Walls

The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 raised hopes of a world with no more concrete borders dividing populations. But today we see the exact opposite, and walls have been erected all over the world to set the boundaries between poverty and prosperity. On the U.S.-Mexican border, we meet a Vietnam vet placing crosses where Mexicans lost their lives trying to find a better life. On the other side, a Mexican couple is waiting for the right moment to attempt a climb over. A sentry patrols the banks of the Limpopo River along the border of Zimbabwe and South Africa, where many refugees drown trying to cross. At the Moroccan-Spanish border, we see a woman carrying huge packages on her back. The border scenes flow effortlessly into one another. Directors Pablo Iraburu and Migueltxo Molina add new meaning by placing the tableaux in split-screen compositions such as a Mexican tunnel placed beneath an African baobab. Meanwhile, a voice-over explaining the situation in Mexico accompanies scenes from the Moroccan border. The countless partitions all over the world form a universal problem.