SXSW 2021: Fruits of Labor
SXSWEmily Cohen Ibañez' documentary Fruits of Labor is an emotionally swirling and poignant feature that curates an awe-inspiring mood but with an enlightening message that it does not have to be this way.
Following a Mexican/American family and community in the last few months of a Trump presidency is an eye-opening and often brutal examination of the trials and tribulations of being different in America, in direct contrast to the standards being that you need to be in order to survive. The subject, on the surface, is the average American high-schooler. She likes boys, has fun with friends, plans for vacation in the summer, grapples with school life. However, she's the daughter of an immigrant in Trump's America who can barely survive on a weekly basis, having to work routinely through exam season to support her family while balancing her grades for college and beyond.
Emily Cohen Ibañez' documentary, even clocking in at a tender seventy-eight minutes, stores so much to discuss and crafts such a compelling portrait of the economic and social strains of this very family. The use of the camera is always inquisitive and immersive. Perhaps too much to the strain of being quite emotionally draining but the stress and fragility this family face is reinforced and felt throughout, and one of Ibañez' film’s greatest strengths is that it propels the viewer into the difficulties of this life.
Nevertheless, this is not a doom and gloom project nor a feature to showcase the harrowing moments of life. It is also a celebration of survival and the merits of a family that stand and fight together against injustice and crisis. Emily Cohen Ibañez' documentary Fruits of Labor is a tough watch but a redeeming one, with a strong political and socially relevant message that should be heard. Shot wonderfully by Gabriella Garcia-Pardo and Emily Cohen Ibañez with terrific pacing from editors duo Kristina Motwani and Andrea Chignoli, Fruits of Labors is an all-important documentary with a stern poignancy of a message.
