SXSW Film Review: The In Between

Family cookouts, the stillness of a river at dusk, teenage conversations. They seem small in the moment, but they’re also the stuff of life itself. Filmmaker Robie Flores takes these small, precious moments and creates something mesmerizing in The In Between.

In the wake of her brother Marcelo’s passing, Flores returns to her hometown of Eagle Pass, Tex. In an attempt to reawaken memories of their childhood and adolescence growing up on the U.S.-Mexico border, the filmmaker documents life in her hometown. The result is a moving examination of loss and an astute understanding of what it feels like to come of age in this unique pocket of the world.

As someone who had a similar upbringing in a border town, I was immediately familiar with the slices of life Flores offers us. Using young people currently coming of age in Eagle Pass as placeholders for herself, her siblings, and friends, the filmmaker recreates the minutiae of adolescence and delicious simplicity of everyday life. A fishing trip on the Rio Grande showcases something most audiences might not expect: the river as a place of tranquility. “This is the Rio Grande at its finest,” one of the men on the boat says. In another scene, teenage girls share their fears and hopes for high school, mid-makeover. It’s a world Flores took for granted, she explains early in the film. Here, it’s lovingly rendered, crystalized for everyone who ever desperately wanted to leave their hometown and then realized how special it was once they left.

It’s also a world that is haunted by the absence of Marcelo, who was also a filmmaker. His camera, and the footage he shot while he was alive, raise thoughtful questions about memory. His documentation of their everyday lives punctuates the documentary and adds a profound dimension to The In Between: How do we preserve the moments dearest to us?

The style of the film is as handcrafted as its concept. Flores uses Marcelo’s camera, often in handheld mode, giving the film a lived-in feel, echoing home movies. Flores is also deft at letting her subjects take the lead, disappearing for stretches of the film save for the occasional voiceover where she shares memories or musings. It’s a strategy that’s effective and immersive. The focus on everyday border-town residents adds to the personal feel of the documentary, and provides a level of nuance that’s rare for depictions of the border in movies.

The In Between is a heartfelt collage of a film. In the documentation of a specific time, place, and feeling, Flores taps into the universal, and crafts something singular in the process. It’s also a tender rumination on loss and memory worth seeing. At a time when the border has become fodder for hate, it's refreshing to see a movie that highlights the humanity at its center.

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The In Between

Documentary Feature Competition, World Premiere

Monday, March 11, 2024, 9pm & 9:30pm, Alamo South Lamar
Friday, March 15, 2024, noon, Alamo South Lamar

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