Movie Review: a Day Without a Mexican (2004)

One day, a strange fog surrounds the State of California and inexplicably all the Mexicans disappear. So do all of the Mexican-Americans, Central Americans and South Americans.

Parents, husbands, children, trusted workers, beloved colleagues and friends vanish without a trace. Were they taken up by alien space ships? Is it the time of the rapture? What is this mysterious "L" (Latin) factor that is causing them all to seemingly evaporate?

This is a complex parody that explores a variety of relationship, adeptly weaving the threads of different stories into a masterpiece of documentary-style comedy. It's full of hilarious dialogue, some of it so quick that you'll have to see the movie twice to get it all.

It begins with an interview with a pretty blonde whose husband (played by Eduardo Palomo) has disappeared - leaving behind his false teeth. She faithfully anticipates his return despite predictions of the very worst and the dire situation that has permeated all of California.

A California fruit grower loses his best friend, Jose. This scenario is inspiration for another catchy tune, "Jose, donde esta?" He theorizes that the INS is at the root of the problem.

Meanwhile, Senator Abercrombrie becomes governor in the absence of the Latino governor of California. He became senator running on a strong anti-immigration platform. Now, only in the absence of Latin immigrants and their descendants does the senator finally see their value. He tells Lila, "Tell them California needs them."

All the while, there are problems for the border patrol - they're on the verge of being unemployed. The border patrol agents provide some of the funniest scences in the movie.

The DVD can be viewed in either English or Spanish and it has excellent special features, including outtakes, the original trailer, the original short that inspired the film, a documentary on the making of the film. Los Yoguis perform a music video of the catchy song featured in the film, "Sin Decir Adios," ("...Without Saying Goodbye").

While unmistakably political in nature, this movie does not fail to deliver on comedy. While weaving in and out of different story lines and faux interviews, it manages to develop the characters into seemingly real people that the audience can identify with and care about.

The sound track is outstanding and despite what was probably a restricted budget, the movie makes the most of everything it has at its disposal. It is a truly beautiful film.

I recommend this film highly. It is clever and powerful. Add it to your DVD library and play it whenever you need some good laughs.