A Day Without a Mexican

Every Mexican in California disappears one day, and the Golden State is isolated from the rest of the world by an impenetrable lavender fog in this clever but thinly developed sociopolitical satire from director Sergio Arau (son of Like Water for Chocolate director Alfonso Arau). The effects of one-third of the workforce going AWOL and the reaction of citizens left behind provide some delicious food for thought, but the characters (including a Latina broadcaster, a state senator and his family, and a mixed-marriage couple) are broadly drawn, and too many questions are left unanswered. The digital video to 35mm transfer of the film feeds the production’s mockumentary elements but also contributes to the overall amateurish feel of the production.