Crossing Over for the American Dream

MANILA, Philippines - Immigrants from around the world enter Los Angeles every day, with hopeful visions of a better life, but little notion of what that life may cost. Their desperate scenarios test the humanity of immigration enforcement officers. In The Weinstein Company’s new searing drama Crossing Over, writer-director Wayne Kramer explores the allure of the American Dream, and the reality that immigrants find — and create — in 21st century L.A.

The film will be shown soon exclusively at Ayala Malls Cinemas (Glorietta 4 and Greenbelt 3). 

Kramer’s intersecting stories, both cathartic and tragic, are brought to life by an international ensemble. The film stars Harrison Ford, Ray Liotta, Ashley Judd, Cliff Curtis, Jim Sturgess and Alice Braga.

“The US offers hope — but that often comes at a price. Many can earn citizenship legally through a lengthy bureaucratic process, but others find themselves out of luck in a country where virtually anything can be bought,” explains Kramer. “Sex, violence and betrayal become their currency. Some wait in line for permission to enter the US while others take matters into their own hands.”

In the film, L.A. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer Max Brogan (Ford) is an agent sworn to protect America’s borders, dealing with the thousands that try to cross over into the US in search of a better life. The lives of Brogan, his ICE partner, Hamid Baraheri (Curtis), immigration defense attorney, Denise Frankel (Judd), and her husband, Cole Frankel (Liotta), intersect, by necessity, accident or fate, with Mexican factory worker Mireya Sanchez (Braga); Hamid’s sister Zahra (Melody Khazae); young Bangladeshi Taslima Jahangir (Summer Bishil); British musician Gavin Kossef (Sturgess); Australian actress Claire Shepard (Alice Eve); and Korean teen Yong Kim (Justin Chon).