Aquí y Allá (Here and There)

It's incredibly uneventful and devastating all at once.

Esparza's cast of unknowns is so fresh and raw that the drama could be mistaken for a documentary if the camera work weren't so controlled.

A quietly devastating exploration of the cruel paradox that, in order to feed their loved ones, emigrants have to leave them behind.

The film is as simple, straightforward, and elegant as its title.

It's a confident vision, but its aversion to sentiment has the intended but unfortunate effect of making the characters' disconnects our own.

If the intent was to keep the characters here just as anonymous as most migrant workers are to prosperous people in the United States, it succeeds: Pedro and his family remain mere sketches. If, however, the aim was a more meaningful portrait of hardship and aspiration, the film is merely underdone. It's no secret that life in many places is hard.

Patience-taxingly boilerplate.