The Girl Extra Credit

The Girl directed by David Riker is a provocative film that provides a new look on immigration compared to what is commonly portrayed in the media. The film centers around an Anglo-American woman, Ashley, from the south who is having a difficult time in her life. Her son was taken away from her and she is unwilling to change her ways. In the movie, she believes that all she needs is money in order for her life to get better, but the truth is she just needs to change her ways. This mirrors the attitudes of many immigrants because they believe once they come to America they would make more money and have a better life. Ashley then attempts to smuggle people across the border to America to make money. Her plan goes awry when several of the people drown while crossing a river including the mother of a very young child. The child then clings to Ashley who attempts to leave the child several times but never succeeds. Eventually Ashley grows close to her and eventually reunites the child with her elderly grandmother. Throughout the film, the main character goes through a lot of character development and shows that life in America can be just as difficult as anywhere else.

The Q&A with the filmmaker Riker made it clear that he was attempting to change the common narrative that surrounds immigration. Stories surrounding immigration are usually of people going to America for a better life. The movie showed that there are other stories around immigration and the idea that moving North and having a better life is not always true. Mr. Riker also talked about the long process to make the film and the struggles he had with authenticity and filming. After several years he finally managed to get actors and money that would help to make the film. Although the film was difficult to understand because there were no English subtitles the general gist of the story remained strong despite the language barrier. The process also showed me more about the extreme difficulties of filmmaking.