From the Other Side

While it's clear where the filmmaker's sympathies lie, the view presented is relatively balanced.

Akerman's characteristically patient, pensive approach elegantly accommodates her reportorial responsibilities.

A spare, painterly and scrupulously unsentimental look at the plight of illegal Mexican immigrants massed at the United States border.

Though it clearly explicates the problem, the film is by no means a straightforward documentary.

Akerman is among the most imaginative filmmakers in her native Belgium or anywhere else, but here she doesn't get very far beneath the surface of her subject.