What We Leave Behind

As "What We Leave Behind" (2022 release; 71 min) opens, we hear a voice-over (which turns out to be the director) talking to an old guy (turns out to be her grandpa), as he gets ready to take the bus back to Mexico. Due to his poor health, the bus company won't allow him to gravel by himself, so his granddaughter (the director) accompanies him. They arrive in San Juan Del Rio, in rural Central Mexico, and we get to know other family members. At this point we are less than 10 min into the documetnary.

Couple of comments: this is the latest film from wireter-producer-director Iliana Sosa, who has a long track record focusing on cross-border immigration issues ("Detained In the Desert", "Building the American Dream"). Here she goes very personal, focusing on her ailing grandpa who first started coming into the US in the mid-1960's. Sosa doesn't rush anything, and lets the old man do much of the talking, as he reflects on a life (almost) gone by, his erstwhile hopes and fears, and what he hopes to leave behind. The documentary observes the day-to-day, mostly slow life in rural Mexico along the way. For many of us (or certainly for me) it feels like a different universe altogether, while realizing that these are decent people, making the best of a hard life they've been given. There are no "political" statements in this documentary, which is just as well as the tales we hear from the old man and his family provide all the context we need.

"What We Leave Behind" premiered on Netflix several weeks ago and I finally got around to watching it last night. So glad I did. If you are in the mood for a deeply personal and moving "human" story that happens to involve cross-border immigration between the US and Mexico, I'd readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.