The Infiltrators Review (6/8/2020)

Immigration is a heated issue in the States right now, and has been for a while. Our leaders have been taking advantage of our cutural fear of outsiders and instability to keep power and sew division while passing increasingly inhumane laws and regulations to enforce our increasingly strict and complicated asylum and immigration laws. The Infiltrators doesn't go into a lot of the darkest corners of the immigration system, but nonetheless acts as both an insightful introduction to the issue from an immigrant's point of view and a wonderfully innovative piece of documentary cinema.

The Infiltrators follows the exploits of the National Immigrant Youth Alliance, a group of mostly undocumented immigrant youth who work together to organize to combat ICE and Border Patrol and stop deportations. Marco and Viri, two Florida members who are both undocumented, both attempt a shockingly dangerous operation; they are forcibly arrested and detained as they wait for trial, with the intent of getting held at the Broward Detention Center and helping as many of its prisoners get released as possible.

Border Patrol and ICE don't work the same way that other law enforcement agencies do. Any politician at any time in the executive branch can give the order to released a detained immigrant regardless of their status, and with enough pressure from the public they will usually do so. The National Immigrant Youth Alliance provides this pressure, and the job of Marco and Viri is to communicate with the prisoners and encourage them to reach out to the Alliance and work with them to ensure their freedom. Naturally, however, this is a risky manuever, as there are always guards watching, and they can be just as crafty as anyone else.

This causes The Infiltrators to resemble something like a crime thriller at times. It doesn't fit neatly into that label - it is a documentary after all, and it lacks the grittiness and corruption of most crime thrillers as basically every character is a legitimately good person at heart - but it often has the tension and themes of one. This is further accentuated by the unique blend of documentary footage and dramatized re-enactments it employs. It is held together by the usual trappings of a documentary - voice-over narrations, interview clips, b-roll, etc. - but much of the action is also presented in the form of a dramatic re-enactment. It switches between real footage and fictionalized accounts so naturally that it makes such a balance look easy, and not only informs about a real issue but creates a believable world and cast of characters that the audience can empathize with and root for.

The true heart of The Infiltrators, however, lies in its convictions. It doesn't waste time puzzling over the moral implications of illegal immigration. Like it or not, these people are here, they are part of their communities and they have a life and family. They are good, hard working people, and rushing in and tearing their life down just to pack them away and send them off to a country where they'll likely never see their families again and maybe even die is truly inhumane. The characters are all genuinely good people motivated by their love for their families and desire to help their fellow immigrants. It's a film that's not concerned about what other people think of illegal immigration; only with the voices and stories of those it is trying to help.

It is also, unfortunately, a film that comes very close to falling apart in its final act. Though the conclusion is one that the Alliance and the detainees of Broward Detention Center worked hard for, the way in which it is presented is rushed, and as a result feels like it came out of nowhere. Important events like a centerwide hunger strike are glossed over, and overall it really could have used more time to flesh these things out, because as it stands the final act of the film fails to engage to the same extent as the rest of it. It all feels like it's wrapped up far too neatly and conveniently for such a complex and systematic issue, even though a reading of the text of the film can easily tell that this is the opposite of what it is trying to convey.

Fortunately, the majority of the film remains an engaging and heartfelt look at the struggles of immigrants in a country that exploits them and hates them, and an introduction to the cruel and dehumanizng practices of ICE. It creates a new, innovative cinematic language that helps to both convey the facts and tell an engaging story at the same time, and it establishes a formula that I hope to see more documentary films further innovate on in the future. To anyone looking to learn more about immigration issues from a different perspective, to see an example of the voiceless being able to tell their story, or to anyone looking for a unique cinematic experience, The Infiltrators has plenty to offer.

Consider purchase a 3 day rental for $12 off of the film's official website http://www.infiltratorsfilm.com/, where half of your purchase will go towards supporting activists targeted by ICE.