How “A Better Life” Director Became An Immigration Activist
By José Cruz, OurTiempo.com
If there is any hope for the future of immigration reform in this country, it will probably come from unlikely places. It has not been that the strategies have been wrong, just that the battlefields chosen were unwinnable. In the midst of this recession Middle America is still not convinced that allowing the undocumented to come out of the shadows is a good idea. As it was expected, the movement has stalled now that we have entered an election season and the issue will move to the back-burner.
But rather than look east to Washington, perhaps it is time we look west to Hollywood. After all, more people can recognize Harry Potter than the Vice President.
While you may not know his name, you definitely have heard of his movies. About a Boy, American Pie, The Golden Compass and one of the largest box office success stories in recent history- Twilight: New Moon. Chris Weitz has established himself as a main stream Blockbuster Director to the point that he now can choose his projects. And that is exactly what he did after New Moon brought in over 700 million. From Vampires and CGI rendered talking animals he ventured off into a subject matter that would seem odd at first glance, but makes perfect sense after you talk to him. This past summer, his film A Better Lifeopened in the midst of the action packed cinema season full of comic book heroes and Transformers.
“One of the interesting things about the film is that it has been 25 years in the making.” Chris told us. “We really did not want to make a film that was just preaching to the choir on the issue of immigration. We knew that we would never reach the hardcore anti-immigrant groups. But there were people in the middle who could be affected by the message.” The message in A Better Life comes through without preaching. The story follows an undocumented single father gardener in East LA (Demián Bichir) who is just trying to provide a future for his son. He manages to scrape together enough money to purchase a pickup truck to start his own business, only to have the truck stolen. Not being able to go to the police, he and his son begin a quest across LA to recover the truck.
With no surprise from a director of Weitz’s caliber, A Better Life is a well-crafted film. The movie has already been released to video, begging the question of why we would see Weitz visiting Chicago in late November to do Q & A for a screening at Northwestern University. “When it first came out we were a bit careful not to politicize the film too much during its theatrical opening. But what happened is we started getting a lot of interest from people who were involved in the immigration debate. I realized that in order to take the film and use it as a teachable tool I had to learn more about this issue.”
Thus started Weitz’s role as an advocate for immigration reform. “if you are going to walk the walk, you have to talk the talk.” Weitz told us. “So with New Moon or American Pie you can sit back and occasionally someone will ask you about the film, but there weren’t any further issues that I had to learn about or follow through on. With this movie I became identified with the people we portray and it became painful to see them slandered in public.”
Digging deeper you can understand how Weitz personal life not only is reflected in the film, but draws his inspiration to the issue. His grandmother is Mexican actress Lupita Tovar who stared in the first Mexican “talkie” in 1932. Coincidentally Lupe is 101 and is living in LA. Weitz’s wife is Mexican and Cuban, but you can see an even deeper connection from his own life between the father son relationships in the film. “My dad was a refugee from Germany and came to the states in 1939.” Weitz said. “Something I could identify with was not understanding what he had been through. He found it difficult to talk about that time of his life because as an immigrant he wanted to put that behind him when he was successful. I was not as mean as the teenager was in the movie, but looking back, I didn’t have as much empathy as I should have had.”
That new/old intergenerational dynamic is one of the most touching components of the film, and incredibly timely considering the shift in our country’s demographics. “There is a horrible irony that sometimes people are working so hard to give their children a better life that they don’t have time to spend with their children.” Says Weitz. “So in the film you have a father who is working so hard for his son that he doesn’t get to see him and a teenager who is being raised by the television. The son learns from TV that if you don’t have all the material things you need you lack value and because of this he has lost respect for his father.”
While movies like Under the Same Moon have paved the way in recent years for studio releases that deal with immigration, the subject matter hasn’t left the “Art House” scene. This may change with A Better Lifeas there is talk of an Oscar Nod for Bichir as best actor who was recently nominated for an Independent Spirit Award.
Also with Weitz’ passion on the issue and credibility in Hollywood, the whole movement could be onto something.
“When I made the film I didn’t fully understand the scope of the issue.” Weitz told us. “I had sympathy for the story but did not fully comprehend the broader framework that it has played out on. Now I feel I have to show up to answer the questions that the film gives.” Weitz’s enthusiasm and mainstream appeal could be the very injection the movement needs. A Bichir Oscar nod would not only represent a boost for the film but could lead to a renewed dialogue on the issue just in time for the election season.
While the script for A Better Life was written 25 years ago, the story has always been the same. Weitz told us that it is based, not surprisingly, on a real person. What is truly amazing, and also sad, is that 25 years later the story can be told with the same facts and relevancy.
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