.jpg)
*A German news Web site claims that boo-birds attacked Jennifer Lopez’s new socially-conscious film “Bordertown” during its premiere Thursday at the Berlin International Film Festival.
The Gregory Nava-directed film stars J.Lo in the true story of a journalist investigating the murders of young women in the Mexican city of Ciudad Juarez. Human rights organizations have applauded Lopez for helping to bring the issue to national attention.
On Wednesday, Amnesty International gave her its "Artists for Amnesty" prize in recognition of her role in publicizing the murders. But according to the Web site Spiegel Online, some critics felt the film itself was not respectful of the real events.
“The first ominous signs came at the press screening on Thursday afternoon, when the film was booed by the audience, apparently annoyed that Nava had decided to make a B-movie thriller out of such a tragedy, the website reports. “Then there were boos during the official premiere on Thursday evening, and applause at the end was muted. J-Lo looked visibly upset.
“Reviews in the German papers Friday were hardly any more complimentary. ‘Actually the subject matter is important,’ writes the mass circulation BZ. ‘But one can't take La Lopez seriously in her role for a single moment: She's simply too cute and too J-Lo!’ The newspaper rates the movie's chances of winning a Golden Bear award as ‘slim.’
“The Berliner Zeitung says the film is ‘funny, but unintentionally’ reporting that viewers at the press screening had reacted with ‘frenetic laughter’ at supposedly serious scenes. However the film is also ‘pretty distasteful’ at the same time: the critic accuses J-Lo of exploiting the real suffering of the Mexican women in order to become a star in the Central American market. ‘It's no coincidence that the film is coming out at the same time as her new record, the first where she sings entirely in Spanish,’ the paper writes.”
“Bordertown” Background