Fantasia '19 Film Review - Culture Shock

Shot for Into The Dark on Hulu and the feature debut of Gigi Saul Guerrero, Culture Shock follows a desperate pregnant woman Marisol (Martha Higareda) as she makes her second attempt to cross the border from Mexico into the U.S. Adding to the stakes Marisol is pregnant having been raped by her boyfriend Oscar (Filipe de Lara) and abandoned by her Coyote (Sal Lopez) on her last attempt. Higareda shines in the opening section of the piece as she tracks down her Coyote, convinces him to take her on his next trip and seeks the blessing from the tight circle female support she has at home before leaving.

Marisol bonds with a young boy from Guatemala who is making the crossing on his own having lost his parents along the way and the heavily tattooed Santo (Richard Cabral) who's jail cred even scares the heavies running the border crossing ring. The journey does not go as planned with the Cartel and U.S. Border control both intervening. Marisol wakes up from the failed attempt in the U.S. wearing a beautiful pastel dress, her baby within reach and Betty (Barbara Crampton) smiling face there to greet her.    

Culture Shock explores the main issue of the day, immigration into the U.S across the southern border. Here the U.S. government has sanctioned a private firm to try something different to keep the illegals out of the crowded detention centers yet compliant with their current situation. There are strong elements of The Stepford Wives, Get Out and Pleasantville in the piece with a dash of The Truman Show. Marisol and her fellow new arrivals seem to not remember what has gone before, their native language and what happened after the floodlights shone on them at the border.

All of the forces that play a role in the immigration puzzle pay their part of the film. The coyotes that prey on the most vulnerable taking exorbitant fees from the poor and desperate with no guarantee of safe passage. The Mexican cartels defending their territory are not immune to going target hunting when they spot a group of illegals on their nightly patrols and the U.S. government who seem to have no solution for the crisis throwing different ideas at the wall each day hoping one will stick.


**1/2 Out of Four.

Culture Shock | Gigi Saul Guerrero | 2019 | 91 Minutes.

Tags: Border Crossing, Southern Border, Mexico, U.S.A. , Coyote, Pregnancy, Private Contractor, Government Experiment, Fourth of July.