Al Otro Lado

The New York Times by

This infectious little movie enriches understanding of the immigrant experience insofar as it translates one of its main forms of expression. Where the movie goes wrong, albeit down a forgivable path, is in the attempt to personalize its subject by means of biographical focus on an aspiring corrido composer.

New York Daily News by Elizabeth Weitzman

Almada steadfastly reserves judgment, which means we don't learn if there are members of the Mexican community who disapprove of corrido's hard-edged lyrics. But she makes a pretty good case for its passionate fans. Like them, we're left unable to get the music - and the musicians - out of our heads.

TV Guide Magazine by Maitland McDonagh

The film's heart is Magdiel and the modest dreams that get him through the day but may also be the death of him.

Village Voice by Michael Atkinson

A competent, earnest ethnographic video doc that never quite rises above its own best intentions.

Variety by Robert Koehler

Viewers unaware of the music --hugely popular among Mexicans -- and the often intensely nationalist sentiments behind it, may blanch at the open chauvinism and celebration of outlaw lifestyles. But part of the pic's strength is its presenting the cultural strain as it is, without comment.

New York Post by V.A. Musetto

Serves as a primer on a musical style that may be unfamiliar to many, while putting a human face on the problem of illegal immigrants.