Immigration Reality: 'A Better Life' director tells the story of illegal immigrant issues - latimes.com

'A Better Life' director tells the story of illegal immigrant issues - latimes.com: "Carlos, the lead character in director Chris Weitz's 'A Better Life' — a new movie about the personal struggles of a Mexican gardener in the United States illegally — had scraped together every last dollar to buy a used pickup. With the vehicle, Carlos (played by Mexican star Demian Bichir) could become his own boss, build a landscaping business and care better for his teenage son, Luis (newcomer Jose Julian), who was drifting toward gang life. But mere hours after Carlos closed the truck sale, a day laborer stole his pickup, and Carlos (tries) to find it in the parking lot of a Mexican restaurant.

The truck theft is the kind of infuriating but minor crime most people would handle with a call to the police and an insurance agent. But one of the central themes of "A Better Life," which premieres Tuesday at the Los Angeles Film Festival and opens in limited release on Friday, is that those kind of easy options aren't available to illegal immigrants. People like Galindo may collectively sustain the mansions of Los Angeles, "A Better Life" argues, but individually they are as vulnerable as a house of cards."