La frontière invisible

Soldiers are stationed on Socorro Island, 700 km off Mexico's west coast, to protect a magnificent ecosystem and guard their country's last frontier. With a patient, observant camera, director Mariana Flores Villalba records their truth. Far from everything, time passes slowly, allowing memories to resurface that are sometimes sweet, like those of childhood, but often traumatic, like the loss of colleagues, pressures of the field, or worry for the family. Nature, an ancient soul, takes in their fears, ideals, and resignation without batting an eye, offering a temporal rift away from danger. Through skillful, delicate editing, The Invisible Frontier lets their testimonies unfold to gradually convey the radical contrast between this island, away from it all, and the muted, inescapable violence raging in their communities. For these young soldiers often from disadvantaged backgrounds, there's a fine line that prevents them from becoming bandits themselves. We no longer grow up flying kites, one says, "but shooting bullets." (NG)

This film is presented as part of the Focus Mexico: Light Between the Shadows.

The Invisible Frontier