Review of Paraiso Travel (2008) by Josuel P — 27 Jan 2012

Really interesting movie. It's about a young Colombian guy who follows his beautiful girlfriend on a perilous journey to enter the United States illegally. When they arrive, they stay in a rundown hostel in Brooklyn, New York. After an argument with her and a run-in with NYPD, Marlon takes off running and gets lost. It isn't 100% clear exactly how long they are away from each other but Marlon, while ceaselessly looking for Reina, begins a new life with a new love interest.

The movie jumps back and forth between scenes of the past and the present. We are shown the rough and deadly trek that immigrants take to get into the United States, and the people along the way who take advantage of them in various ways. But, at least in the beginning, we don't understand why Reina is so hell-bent on going to the U.S. in the first place because both she and Marlon come from a decent home-life, with parents who care about them and nice houses. Reina's reason for leaving is revealed towards the end of the movie in an interesting little twist. But Marlon's reason for tagging along with her can be summed up like this: he *really* wanted to hit that. Reina essentially uses her body and the promise of sex to get Marlon to drop everything for her. Throughout the movie you begin to realize that Marlon is a moron but at least he's a somewhat sympathetic moron.

The plot is very interesting and even believable. I can just picture a person wandering around New York City, alone and scared, unable to speak English, while trying to find one person in a city of millions (needle in a haystack). There's some really good acting here but it doesn't evoke too much emotion --besides "Marlon, you're a freaking idiot" moments. No tear-jerking, heart-string-pulling moments. Lot of boob-age, so beware.They are also really fond of the word "fag" so be warned if you're really sensitive about that word.