Renowned Belgian filmmaker Chantal Akerman shifts her focus to the border town of Agua Prieta in Mexico where would-be illegal immigrants ponder the risks of crossing the deadly deserts and mountains into nearby Arizona. With INS agents successfully guarding the border of San Diego, the town of Douglas, Arizona has become a new crossing point. With her striking, independent style, Akerman discards the traditional narrative-drive documentary in favor of a film that is more of a meditation, with careful attention given to the sound and feel of the landscape that shapes the lives of people living on both sides of the border. Akerman’s painterly images and unhurried cinematography help define the dilemma for both the immigrants and the people who are supposed to stop them. An intelligent and patient film that requires as much participation from its audience as it does its subjects.  RS