Sleep Dealer (2008, USA/Mexico)

Like a Philip K. Dick story, Sleep Dealer is clumsily written and structurally unsound, but rife with fascinating ideas. A science fiction narrative blended with harsh social critique, Sleep Dealer takes place in the not-too-distant future, in a Mexico where migrant workers can now plug into a machine in order to take menial jobs in America, instead of physically crossing the border. The tech is similar to that in eXistenZ and Strange Days, but utilized for an entirely different purpose - as one character says, "All the work - without the workers". It's actually a fairly comprehensive view of the life of a migrant worker - coyotes, backbreaking and occasionally dangerous labor conditions, low pay, societal exclusion - even down to the excessive fees charged for sending money back home to the family. Unfortunately, newbie director Alex Rivera can't hang all of this on a strong story or script, and even his often arresting visuals get bogged down in the plodding direction. Still, with this kind of blend, it will be interesting to see if Rivera's technical abilities can catch up with his imagination.