Customer Reviews

I Witness (Asesinatos al Sur del Bravo) [NTSC/REGION 1 & 4 DVD. Import-Latin America]

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a compact, competent and criminally underrated drama about the complicated affairs of our nearest neighbor. Jeff Daniels - expert as always - is a Human Rights observer sent to monitor the unionization of an American corporation in Mexico. "First they moved us to Tennessee," a factory foreman complains. "Then they moved us here. My wife wouldn't come." James Spader works for the US State Department, which doesn't seem to do much - even in the face of policemen beating up strikers. Two missing American motorcyclists and a collapsed tunnel full of bodies are part of the mystery. Don't make up your mind until you've seen it all. Solid and absorbing.

Human rights can be so easily manipulated as this film proves. Solid writing from Robert Ozn and Colin Greene mixed with the directing prowess of Rowdy Herrington make this a gripping, tense and uplifting experience. A definite must-see.

This review is for the AMAZON VOD rental of this film. This is a good thriller
about the exploitation of workers in Mexico. Good, well paced story with nice
work from the actors. Jeff Daniels, James Spader and Portia de Rossi are very
good but Clifton Collins Jr. steals the show playing a honest Mexican policeman.
This film is well worth the VOD rental price.

Not recommended. 15 minutes was more than enough. Thanks to fast forward. Too violent. Boring. Couldn't get into it. Not my type.

This is a mystery-thriller that is also an expose. The viewer is taken South of the border and shown what goes on when business, American interests and local politics don't mesh as well as some would like.

Two young men are doing some off-road biking in Mexico. They are murdered for no apparent reason. 27 people are found dead in a tunnel under Tijuana. Is there a connection? And if so, what is it?

Jeff Daniels is a civil rights rep in town to see that the upcoming union elections at an American owned factory are on the up and up. James Spader is with the Justice department to see that American interests are upheld and Portia de Rossi is with the U.S. Trade Department as an impartial observer. Cliff Collins is a clean cop investigating the deaths of the 27 victims. The lives of all four intertwine as the story gets thicker.

This is some ugly stuff. There is an unbelievable level of crime and corruption at nearly every turn and it makes you sick. To see so many lives forfeit for stupidity and greed is too much to bare. Rowdy Herrington does a great job of directing it all. And this is no high budget, flashy Hollywood stuff. It's done in a very plain, lo-fi style to let the story speak for itself. You love these characters. Daniels is in a tough spot dealing with powers that do not want the factory unionized, but he doesn't back down. He's in their face at every turn. Spader likes Daniels but their jobs are at odds with each other and this won't end well. De Rossi thinks she's doing well but comes to realize that this is a lot bigger than she is and she doesn't like that realization. Collins wants to paint by numbers and file a report but his conscience gets the better of him.

This is great stuff told in a great way. The ending doesn't ring true, because sometimes the bad guys DO win but it makes the viewer feel better to see it this way. This is a smart script driving a smart movie with a great and real feel to it. If you like this sort of thing, you'll love this.