By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.75 cats
Director: Heidi Ewing
Starring: Ángeles Cruz | Arcelia Ramirez | Armando Espitia | Christian Vazquez | Michelle Rodriguez | Raúl Briones
Country: mexico, united_states
Year: 2021
Running time: 111
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11388990/reference
Michael says: “About two-thirds of the way through I CARRY YOU WITH ME, the gorgeously saturated, lush romantic drama shifts from Mexico to the U.S. and along with that shift comes a remarkable change in tone to a very documentary style form of storytelling, that was notable and a bit shocking, until I remembered that this film was directed by Heidi Ewing, Chlotrudis-nominated documentarian responsible for such films as JESUS CAMP and DETROPIA. Hold that thought for a bit, and we’ll come back to it. It’s the 80’s in the city of Puebla, when two young, impossibly beautiful men, meet at a bar and fall for each other. The problem is one is closeted, with an ex-wife and son, who would risk visitation rights should he come out. The other is more or less out, but has a disapproving father who made his life hell as a child. In addition to living a secret life that only his best friend Sandra knows about, Iván comes from a blue-collar family and is on his own, trying to find opportunity as a chef. But washing dishes and cleaning the kitchen sees him getting passed over and over again, as friends of the restaurant owner, or the head chef get promoted ahead of him. He dreams of going to America to see his dreams come true. Gerardo’s family owns a large ranch outside of the city, and he’s got enough money to get by. But he can’t stand in Iván’s, even though the only possibility for his journey to America is crossing the border with the help of coyotes, a dangerous expedition at best. Iván decides to make the journey, promising to return in a year, and Sandra goes with him. Despite horrific perils where they risk getting shot, arrested, or die from exposure and dehydration the pair make it to New York, but find that life isn’t so easy for a couple of illegal Mexican immigrants as they thought it would be. One year turns to many, and Iván sees no way to return. His son grows into a teen without him, and Gerardo tries to legally visit the States but is foiled at every attempt. Eventually he realizes that despite his better connections than Iván, his only recourse is to cross the border illegally as well.
“The bulk of the film takes place in Mexico, giving substance and heart to Iván and Gerardo’s story. It’s a beautiful romance, a harsh family drama, and a gritty look at what it’s like to be gay in Mexico. It’s also gorgeously shot, with intense close-ups, suffused in darkness, or water, or fog. Every character, even the coyotes, or Gerardo’s abusive father are just beautiful, as is the land and the city. It’s sweeping and intense, like a 1950’s melodrama. I read after seeing the film, that Iván and Gerardo are real people (changed names) who were friends of the directors. Ewing wanted to make a documentary about their success as illegal immigrants who eventually opened their own restaurant, and the perils of their journey to the American Dream, when she got the idea to tell their backstory as a narrative. It’s an audacious and incredibly successful way to tell this story, and each form suits these incredible men’s tales beautifully. I highly recommend this film, which is still playing at the Kendall Square Cinema in Cambridge, or if you miss it, watch for it when it’s released to stream. 5 cats”
Chris says: “You could watch all the scenes set in Mexico and think, ‘I’ve seen this story before,’ even while marveling at the seamless editing and evocative cinematography. Sometime after the action shifts to New York, and it dawns on you exactly what you’re watching, there’s the splendid, catch-up-in-time realization that no, in fact, you haven’t seen this particular story before, told in this way. 4.5 cats”
Diane says: “Lauded by other members, I CARRY YOU WITH ME is a strange amalgam of acted/recreated and documentary. Director Heidi Ewing uses actors to tell the backstory (about 35 years’ worth) of two New Yorkers she knows, who could not live the life they wanted together in Mexico. So they enter the US illegally.