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Al Otro Lado

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Al Otro Lado reviews
66
9.0 User Score:

Generally favorable reviews

Based on 6 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 2 votes
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Movie Info

Genre(s): Documentary  |  Foreign

Written by:

Directed by: Natalia Almada

Release Date:
Theatrical: March 1, 2006
DVD: March 6, 2007

Running Time: 70 minutes, B/W / Color

Origin: Mexico / USA

Language(s): English / Spanish (with English subtitles)

Summary

RATING: Not Rated

An aspiring corrido composer from the drug capital of Mexico faces two choices to better his life: to traffic drugs or to cross the border illegally into the United States. From Sinaloa, Mexico, to the streets of South Central and East L.A., Al Otro Lado explores the world of drug smuggling, illegal immigration and the corrido music that chronicles it all. (Altamura Film)

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

75

New York Post V.A. Musetto

Serves as a primer on a musical style that may be unfamiliar to many, while putting a human face on the problem of illegal immigrants.

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75

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

The film's heart is Magdiel and the modest dreams that get him through the day but may also be the death of him.

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75

New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman

Almada steadfastly reserves judgment, which means we don't learn if there are members of the Mexican community who disapprove of corrido's hard-edged lyrics. But she makes a pretty good case for its passionate fans. Like them, we're left unable to get the music - and the musicians - out of our heads.

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70

Variety Robert Koehler

Viewers unaware of the music --hugely popular among Mexicans -- and the often intensely nationalist sentiments behind it, may blanch at the open chauvinism and celebration of outlaw lifestyles. But part of the pic's strength is its presenting the cultural strain as it is, without comment.

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60

Village Voice Michael Atkinson

A competent, earnest ethnographic video doc that never quite rises above its own best intentions.

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60

The New York Times Nathan Lee

This infectious little movie enriches understanding of the immigrant experience insofar as it translates one of its main forms of expression. Where the movie goes wrong, albeit down a forgivable path, is in the attempt to personalize its subject by means of biographical focus on an aspiring corrido composer.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this movie is 9.0 (out of 10) based on 2 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

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