Collisions
By Jennifer Green,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Dramatic deportment tale has mild language, violence.
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Collisions
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What's the Story?
COLLISIONS opens with ICE agents pushing their way into a woman's home and shoving her to the ground with what seems like unnecessary force. Viewers quickly learn that the woman, Yoana (Ana de la Reguera), is the mother of two children, middle schooler Itan (Izabella Alvarez) and her little brother, Neto (Jason Garcia), who are used to taking care of themselves while Yoana is out working four jobs. Once she's taken away, the siblings are forced to rely on their estranged Uncle Evencio (Jesse Garcia) or face separation by child services. Itan leads the trio on a hunt through a maze of unmarked detention centers and incomplete online data to track down Yoana's whereabouts. Evencio, an out-of-work truck driver with a penchant for alcohol and prostitutes, isn't a trustworthy caretaker, but he's all they've got. After he abandons the children at a roadside hotel, they're forced to take matters into their own hands. Meanwhile, Yoana is held in makeshift detention centers in inhumane conditions while she awaits deportation to Mexico.
Is It Any Good?
Donald Trump may not be mentioned by name in this film, but his administration's policies loom large in the background of this emotional dramatization of contemporary headlines. Collisions opens with the chilling statistic that a U.S. citizen child is separated from his or her parents by deportation every 4 minutes. That number may have provided the inspiration for the film's fictional family, but writer-director Richard Levien brings the characters to fuller life. They embody a range of realities of the immigrant experience, from the disconnect between different generations' attachment to their country of origin and its traditions, customs, and language, to the varied paths taken to achieve the "American Dream" (or fail in the attempt).
Levien also makes use of natural sound and light to infuse the fictional tale with an intentional realism. And young star Alvarez offers an earnest performance as an intelligent but frightened girl who's forced to grow up too soon. Well-known actor Garcia (Quinceañera) offers some of the film's most subtle moments as he bonds with his nephew and niece, faces the errors of his past, and takes on the mantle of family patriarch. The film's message and sympathies are abundantly clear; as a result, scenes with ICE and CPS representatives, some of whose faces symbolically aren't shown, can feel heavy-handed. But however you feel about the movie's politics, some of its powerful shots and sequences are likely to stick with you -- like a final drive through the border town of Tijuana that brings full circle the film's desire to show the human face of the immigration debate.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how Collisions portrays government agencies like Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Child Protective Services (CPS). Does the portrayal feel accurate? Fair?
How does Collisions relate to current events in the United States? Have you read any news accounts about the detainment and deportation of immigrants?
In what ways do you sympathize with Itan? Kids: Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you had to be in charge, even when someone older than you was present?
Itan, Yoanna, and Evencio represent different versions, not all successful, of striving for the so-called "American Dream." In what ways does each character try to make his or her life better by taking advantages of opportunities in the United States?
Movie Details
- In theaters: October 4, 2019
- On DVD or streaming: January 8, 2020
- Cast: Jesse Garcia , Izabella Alvarez , Ana de la Reguera
- Director: Richard Levien
- Inclusion Information: Latino actors
- Studio: Widdershins Film
- Genre: Drama
- Topics: Brothers and Sisters , Middle School
- Run time: 90 minutes
- MPAA rating: NR
- Last updated: June 20, 2023
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