James Nava (born April 10, 1949) is an American film director, producer and screenwriter.
Personal life
Nava was born in San Diego, of Mexican and Basque heritage. Nava graduated from St. Augustine High School in San Diego and went on t ...
has said the production received threats against himself and the cast. Also, there was stolen equipment and intimidation of film crew members when they filmed in Mexico.
According to Martinez-Jitner, when they first filmed in Ciudad Juárez, the police began threatening locals who were helping the production. They also began stalking the crew. A camera truck was vandalized and $100,000 worth of film equipment was stolen.
''Bordertown'' places the blame for the murders upon the Mexican government, the United States and the ''maquiladora'' assembly plants that were brought rapidly into existence by the
North American Free Trade Agreement.
Gregory Nava
Gregory James Nava (born April 10, 1949) is an American film director, producer and screenwriter.
Personal life
Nava was born in San Diego, of Mexican and Basque heritage. Nava graduated from St. Augustine High School in San Diego and went on t ...
said, "
hen
Hen commonly refers to a female animal: a female chicken, other gallinaceous bird, any type of bird in general, or a lobster. It is also a slang term for a woman.
Hen or Hens may also refer to:
Places Norway
*Hen, Buskerud, a village in Ringer ...
there are very powerful forces involved, you're going to be attacked. I expect the Mexican government to get very upset about it."
Screenplay
The inspiration for the story, according to
Gregory Nava
Gregory James Nava (born April 10, 1949) is an American film director, producer and screenwriter.
Personal life
Nava was born in San Diego, of Mexican and Basque heritage. Nava graduated from St. Augustine High School in San Diego and went on t ...
, was the work of Guatemalan writer
Miguel Ángel Asturias
Miguel Ángel Asturias Rosales (; October 19, 1899 – June 9, 1974) was a Nobel Prize-winning Guatemalan poet-diplomat, novelist, playwright and journalist. Asturias helped establish Latin American literature's contribution to mainstream W ...
, the
magic realism of novelist
Gabriel García Márquez
Gabriel José de la Concordia García Márquez (; 6 March 1927 – 17 April 2014) was a Colombian novelist, short-story writer, screenwriter, and journalist, known affectionately as Gabo () or Gabito () throughout Latin America. Considered one ...
, and the social dramas of
Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands
* Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
's
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...
. He also said the screenplay was a return to an ''
El Norte'' type of screenplay (
Oscar
Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to:
People
* Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms.
* Oscar (Irish mythology) ...
nominated). In ''El Norte'' he created a screenplay from many of the interviews he conducted. He did the same in ''Bordertown.''
[
]
Financing
Mobius Entertainment, the production company, borrowed money to complete the project from the New Mexico State Investment Council (NMSI) but was late in paying back the loan in March, 2006. A second $12.65 million loan could be called in by NMSI before its November, 2007 due date because of the late payments. The second loan calls for zero interest because the state of New Mexico
)
, population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano)
, seat = Santa Fe
, LargestCity = Albuquerque
, LargestMetro = Tiguex
, OfficialLang = None
, Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ke ...
will take ten percent of any profits the film might make. Film producers said the delay of payment was due to filming taking longer than expected.
At one point the film was in development with both New Line Cinema
New Line Cinema is an American film production studio owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and is a film label of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye as an independent film distribution company; later becoming a film studio after ...
and MGM
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...
.
Filming locations
Filming locations include: Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the United States; and Nogales, Sonora
Heroica Nogales (), more commonly known as Nogales, is a city and the county seat of the Municipality of Nogales. It is located on the northern border of the Mexican state of Sonora. The city is abutted on its north by the city of Nogales, Arizo ...
, Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, and Mexicali, Baja California, in Mexico.
Reception
Box office
The movie was released in theaters internationally only, starting in Germany on February 22, 2007. The film ended up grossing $8,327,171 worldwide.[ at BoxOfficeMojo.com by ]IMDbPro
IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...
It was released straight-to-DVD in the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
on January 29, 2008.
Critical response
Kirk Honeycutt, in ''The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly larg ...
'', wrote: "It wants to be a thriller, a piece of investigative journalism, a political soapbox and a vehicle for Jennifer Lopez. It serves none of these masters well." Honeycutt also said the screenplay is full of plot holes.
According to media reports, the audience reacted with a mixture of "boos and muted applause" when the film finished screening.
The film was also criticized for a gratuitous musical performance and cameo by the Colombian recording artist Juanes, seen by many as pandering to a Latino audience.
''Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' magazine film critic, Leslie Felperin, had a problem with some of the arguments made in the film, namely: that the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the exploitation of Mexican labor directly led to the killing of many women in Ciudad Juárez. Felperin wrote, "Possible co-factors or causes of the real crime spree, such as rife drug-related criminality, domestic violence largely ignored by the authorities, and the possibility that at least some of the culprits may be U.S. citizens crossing the border to kill for kicks, are not explored here." As for the film, Felperin calls the movie "only fair-to-poor".
Accolades
* Jennifer Lopez received the "Artists for Amnesty" award presented by Amnesty International at the Berlin International Film Festival
The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the fest ...
. She won the award for her role as producer and star of a film "examining the ongoing murders of hundreds of women in a Mexican border town".[European-films]
web site.
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bordertown (2007 Film)
Films about Mexican drug cartels
2007 films
2007 independent films
2007 thriller drama films
American thriller drama films
American political drama films
2000s English-language films
Films about journalists
Films directed by Gregory Nava
Films set in Mexico
Films shot in New Mexico
American independent films
2000s Spanish-language films
Nuyorican Productions films
Films scored by Graeme Revell
2007 drama films
2007 multilingual films
American multilingual films
2000s American films
2000s Mexican films