Review: ‘East of Salinas,’ on PBS, Tells a Migrant Boy’s Story

*The reviewer isnt kind, but I think it may be for a good reason. This is a well told story about one immigrant boy. But there are 2 million like him, each with a different set of circumstances. The last sentence makes a strong claim: “this is the kind of film that some people latch on to in arguing for simplistic solutions to complicated problems.” The program airs tonight.VL

By Neil Genzlinger, The New York Times

“East of Salinas,” Monday night’s “Independent Lens” film on PBS, a title card puts the story we have just seen about a migrant boy named José Ansaldo into statistical context.

“José is one of two million undocumented children living in the United States today,” it says.

That bit of data is evidence that the phenomenon examined in the film needs attention, but it’s also the reason that “East of Salinas” isn’t especially useful in illuminating it.

The film, by Laura Pacheco and Jackie Mow, follows a stretch in the life of José, an 8-year-old who was born in Mexico but came to the United States with his parents, who are migrant farmworkers living near Salinas, Calif. It is also the story of Oscar Ramos, a teacher who grew up in similar circumstances and now puts extra effort into José and students like him, taking them on field trips and looking in on their home lives.

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