Immigration has often been a topic that sparks strong emotions around the globe, and it is an especially hot topic this election season, particularly when you have a Presidential candidate characterizing undocumented immigrants not as “human” but rather as “animals”, using phrases such as “they are poisoning the blood of our country” at campaign rallies. Now seems to be a perfect time for a powerful new film, The Absence Of Eden, to perhaps help lower the temperature and show the human side of those trying to cross the border into a new, and hopefully, better new life.

None other than Martin Scorsese has lent his name to this film by signing on as an Executive Producer, and it represents the first feature for artist and producer Marco Perego who also happens to be the husband of the film’s star, Zoe Saldana. Perego says it was all inspired by a sculpture he did in 2017. For that one he filled 714 shoes with concrete to represent children fleeing from Syria to Italy.

The Absence Of Eden is set at the border between the U.S. and Mexico and actually deals with an undocumented immigrant named Esmee (Saldana), working as a private dancer who finds herself in deep trouble after killing a drug cartel member in the club where she works and who had tried to rape her. This leads to her getting involved with a shady coyote providing travel across the border for immigrants unable to flee any other way. When she meets a mother travelling with her daughter things get worse as their caravan is stopped and the daughter Alma (Sophia Hammons) is separated from her mother who pleads with Esmee to take care of her as the desperate woman is carted away by cartel members. Esmee promises she will make sure they are reunited in America.

A parallel story deals with a morally conflicted ICE agent, Shipp (Garrett Hedlund) who clearly has issues with the demands of his job and is also, as it turns out, romantically involved with Yadira (Adria Arjona) who is living a life near the border but perhaps hiding a secret of her own. Their relationship plays out as he goes about a daily life that exposes the inhumanity involved, even as his partner, Dobbins (Chris Coy) has another view of things as he looks at these people with far less compassion.

Perego, who co-wrote the screenplay with Rick Rapoza, structures the story by going back and forth between these two characters and the shadow of the Cartel hanging over everything in this explosive scenario, especially when Esmee herself is separated from Alma, helpless to protect her even as her own life continues to be in danger.

While the film packs plenty of action and moves swiftly, the emphasis here is on humanity, and showing that these people caught up in harrowing circumstances are people just like us, and Perego is clearly dedicated to never letting the focus change from that. He is helped greatly by a terrific cast including Saldana who brings grace and grit to Esmee. Also impressive is Arjona who skillfully plays the contradictions of a character who slowly reveals herself. Hedlund, morose for much of the film, is also very fine as a man uncomfortable with his job and himself.

The film is in fact dedicated to Saldana’s late maternal grandmother who immigrated from the Dominican Republic in the 1960’s.

Producers are Julie Yorn, Perego, Robert Kravis, Karl Herrmann, and Alexandra Milchan. Roadside Attractions and Vertical Entertainment have teamed up on the release.

Title: The Absence Of Eden

Distributor: Roadside Attractions

Release Date: April 12, 2024

Director: Marco Perego

Screenplay: Marco Perego and Rick Rapoza

Cast: Zoe Saldana, Garrett Hedlund, Adria Arjona, Chris Coy, Sophia Hammons, Noah Ziggy James

Rating: R

Running Time: 2 hours and 12 minutes