Despite the heroic exertions of the rafters and filmmakers, this apolitical film is oddly lacking in drama.

| Mar 18, 2010

A heart-rending account of people trying to dodge the hurdles that politics puts in front of them.

| Original Score: 4/4 | Mar 19, 2004

A seven-year time lapse that's full of drama, poignancy and some heartbreaking moments.

| Original Score: 4/4 | Mar 5, 2004

Well-done documentary.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Nov 9, 2003

Despite its unique Cuban elements, Balseros gets much of its power from the way it turns out to be a classic story of immigrants coming to a golden land and finding the streets paved with baser materials.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Oct 2, 2003

While uneven, occasionally confusing and rough-edged, the documentary achieves a rare depth and intimacy in its portrait of dreams fulfilled and shattered.

Full Review | Jul 31, 2003

Unravels in too many different directions.

| Original Score: 2.5/5 | Jul 25, 2003

A coherent and emotionally satisfying tale.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Jul 24, 2003

Technically astounding, the emotional equivalent of a raft on high seas, Balseros ultimately feels perfectly true, precisely because it ended up the opposite of what it started out to be.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/4 | Jul 24, 2003

The filmmakers truly understand the symbolic struggle of Cubans trying to escape their island home's political and economic suppression.

| Original Score: 4/4 | Jul 23, 2003

Offers a fascinating perspective on the U.S. -- a paradise at once cold and abundant where, for all the emphasis on family values, the individual reigns supreme.

Full Review | Jul 22, 2003