Sleep Dealer

In the-not-too-distant future Mexico, a young boy named Memo lives in a small farm in the middle of nowhere. It's slowly dying, what with all the water under control of a local corporation, but as much as he wants to leave his Father makes him stay. That is, until a terrible tragedy (brought on by an unfortunate accident) forces him to head to Tijuana to find work. There, he gets a job working by proxy in the US (through computer jacks throughout his body), meets a nice girl who's secretly selling the memories she has of him, and generally has to deal with life in the lower-class part of a high tech world.

In the world of science fiction movies, most people assume them to have at least one of three things: aliens, spaceships, or giant robots (with lasers and explosions to match). As more and more big budget blockbuster type flicks come out, one sometimes forgets that sci-fi isn't just about the special effects. Sometimes it's about character, and a look at their lives and stories, while the world of tomorrow sits humbly in the background. This is one such movie.

Made on a tiny budget (not Primer tiny, but miniscule compared to the aforementioned giant movies), this foreign movie explores a number of interesting aspects of a slightly more realistic future. There's plenty of cool technological advances about -you can install input jacks called "nodes" all over your body to plug into computers and other devices (think the things Neo and co. use to get into the Matrix), you can upload memories to sell them, remote piloting of robots and military aircraft is common, etc.- given that this takes place in a poor, now-completely-walled-off-from-the-US Mexico, things aren't as glamorous as you would think. It's actually a very realistic look at the whole "technology marches on" idea in the world today. That is to say, just because technology gets better doesn't mean people get richer. The poor stay poor; they've just got new stuff to work with.

The political messages of the film are present, but not hammered in in any kind of annoying way. Illegal immigration is addressed in the idea that the Nodes present the perfect solution: the immigrants work long, difficult shifts in factories (the titular 'sleep dealers' due to the exhaustion they bring people), controlling robots in other parts of the world. It's an interesting idea, and one (if you think about it) that's already going on in the world right now. It's outsourcing brought to the next logical step. Illegal immigration by proxy; all the work without the workers, as I've seen it described several times.

Going to the characters, they're played very well. Memo is a sympathetic character, and despite being somewhat blameworthy for what happens in the movie, you can tell it wasn't his fault or intentions. All the characters around him (especially a military fighter pilot, who is sadly underused for the first half of the movie) do excellent jobs, and they create a real, believable world.

Problems with this movie are minor. The CGI is pretty good. Not outstanding or totally realistic (looks fairly toony at times), but it gets the job done for this sort of movie. As I mentioned I would've preferred more time with the pilot, since he gets pretty important to the movie by the end. But overall it's a fascinating little sci-fi movie, one with characters you care about, an intriguing plot set in a not-to-fantastic world, and a number of ideas to ponder over (I've only touched on a few).

A must see for all sci-fi fans looking for something different.

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xW8oSRSzS7M (despite what this trailer would like you to think, the movie is mostly in Spanish)