Oct. 11, 2007, 6:40AM
Border examines complex issues


By LOUIS B. PARKS
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle


California rancher Chris Burgard says he got so wrapped up in what is happening on the U.S.-Mexico border that his wife told him to get a camera and make a movie of it.

The resulting documentary, Border, which Burgard is taking on "a national tour," shows at 7 tonight at AMC, Willowbrook Mall, and 8 at AMC 20, Katy Mills Mall. Burgard will answer questions after each screening.

Border doesn't resolve any issues but shows some of the complexities that make the issue one of the most troublesome and divisive facing U.S. citizens. Viewers may not reach the same conclusions Burgard does, but they may have a better understanding of the motives, good and bad, of many factions involved, from Mexican laborers to politicians, many of whom are portrayed as part of an effort to keep labor cheap and benefit "big business." The latter group includes President Bush.

Burgard, a former TV actor (JAG, Growing Pains), says working with Mexicans while building fences got him interested in their plight and the border issue.

"We made two trips to Washington, D.C., to match up what was going on on the border with what politicians are saying," he says. "I spent five weeks covering the Minute Men Civil Defense Corps. I covered the Derechos Humanos (Human Rights organization), my other crew did the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union), No More Deaths (campaign), all the players who were down there."

Whatever his motives going in, the film displays a clear admiration for the MCDC by the end. His interviews with MCDC members reveal a complexity and conviction in their reasons for watching the border. Burgard does not demonize illegal immigrants (not those coming to work, anyway), but he finds great fault in Bush, drug dealers and politicians from both countries.

Most of the film is shot on the border, including in Texas. Be warned: There are many shots of dead and decaying illegal immigrants, many that the Minutemen and local ranchers say were murdered by Coyotes (human traffickers) who raped them or forced them to bring drugs across the border.

Tickets are $10, available at the door or online at www.BorderMovie.com.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ent/5204248.html