***** (Five stars)
Instead of fixating on the topic of illegal immigrants working for low wages in America, this documentary focuses on a side of the alien experience we don't read every week in The New York Times—illegal immigrants behind bars for murder. In following the trial of Rosa Jimenez, director Lucía Gajá is able to shed new light on the struggle of incoming refugees attempting to adapt to an American way of life that they don't really understand. Jimenez, like others, is ultimately a victim of her own ignorance. By time we see the defense and prosecution give their closing arguments back to back, we know how the story’s going to end, yet Gajá makes us confront every agonizing minute of this denouement. In so doing, she brings us face to face with another uncomfortable aspect of this issue: Americans love to find someone else to blame.—Daniel Lehrhaupt, online intern
[This is a TONY staff review, written for the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival. It is not considered an official review and should not be read as such. Please think of it as a casual impression from a movie-loving friend.]