I watched this again recently, and was more impressed than ever. John Sayles is one of the most intelligent, least cynical, director/screenwriters doing business today, period. The film is set in a Texas border town in 1996 and in 1958, with seamless transitions between the two eras (they are so seamless that they almost call attention to themselves, but this is a negligible reservation). I particularly appreciate that Sayles never relies on the soundtrack to do the heavy lifting for him: no swelling violins to cue the idiot audience that the scene under consideration is especially profound. He handles an ensemble cast with great tact and delicacy, and had I viewed it upon its initial release I would actually have been filled with optimism as to the future of this multicultural republic. Alas, Sayles' vision was too sunny. The cracker revanchists will destroy the commonwealth before they permit the illusory diminution of their imagined privilege.

codially