BORDER

Name: BORDER
Item: BORDER
Author: Review

“Where Do You Stand on the BORDER?”

Family Content: -1 Caution advised for older children, including teenagers, and sensitive adults.

Entertainment Quality:

	None	Light	Moderate	Heavy
Language
Violence
Sex
Nudity

Credits →

What You Need To Know:

BORDER is another documentary about illegal immigration. Director Chris Burgard and his team travel along the border between Mexico and the US with the leader of the President of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, Chris Simcox, in what they refer to as the “Big Blue Bus.” They interview many of the Minutemen themselves, but they also interview two female illegal immigrants and a group of men who received amnesty back in the 1980s and now work and live in the US legally.

Chris Burgard presents a strong Pro-American, thought-provoking movie focusing on current border issues. His movie dose not hand the audience an answer to this issue or even a popular opinion. BORDER is very well balanced and respectful of its audience’s ability to come to its own conclusion when it is given the information from all sides of this issue. The documentary is not in total support of the current presidential administration but is not a Bush-bashing movie either. The movie is an education. It can be hard to watch, but it will either change your mind, open your heart or at least make you think a little bit more.

Content:

(BB, PP, LL, V, S, DD, M) Strong moral worldview with strong pro-American content; 13 to 15 obscenities and profanities; talk of rape, violence is mentioned, men with guns are shown, and bodies of border crossers that perished in their attempt to cross are shown twice; once in a montage and again as they come across them in the desert; talk of rape and description of the term “Rape Tree”; no nudity; no alcohol; smoking and drugs and drug smuggling are discussed; and, stealing and racism.

More Detail:

BORDER is another documentary about the controversy concerning illegal immigration. Director Chris Burgard and his team spend the majority of this movie traveling along the border between Mexico and the US with the leader of the President of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, Chris Simcox, in what they refer to as the “Big Blue Bus.” They interview many of the Minutemen themselves, from a young surfer to a soccer mom to a grandfather, each with different reasons for being involved in this issue and on the border working with the Border Patrol. There are interviews with men and women from all walks of life, from all over the country in this film, so harsh language and racial epitaphs are present from time to time. Violence is discussed, men with guns are shown, and bodies of border crossers that perished in their attempt to cross are shown twice; once in a montage and again as they come across them in the deserts.
Rape by men called “coyotes” (men who charge excessive amounts of money to assist people in crossing the border illegally) is discussed as a reality that may happen to many females trying to cross. There is also mention of the term “Rape Tree” as being how a “coyote” marks his territory.
The filmmakers also provide viewers with a rare glimpse into the reasons why so many risk their lives to cross the border through an interview with two women who did cross and are now living in the US illegally with the daily fear of being deported. In contrast to that, a group of men who received amnesty back in the 1980s and now work and live in the US legally also present their stories of hope for a better life for their families back in Mexico.
Chris Burgard presents a strong Pro-American, thought-provoking movie focusing on present day border issues. His movie does not hand the audience an answer to this issue or even a popular opinion. BORDER is very well balanced and respectful of its audience’s ability to come to its own conclusion when it is given the information from all sides of this issue. The documentary is not in total support of the current presidential administration but is not a Bush-bashing movie either.
This movie is an education to anyone who is unsure and those who think they are sure of how they feel about the current immigration issues. It can be a hard film to watch but it will ether change your mind, open your heart or at least make you think a little bit more.