Alex Rivera and Cristina Ibarra’s film “The Infiltrators” is a fascinating experiment in nonfiction storytelling that remains engaging, even when its unique style falters, thanks to an unbelievable true story of impassioned activism.
In 2012, during the height of the debate over undocumented immigrants and the political fight over the DACA and DREAM Act, a few young Dreamers decided to take a different tack, risk it all and make themselves and their activism bold, aggressive and visible. Spearheaded by Mohammad Abdollahi, the group, no longer content with sit-ins and petitions, decided to attack the Broward County Detention Department in Florida from within.
It starts with a request for help from a young man, Emiliano, whose father, Claudio, was detained by ICE and threatened with deportation. After, a young undocumented activist, Marco (seen here in the documentary as himself and also played by actor Maynor Alvarado), turned himself into border patrol to infiltrate the detention center (a for-profit operation with a sketchy reputation) to try and advocate from inside.
It’s a scheme cooked up by Abdollahi and his cohort. They used Marco to identify the right inmates to connect to their organization, to move important documents in and out of the center, to offer advice about their rights and counsel to those facing deportation and to help organize and galvanize the detainees behind bars.
The film is uniquely structured, blending interviews and documentary footage of the machinations outside with a staged re-enactment of the events inside, played by actors. The filmmakers studiously label every real person and every actor (sometimes to emotional and narrative effect), and often intercut real phone calls on one side with a re-enacted side of the conversation to build story momentum. We don’t need to see a talking head interview to tell us “this is how the conversation went,” because with the re-enactment, we can see how it all went down.
The issue, of course, is the real thing is that much more exciting than the parts of the story that are acted out. The young activists, including the real Marco Saavedra and Viridiana Martinez, who infiltrate the women’s section of the detention center, are so much more fiery and fascinating than their actor counterparts. (That’s no fault of Alvarado and Chelsea Rendon, who plays Martinez, just a hazard of blending documentary and fiction.) The re-enactments are filmed in a rather basic and tame manner, derivative of other depictions of prison stories we’ve seen in film and TV. The real people of the story, in all their shaggy, scrappy, determined ways, are so much more interesting to watch, especially their youthful leader filled with wild ideas, Mohammad.
Despite its unevenness, it’s impossible to look away from “The Infiltrators,” due to the sheer audacity of the activists and their willingness to risk their safe but shadowy existence in the United States for this cause. Although the film only briefly touches on the 2016 election, we already know that the situation has only become exponentially worse. Witnessing the bravery of the young activists in “The Infiltrators” is a crucial reminder that despite every crisis we face, fighting for the rights of immigrants, asylum-seekers and undocumented folks is still essential.
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‘THE INFILTRATORS’
3 stars
Cast: Chelsea Rendon, Maynor Alvarado, Mohammad Abdollahi, Marco Saavedra, Viridiana Martinez.
Directed by Christina Ibarra and Alex Rivera.
Running time: 1 hour, 35 minutes.
No MPAA rating.
Available Friday through virtual cinema release.
List of participating theaters: https://theinfiltrators.oscilloscope.net
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