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Coming to America: Immigration in the movies
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Movies tend to reflect society at large, so it should come as no surprise that movies about immigration and the struggle immigrants face in America have become prominent in film lately. Many of these films are about what it is like living Mexico and other Hispanic countries to come to America, but immigrants in film have had a long history, and often not a positive one. Now that more immigrants and children of immigrants are venturing into the film industry, we are starting to get a clearer look at what immigration is like from both sides of the fence.
Immigration films are far from new. In fact, one of the earliest popular films about immigration was Charles Chaplin's comedic role in The Immigrant, a 1917 silent film depicting the ups-and-downs of coming to New York City from the old country. You can watch the entire film here, thanks to IMDB.com.
After Chaplin, other films tried to showcase the realities of immigration as well. Shot entirely in black and white, the 1975 film Hester Street showed the difficult transition Eastern European Jewish immigrants faced when coming to New York City. Gitl (Carol Kane) moves to America to be with her husband Jake (Steven Keats), but finds the transition from her old values hard. Jake has made the transition easily enough and is no longer interested in his traditional wife. The film shows life in New York during the late 1800s in a remarkably realistic way.
In 1986, David Kirschner showed the struggle of immigrant families through the plight of an animated mouse named Fievel Mousekewitz (voiced by Phillip Glasser) and his family's struggle to come from Russia to America in An American Tail. The film showcases the Boss Tweed-type mentality immigrants faced in America as well as their imagination of America versus the realities. The film has a sequel about Westward Expansion. The 2002 film Gangs of New York explores the hateful sentiments often faced by immigrants. The film follows a young man (Leonardo DiCaprio) trying to avenge his father's killer (Daniel Day-Lewis), a man who believes only those born in America have the right to be citizens.
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Because of the current sociopolitical issues being dealt with, Hispanic immigration has become a hot button issue in film. One of the first films to appear on the subject was 1983's El Norte about Mayan peasants who leave South America for a better life in America. A more comedic look came in 1987 from comedian Cheech Marin in the film Born in East L.A. Through a mix-up, the film is about Rudy (Marin) who was born in East L.A. but is mistakenly shipped back to Mexico when he is believed to be an illegal immigrant. He finds himself trying to sneak over the border to get back home.
More recently, films with a more serious focus have come out about Hispanic immigration to the U.S. Maria Full of Grace was nomiated for an Oscar for his portrayal of a Columbian teenager (Catalina Sandino Moreno) working as a drug mule to better her family's life. Also in 2004 came the movie Spanglish about a Mexican immigrant (Paz Vega) and her daughter, who come to work for an insecure American (Adam Sandler) and his family.
Two other films on the same subject matter came out in 2006. The documentary Crossing Arizona follows those on both sides of the debate, taking stories from immigrants, border patrol, and others who are involved with the heavy flux of immigrant through the border in Arizona and the crisis the state faces as a result. The 2006 film Quinceañera is about a girl (Emily Rios) who's family has come from Mexico and is kicked out of her house after her religious parents discover she is pregnant. She goes to live with an elderly uncle and a gay cousin who is also in a Mexican gang.
There are also other films that deal with immigrant on a more international scale. The hilarious film Coming to America explores the life of a young African prince (Eddie Murphy) and his friend (Arsenio Hall) who have come to America to find a wife for the prince by disgusing themselves as humble African students. America is not the only country with immigration issues and the film Dirty Pretty Things from 2002 explores an illegal immigrant from Nigeria walking the tough London streets. The 2001 film Monsoon Wedding deals with an Indian family trying to negotiate a wedding with relatives coming in from all over the world.
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The 2003 film House of Sand and Fog is about an evicted American woman (Jennifer Connelly) who finds herself living with Iranian immigrants. The 2004 movie The Terminal deals with an immigrant man (Tom Hanks) trapped in an American airport because his fictional country has been wiped off the map by war. In 2007, the film The Kite Runner follows an Afghani immigrant (Khalid Abdalla) who has lived in California for years and then returns to his homeland to help a friend who's family has been torn apart by the Taliban.
Many immigration films discuss the hardship faced by those who are childrne of immigrants, living as first generation citizens in a new country. The popular musical from 1961 West Side Story stars Natalie Wood and Richard Beymer as star-crossed lovers, a Puerto Rican and an Anglo-American who are torn apart by the street gangs of their community.
Ang Lee's 1993 film The Wedding Banquet deals with a successful, gay businessman who must pretend to be traditional when his parents come in for a visit from China. The Joy Luck Club follows four girls born in America to four women who grew up in feudal China. My Big Fat Greek Wedding follows an American-born woman as she struggles to reconcile what is expected of her by her traditional Greek family adn what she wants as a modern woman. The film In America follows a modern-day Irish family as they adjust to life in America.
Being that America is a nation of immigrants, we will probably continue to explore immigration in film just as we do in politics, society, and other aspects of our lives.
For more info: on good films dealing with immigrantion, check out this list at murthy.com or this one at sentimentalrefugee.com.
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