The Absence of Eden

The movie title says it all. It's a messed up situation, there is no happy ending and a lot is left unknown. To me, that was kinda the point. If you know much about the border and have the cursed luxury of seeing both sides of this story, you know the whole thing is messed up and it all around sucks. You cant take sides and theres no one answer accept be a good human being. I felt like this movie did a great job of splitting your emotions without going too deep. It kept it a bit mysterious and ominous and depicted that the situation is still on going. Great acting by Zoe, Adria, and Garrett as always. A better closing would have been ideal but whatever.

I hope a lot more people go out and see this film and that it will be available for purchase and streaming at some point. It was beautifully shot and every frame could be a photograph of art! Zoe was amazing & in my opinion some of her best work I've ever seen, and that goes for all of the cast not a weak one in the bunch. The story is heartfelt, and only a glimpse of what people in both sides of the fence are going through with immigration and sadly, it's probably 100x's worse than anything this film will show you. It does end abruptly but doesn't bother me as it makes you think about what you just watched. I hope one day we get the true director's cut from Marco. I highly recommend this film to anyone!

I never rate movies, but this has to be said!

The description of the film and even the shortened description don't hold true...The main characters actually never work together to save a girl, they barely cross paths in this sloppily put-together movie that didn't know what it wanted to be and left the viewer sad and confused.

The topic is complicated and should feel sad, but the movie was just bad, good acting though. At times there was this hopeful artsy element, but it felt random and was not consistent at all.

Go ahead and skip this one when you're looking for a good drama movie to watch on Hulu.

Absolutely in love with Zoe Saldana. To be honest, all the actors/actresses did a really great job in this film, but the issue isn't with the acting... the issues lie with the storyline. Things started off strong and caught my attention really quickly - An immigrant woman who is fleeing from her abuser only to come in contact with more abuse while trying to get over the border. She bonds with a young girl who gets separated from her mother and Zoe's character becomes protective over the girl. This movie had everything to be an amazing, highly recommended movie, but the lack of execution in the storyline was so disappointing! What happened? Where did they end up? Where are they now? The abrupt ending leaves you with such a long list of questions. I hate movies that leave the story unfinished or that leave the plot at the peak with no real ending which is sadly, exactly what happened in this movie. What could've been a solid 7-8 star rating plummeted to a 3-4 star rating due to the lack of ending and lack of answers.

This film stars one of the biggest Latin stars of Hollywood cinema, Zoe Saldaña. Her performance as Esmeralda Rojas, someone forced to illegally cross the border for killing an abuser, does not disappoint. I really liked the way she pronounces Spanish and her fluid transition between this language and English gives a lot of strength to her dialogues in both languages. Also very prominent and powerful is the presence of Adria Arjona, sensual and expressive in the role of the young mother Yadira, and romantic interest of the Border Police member, Garrett Hedlund (Shipp), in a role of someone who is being pushed to the limits of his endurance when facing the conflicts of opposing loyalties. Chris Coy, as Dobbins, stands out as the tough law enforcement officer who is on the verge of sadism and who is in charge of instructing his rookie partner, Shipp, in the art of ignoring the human misery of those who are exploited to enter the United States illegally and treating them with the appropriate distance and harshness.

The film was directed by Marco Perego who also shared credits with Rick Rapozza in writing the script. Excellent work for someone who wants to communicate with art a drama of our current world. I am neither American nor Mexican, I am Argentinean so I am far from this border drama. The reflection that comes to me after having seen the film is that everything seems like a game with perverse rules destined for good intentions to always fail and where human suffering never takes precedence over the role that each party must play in the development of the action. Once the drama is over, the only thing that persists are the inflexible rules of the game that wait to receive a new round of participants to crush them with their rigidity. A truly frustrating situation and very inauspicious for the supposed greatness, compassion and flexibility of the human mind.