Perez plays Jesus, the father of two teenage sons, Beto (Mario Ardila Jr.) and Angel (Angel Amaral). Undocumented immigrants from El Salvador living in inner-city Los Angeles, Jesus, his wife, their two sons and baby daughter are just trying to lay low and follow the rules and obtain legal citizenship.
Beto and Angel are also trying to resist being recruited by a local street gang. Their father sees an opportunity to get Beto, his eldest son, away from the dangers of the streets when Beto is recruited by the U.S. military, with dubious promises of earning citizenship by serving the country.
Watch the trailer for Green Card Warriors by clicking this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoN99wxx7Hw
Beto and Angel are also trying to resist being recruited by a local street gang. Their father sees an opportunity to get Beto, his eldest son, away from the dangers of the streets when Beto is recruited by the U.S. military, with dubious promises of earning citizenship by serving the country.
Fox plays Gabrielle, the mother of a beautiful teenage girl named Jazmine (Paige Hurd) whom Angel, the younger brother, falls in love with. The teens strike up a forbidden affair that is like a cross-cultural Romeo and Juliet.
The black family's reaction to finding out Jazmine is dating a Latino boy is somewhat unclear. The girl's father (McKinley Freeman) and stepfather (Will Green) jump to the conclusion that the boy is in a gang and forbid the girl to see him. The reaction of Fox's character, however, is murky.
When her ex informs her that their daughter is dating "a Hispanic," Fox's character initially reacts with a shrug, saying, "So?" But she doesn't exactly shout from the rooftops that blacks and Latinos are equals and that love knows no cultural boundaries.
It's a bit disappointing that Green Card Warriors doesn't do more to emphasize the common ground shared by blacks and Hispanics, other than the boy and girl's taboo attraction to one another. And in this day and age, is an interracial relationship really a taboo, especially between teens from the millennial generation who are used to seeing a black family in the White House?
Without giving away too much of the plot, suffice it to say that Green Card Warriors doesn't have a happy ending. It presents a bleak picture of the lives of undocumented immigrants.
Directed by and written by Miriam Kruishoop, the movie's overall message seems to be that the U.S. immigration system is deeply dysfunctional, and that the only ones who stand much chance of benefiting from the American dream are those who were fortunate enough to be born here.
There are similarities between Green Card Warriors and 2011's A Better Life (read my review of that well-done movie by clicking this link: http://chrisbournea.blogspot.com/2014/09/a-better-life-textbook-example-in-good.html). Both portray caring fathers who just want the best for their sons and are willing to sacrifice anything so that their children can have better opportunities than they did.
Demián Bichir's powerful performance in A Better Life earned him a well-deserved Oscar nomination for Best Actor. Perez turns in a similarly potent performance in Green Card Warriors and should be honored. However, the only reason I discovered Green Card Warriors is that it was on display at my neighborhood video store, and I'm not sure if it received a wide enough theatrical release to be considered by the Academy.
(Yes, video stores still exist, although coming across one is like spotting Big Foot.)
(Yes, video stores still exist, although coming across one is like spotting Big Foot.)
Green Card Warriors and A Better Life both depict young Latino men being at risk of joining gangs. This is an interesting plot point, since much of the media's focus on the current immigration of Central American youth is that they are fleeing gangs in their home countries.
These two movies seem to indicate that young Latinos are just as in danger of being recruited by gangs in the United States as they are in their home countries because of poverty, discrimination and lack of economic opportunity.
Neither A Better Life nor Green Card Warriors offer simple solutions to the problems of the American immigration system, but they do shine a light on the fact that there are many hard-working decent people who would contribute greatly to American society if only they were offered a more efficient, legitimate way to gain citizenship. And a way that enabled them to live their lives out in the open and maintain their dignity.
It would be great if Green Card Warriors could be picked up by a major cable network like HBO or Showtime so that it can reach a broader audience. This indie flick isn't your typical Hollywood movie that ties everything up with a neat bow at the end, but it raises complex issues that all Americans should be aware of.
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