UPDATE: 6/29/09 @ 6:34pm
Found this very well done video and review from Deborah Bonello for La Plaza | Los Angeles Times when “Los Que Se Quedan” was screened at the 2009 Guadalajara Film Festival.
The Mexican documentary film Los Que Se Quedan (Those Who Remain) from Directors Juan Carlos Rulfo and Carlos Hagerman has been screening at the 2009 LA Film Festival. The film has a final screening at the Landmark on Saturday, June 27, 2009.
Its a film that sheds light on how families that are left behind by loved ones who emigrated to the U.S. in search of economic opportunities, while also illuminating the richness of the Mexican spirit, culture and identity.
The documentary follows a number of families who share their personal stories which encompass dreams and heartbreakingly tragedy. Directors Juan Carlos Rulfo and Carlos Hagerman examine the emotional costs of long term absences and the impact that estrangement has upon those families left behind. The film is rich in cinematic metaphor, replete with the deserted, the newly constructed homes along the highway, the empty rooms of such homes serving as powerful reminders of the absence of loved ones.
The small joyous moments are present at otherwise joyous occasions like communions and graduations. Despite this void in their communities, many of those profiled emerge as colorful characters with boundless vitality and wonderful senses of humor.
The documentary film deliberately eschews politics and focuses on “the other side” of the immigrant story and speaks to the generations of families divided by the U.S.-Mexico border. The film features a soundtrack from Cafe Tacuba.
