Crossing Over

The 2009 American crime drama film written and directed by Wayne Kramer presents a mosaic narrative focusing on illegal immigrants from various nationalities striving to obtain legal status in Los Angeles. The film delves into multiple facets of the U.S. immigration system, including border crossings, document fraud, asylum procedures, green card acquisition, naturalization, counter-terrorism efforts, and cultural clashes. Central to the plot are several interwoven stories. Max Brogan (Harrison Ford), an ICE agent, assists the son of deported Mexican woman Mireya Sanchez by returning him to his grandparents in Mexico, later learning of Mireya's death. Taslima Jahangir, a 15-year-old Bangladeshi girl, faces FBI scrutiny and potential deportation after writing a school essay urging understanding of the 9/11 terrorists' motives. Claire Shepherd (Alice Eve), an Australian actress, engages in a sexual relationship with immigration officer Cole Frankel (Ray Liotta) in exchange for a green card, leading to his arrest for corruption. Gavin Kossef (Jim Sturgess), a British musician, pretends to be a religious Jew to secure employment at a Jewish school and remain in the country. Yong Kim, a South Korean teenager, becomes involved with a gang and participates in a robbery but is released by officer Hamid Baraheri (Cliff Curtis), who is concealing his brother Farid's involvement in the murder of their sister Zahra and her married lover. The film also touches on the plight of a Nigerian orphan girl held in a migrant detention center. The cast includes Ashley Judd (Denise Frankel), Alice Eve (Claire Shepherd), Jim Sturgess (Gavin Kossef), Cliff Curtis (Hamid Baraheri), Justin Chon (Yong Kim), Melody Khazae (Taslima Jahangir), Meredith Mason-Hyde (Lucy), among others. The film received mixed reviews from critics and grossed approximately $3.5 million worldwide.