Documentary films have often branched into innovative animation techniques to tell stories that allow viewers to decipher hidden truths. Waltz with Bashir (2008) recorded the voices of Israeli soldiers who committed a massacre and Persepolis (2007) captured the childhood memories of a girl growing up in Teheran. Now Mexican filmmakers Carlos Hagerman (Those Who Remain, 2008, codirected with Juan Carlos Rulfo) and Jorge Villalobos (4 maneras de tapar un hoyo, 1996, codirected with Guillermo Rondón) tell the stories of young Mexican immigrants who suffer fears of deportation and family separation due to U.S. immigration policies. Home is Somewhere Else (Mi casa está en otra parte), which premiered at Annecy in France, has also screened at Guadalajara and now Morelia in Mexico; it should tour many more venues.
The film is divided into three segments, each story illustrated by a different animation studio in Mexico, and edited by three different editors. The first chapter tells the story of Jazmine, an eleven-year-old Mexican girl living in Miami; the second focuses on Evelyn and Elizabeth, two sisters separated by the border, one in Los Angeles and the other in a small village in Mexico; and the third follows the narrator, an undocumented young activist growing up in Utah, whose slam poetry acts as the connecting tissue between the viewer and the real-life characters portrayed through animation. He is José Eduardo Aguilar, known as “El Deportee,” an apt stage name loaded with sarcasm. The three segments work well together, despite their different focus and techniques.
The film stays away from the classic animation style of the hugely successful Coco (2017), Pixar’s homage to Mexican family bonds. Home/Mi casa is a collaboration between the three animation studios Llamarada, Casiopea, and Virus Mecánico and is a real showcase for independent Mexican animation. The first segment uses naïve, childish pencil drawings to illustrate young Jazmine’s story, as she copes with her father’s arrest and possible deportation. The sisters’ story in the second chapter uses a smoother, more subtle watercolor palette, and a brash graffiti style depicts police abuse in the final segment. The protagonists represent a varied range of migrant experiences, from a schoolgirl whose parents lack legal status, to a U.S.-born citizen who becomes separated from her undocumented siblings, or the exile of a deportee who had never lived in Mexico until he is forced to move there. Home/Mi casa brings to light the clandestine, precarious lives of those still in hiding or anxiously waiting for their legal residency. It also shows their will to fight for their rights, no matter how difficult the circumstances.
Spanish, English, and Spanglish, the random mix of the two languages, is used throughout the film, with alternating subtitles to give the non-bilingual viewer a chance to follow the narrative flow. For the millions who master both languages to varying degrees, it is a welcome gift of realism and spontaneity that few feature films have allowed for.
The film’s narrator José Eduardo can at times be irritating, enunciating his slam poetry in exaggerated, elongated vowels with a thick Chicano accent that at times flattens any lyrical flourishes. He introduces each segment and maintains a tone of aggrieved, ironic victimhood. His own story, however, proves quite interesting, as he describes his awakening to political activism. He also acknowledges some hard truths, like the presence of domestic violence within the Mexican culture of stoic machismo.
Javier Alvarez’s music is well-timed and adds layers of meaning to the emotions we have shared, from nostalgia to defiance, as the migrants experience abuse and persecution. A final, moving hymn, “Freedom is Free,” is performed by the popular rock group Chicano Batman. A rich range of sound effects brings a deeper dimension without overstating the case, such as the clinking of chains around a prisoner’s feet or the sudden screech of police sirens. But the strength of the documentary’s audio track lies in the real voices, patiently recorded over several years and in different locations, that capture the anguish, joys, and dreams of the main characters and their families.
Also revealing are the film’s credits, in which we see photos of the protagonists and a long list of the people who contributed to this epic effort, through interviews and creative input, as well as financially through micro-financing.
Directors and screenplay: Carlos Hagerman, Jorge Villalobos
Narrator: Jose Eduardo Aguilar (El Deportee)
Producers: Carlos Hagerman, Guillermo Rondón, Andrew Houchens, Mariana Marín, Susan MacLaury, Albie Hecht, Carolina Coppel
Editing: Inger Diaz Barriga, Alejandra Ruvalcaba, Martha Uc
Art Direction: Marec Fritzinger
Music: Javier Alvarez
Sound: Pablo Lach
Production companies: Brinca Taller de Animacion, Shine Global
Animation: Llamarada, Casiopea, Virus Mecánico (Mexico)
World sales: Artegios (Mexico)
Venue: Morelia 2022 Film Festival
In Spanish and English
87 minutes
