Educational Media Reviews Online

This video portrays through imagery and interviews the plight of Mexican immigrants who try to cross the United States border in search of a better life. The film itself does not state directly what it is about. Out of the 99 minutes, about 60 minutes is spent showing various scenes on the border: the border itself, life near the border, houses and the desert near the border. There is no talking, no narrative while these scenes are shown; the viewer doesn't even know where these scenes were filmed. The rest of the film presents interviews with immigrants whose family members died trying to cross the desert, or with various Americans and law officials near the border about their life and experiences trying to control the illegal immigration. Emotional classical music is played in the background throughout the film.

From the Other Side is an emotional attempt to portray the plight of immigrants coming to the United States, but provides no background, historical commentary, or motive to assist the viewer while watching the video, therefore it is not recommended. Perhaps if the director had made the film about 30 minutes long, instead of well over an hour and a half, then the message would have been more powerful. As it is, watching a film like this without any context or narration is rather boring, and in fact discourages interest in the topic, which I imagine is the point of the film in the first place.