Unlike my fellow Canadian Msr. Bergerac, I saw this film through a different filter.
Where he saw patriotic propaganda, I saw a not-so-subtle indictment on the entire immigration process in the U.S. Yes, there was patriotism there, but some of that is to be expected...the entire concept of a nation requires some degree of that, or you don't have a nation, you have a gathering of disparate tribes. If you can't subscribe to at least *some* of that philosophy as an immigrant, you're in for a rough ride, and so is your host country.
It did paint the Immigration system (correctly) as an unfair system, corrupt like all bureaucracies, and with the power to destroy lives at a whim (the FBI handling of the Pakistani girl), and an ultimately heartless process, told from several different perspectives.
Having been through the entire naturalization process myself post 9-11 (from a admittedly advantageous position of being born Canadian) I thought it was a fairly accurate if (necessarily) dramatic presentation of the system.
It was well acted, well directed, and told a series of compelling stories.
People, thousands upon thousands, do go to the U.S. every year, seeking a better life. Some find it, some don't, but one can't argue that being in someplace like the U.S. (or Canada, or Denmark, or France, or...) is often a very clear way to provide an improvement in the quality of life for yourself and your family.
Where he saw patriotic propaganda, I saw a not-so-subtle indictment on the entire immigration process in the U.S. Yes, there was patriotism there, but some of that is to be expected...the entire concept of a nation requires some degree of that, or you don't have a nation, you have a gathering of disparate tribes. If you can't subscribe to at least *some* of that philosophy as an immigrant, you're in for a rough ride, and so is your host country.
It did paint the Immigration system (correctly) as an unfair system, corrupt like all bureaucracies, and with the power to destroy lives at a whim (the FBI handling of the Pakistani girl), and an ultimately heartless process, told from several different perspectives.
Having been through the entire naturalization process myself post 9-11 (from a admittedly advantageous position of being born Canadian) I thought it was a fairly accurate if (necessarily) dramatic presentation of the system.
It was well acted, well directed, and told a series of compelling stories.
People, thousands upon thousands, do go to the U.S. every year, seeking a better life. Some find it, some don't, but one can't argue that being in someplace like the U.S. (or Canada, or Denmark, or France, or...) is often a very clear way to provide an improvement in the quality of life for yourself and your family.