dir. Heidi Specogna, 2005, Germany / Switzerland, 90 min.
Screening at 10th International Latino Film Festival - San Francisco Bay Area on
11/8/2006 @ 6:30 PM - @ ()
José Antonio Gutiérrez was the first U.S. soldier to be killed in the War in Iraq. He was one of 32,000 "green card soldiers," immigrants fighting in the ranks of the U.S. Army. The U. S. government portrayed Jose as a young man who had come to the U.S. with his family, who went to war to fight for the freedoms that the U.S. represented. The film's director, Heide Specogna, sets the story straight: José grew up on the streets Guatemala during the civil war that was complicated by U.S. support. Socioeconomic conditions drove him as a young man to undertake the hazardous journey from Guatemala, through Mexico, to settle in Los Angeles. Through interviews with those who knew him, as well as those in similar circumstances, we retrace his steps IN that journey and witness the courage of the Immigrants and the agencies that help them. A revealing look at his short and tragic life.