Many thanks to Pinnacle Peak Pictures for providing a sample of the product for this review. My opinions are 100% my own.
One of the greatest honors of my life was my time spent as a missionary in Kenya and Central America. Making the new film, “Between Borders,” and its portrait of the resilient nature of refugee families, a film that is needed in today’s modern America.
This faith-based film, from Angel Studios, which brought us recent titles such as this past holiday season’s, “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever,” focuses on Kingdom Story Company’s take on modern refugee stories from the perspective of “the outsider,” and their aspiring role of the contemporary Christian Church’s call to aid refugees internationally.
“Between Borders” focuses on their interpretation of the refugees’ experience. Shares a tale of the Petrosyan family, a tight-knit clan leaving their home in Azerbaijan, escaping political upheaval in Armenia, for a Russian Christian community. Who in turn, aid the family’s escape to the United States, evading Russian violence. Then, in America, fighting the jurisprudence of the domestic court system.
The story’s virtue lies in its retelling of the Petrosyan family’s journey of ethnic, social, and religious persecution. Leaving the confines of communism, to being welcomed into moralistic America. A story that is both common and concerning. While refreshing to see an emboldened tale on the typical story of refugees coming to America, the story is simplistic in its understanding of domestic immigration, assimilation, and the modern post-Soviet state.
Packed with survivalist heroism, this story falls short of its intended interpretation. Russia is portrayed as a misguided haven for Christians, despite its current jurisprudence being riddled with human rights atrocities. At least 17 civilian journalists and media workers have been killed in the line of duty since the Russo-Ukrainian War began in 2014. Thousands of domestic protestors were detained for undocumented human rights violations, including, notably, Alexei Navalny’s death in an Arctic Circle penal camp for protesting the Russian War efforts against Crimian and the Ukranian people. A war effort that has killed 34,047 (9,824 killed and 24,223 injured Ukranains) occurring on territory legally owned and occupied by the government of Ukraine, and 7,151 (2,632 killed and 4,519 injured) on territory controlled by Russian armed forces.
Highlighting the works of Christian communities aiding refugees, and highlighting the supposed tolerant nature of the American immigration system, the Petrosyan family’s experience remains exceptional. While treated badly in Russia, for reasons similar to other sections of the Ukranian population have been affected by the Russian War Machine. With America, often lambasted for its racist history, this film suggests that this may be less so in the modern-day United States. An assessment highlighting America’s perceived virtue, as compared to Russia’s lack thereof, regardless of domestic cultural and political identity.
Politics aside, the film’s actors are highly likable, including Elizabeth Tabish as Violetta Petrosyan, and Patrick Sabongui as the Petrosyan patriarch. Gives off a wholesome nature that plays well against Elizabeth’s more childlike demeanor.
While the film is longwinded and at times dawdling, its opening scene more than makes up for its internal pacing. Where viewers first meet Ivan, alone, before he walks into a courtroom, demonstrating his moralistic nature. Sharing the symbolism of the scene where the Petrosyan family hides while a neighbor is shot and maimed. Then, Ivan is confronted by bullies, and remains calm, sharing a true potential for internal pathos-aligned heroism. More than making up for the film’s disembodied camerawork, editing, and design as well as the widely-bantered notion falsely equating the communist economic system with that of Christianity, an organized religion. As seen in frames of Violetta sharing personal truths, and not commonly known actualization with her family’s attorney. Making her dialogues an off-kilter notions of communism to capitalism, unlettered.
Audiences are given a well-meaninged message, that the Petrosyan family narrowly escapes becoming victims of violence-scenes never show such exacting claims. Leading viewers to create their political sequencing in their minds. Did these near-deaths happen or were inserted into the film’s dialogue to gain a more sympathetic viewer? A failure of scripting.
Overall, Between Borders shares a message of hope for the Petrosyan family. Yet, leaves audiences feeling as much sympathy for the film’s protagonists as they do for the maligned citizens and American legal community-especially anyone who disagrees with the film’s Christian messaging. Creating a noxious spin on the current domestic immigration debate. Portraying those who wouldn’t nationally welcome Christian outsiders as motivated by xenophobia and faithlessness.
This film’s audience is in no way served by making art of social anxiety. Tutelage that leads viewers to believe that complex, legalistic issues can be made simple with cinematic coercion. Portraying diverges from moral talking points as perspectives lacking a chivalrous nature. The oversimplification of global and socioeconomic issues, as a means of fashioning narratives, a hero and villain dynamic, issues often seen throughout the faith-based film industry.
In all, the Petrosyan family’s story is one of moralistic integrity that seeks audiences to contemplate, “What does an American family look like, to you?” Positive messaging of a massively complex topic.
“Between Borders” is in theaters starting January 26-28, 2025. You can see its trailer, here, and purchase tickets, here.
Our friends at Momentum Influencers are also giving one Theladyprefers2save.com reader their own $10.00 Amazon Gift Card. To enter, please leave a comment on this page letting me know why you’d most want to see “Between Borders,” in theatres on January 26-28, 2025. This giveaway ends on January 22, 2025, at 11:59 PM CST. All duplicate entries across participating platforms will be disqualified. Gift cards will be sent electronically from Momentum Influencers to giveaway winners. Good luck!
Friends, will you be seeing “Between Borders” in theatres this January 26-28, 2025? Please leave your thoughts below.
