Crossing Borders (2006)

A well balanced film, reflecting the reality of emigration for Spaniards. A light drama with touches of intelligent humour. A joy to watch, learn and have an occasional laugh. As a brit living in Spain for many years, it's wonderful to see how Spanish movies have evolved so well from the old "españoladas" (the local derogatory label for Spanish slapstick films), to intelligent and excellent quality jobs like this one. This was my second "adventure" with Carlos Iglesias, after watching his extremely humanistic "Ispansi" (Spanish refugees in Russia during the Spanish Civil War). I'm now looking forward to watching his latest production "¿Cómo está el Franco?".

Crossing Borders... is A Spanish-Switzerland comedy released in 2006 that tells the story of two couples of Spanish immigrants in Switzerland in the 1950s based in the autobiographical experience of the actor and director Carlos Iglesias.This is a very sweet, funny, honest and intimate film about the lives of those Spaniards who migrated to Switzerland and other European countries in the 1950s and 1960s. It is faithful to real events, and shows the issues that affected those people when leaving their country, the pros and cons of being an Spanish emigrant, and of the country of origin and the country of reception. Especially good is the depiction of the feelings of alienation, loneliness, cultural and emotional isolation, distrust by the locals, but also how hard was going back home for those who decided to return and resettle.All the cast is good in their performances, especially Nieves de Medina as Pilar and Isabel Blanco as Hanna.The movie is unpretentious, talks about serious issues using comedy, and has heart. I think it will reach immigrants from any part of the world, but also any viewer wanting to see something different from Spain and about Spain recent history.

I worked with Carlos in the TV Series of Vicente Escriva "MANOS A LA OBRA" and at that time Carlos was thinking of writing his own story about his family immigration to Switzerland. I saw the film at the premiere in the Malaga festival ( where it was awarded as best film) and I have to say that Carlos Iglesias is not only an excellent actor but also a good writer with sense and sensibility as well as a paramount director.The film reproduces the real feelings of the Spanish immigrants in the 50's with the delicacy,cheerfulness, sadness and a bit touch of frustration of the people who had to leave their own country to look for a better way of living. I have to say that I do deeply love the story and the performance of everyone's involved. Carlos keep going this way hope we can see soon another of your films. All the best for you and your nice family.I would not mind to work with you again.

I've seen this movie during our last trip to Spain. My girlfriend and I we can feel very good into the characters of this brilliant movie, because our parents where immigrated to Austria and Switzerland during this period. Her parents come from Spain and my father is from Italy, my mother from Austria. I was born about 10 miles away from Schwellbrunn, where this movie was filmed. So it is not Uzwil, like people in the movie said. But anyway. This movie shows the same thing, that our parents' happened in such a funny and for the same time hard way, that everybody must see this movie. My Spanish (like my English) is very bad but a big part of the movie was in Swiss German. That's why I loved this movie. You can understand the most part of this movie, when you speak Swiss German! What I extremely love in this movie is the switch of languages. So as Martin said, that nobody is in the firm because they are at the party or exhibition with party (feria-Spanish) he explained it badly, then in Swiss German he said, they are in holidays (Ferien-Swiss German). Or another example was as Hannah said in her bad Italian, that it is on the upper-floor (sobre piano-Italian) Martin translated Marcos this as they have a piano left (piano-Spanish).So this movie is perfect for immigrants who understand a bit of Spanish and Swiss German. But also everybody else will love this movie.