Uriah43 I liked this movie for several reasons. First, I thought it portrayed the "maliquidoras" (companies that move their plants and factories south of the Rio Grande) quite realistically. Second, I believe that the drug cartels deserve every bit of bad publicity they can get. Third, I also believe that the corruption of government officials in Mexico should be exposed. Of course, I realize that this was a film that was totally fictitious. But things very similar to this actually happen when greed takes over and people are treated like "widgets" and nothing more. And I believe people need to be made aware of this. But despite the politics involved, I also liked the film due to the way the movie played out. Jeff Daniels (playing International Rights Watch advocate "James Rhodes") did pretty well in conveying the "crusader" spirit that is necessary for the job at hand. Additionally, I liked the cynicism of "Douglas Draper" (James Spader) and the cautious attitude of the Mexican investigator named "Claudio Castillo" (Clifton Collins Jr). All three characters seemed to fit quite well. And then there is the attractive American State Department agent named "Emily Thompson" (Portia de Rossi) whose presence brightened the screen as well. As far as the plot is concerned, I thought it kept my attention. At least for the most part. However, I seriously doubt that any drug cartel is going to be that concerned about its public image like this movie tried to depict. After all, they're thugs and hired killers and it's what they do. So shooting it out with the Mexican police to defend their reputation was a bit far-fetched. Likewise, the ending was a bit too convenient. But other than that I enjoyed this movie.

MBunge I Witness is an overly earnest little film about politics, drugs and mass murder on the U.S./Mexico border. The basic idea of the story isn't that bad, but it was realized with too many characters, too little mystery and an ending where you can pinpoint the exact moment when these filmmakers decided to stop caring whether the movie made any sense or not.James Rhodes (Jeff Daniels) is a human rights activist who's been sent down to observe a vote to unionize at an American-owned chemical company in Tijuana. While he's there, Rhodes gets involved in the investigation of 27 dead Mexican peasants founds in a drug smuggling tunnel. The authorities want to blame it on a enigmatic drug lord, but Rhodes suspects there's something else going on. His search for answers is assisted by the prideful Detective Castillo (Clifton Collins Jr.) and his work with the unionization vote is complicated by pretty U.S. trade representative Emily Thomas (Portia de Rossi). There's also a U.S. State Department official named Douglas Draper (James Spader) who is an old friend of Rhodes. I think Draper was intended to be a significant character in this film, but he really just floats around and gives off that vibe that James Spader gave off when he was thin. As opposed to the vibe Spader has given off since he got fat. There aren't many actors whose on screen presence has changed so greatly over the course of their career. I really hope CGI reaches the point one day where thin Spader from Sex, Lies & Videotape can do a buddy cop movie with fat Spader from Boston Legal.Anyway…Rhodes just sort of wanders around from place to place, getting abducted by drug gangsters and pointedly NOT having sex with Emily, until a guy on his death bed explains the whole story to him. I don't want to give away the ending but let me just note, the moment when drug gangsters storm in like the cavalry to rescue Rhodes, even though there's absolutely no way they could know he needed rescuing and absolutely no reason they should rescue him in the first place, that's the moment when you know these filmmakers no longer care if I Witness makes any sense.Honestly, this isn't a horrendous film. Jeff Daniels is a perfectly acceptable hero, though he does look far too much like Jeff Bridges from the 1976 King Kong remake. The script is making a noble effort at saying something about the complexities of life, death and business on the U.S./Mexico border. I suppose the direction is adequate. But a paucity of plot, a phalanx of unnecessary characters and a plethora of poorly written scenes does produce a pedestrianly bad movie.

Wandadaxx1 I cried a lot and more at the ending. It takes one to know one. Anyone who commented the film is not as exciting or thrilling enough has no idea about the reality at all. I am not Mexican nor am I a "professional" human rights activist. I identify with most characters on my journey and in my quest for the truths. I'm an American who was born Deaf exposed to an unknown racism called AUDISM. I come from high class society. Being a Deaf female of a high society where AUDISM practices within the Legal System is rampant, it is equivalent to the Badlands of the untamed Wild West under the disguise of elegance, etiquette and complete control. The surface looks so peaceful and idyllic. What makes Audism so deadly is no one except Deaf People knows about Audism and its' state of totalitarianism for the Deaf. People are accustomed to mass of people living in a state of totalitarianism, they are not conditioned to accept a state of totalitarianism also imprisons one lone solitary person. Deaf Americans faces same dangers and fear for their lives/ Rights/Freedom due to their stereotyped status of deafness, no different from people of 3rd world countries."I Witness" is very true. It's all about the money. It exists in free countries like U.S.A., not just in 3rd world countries.

David Topping I've just watched this as the late night film on the BBC and have to say I was really impressed. I soldiered through the first 10 minutes or so which don't give a good impression of the film. After that however the characters grow or seem to be more comfortable, having moved away from a slightly stereotypical "do-gooder" (Daniels), "cute American" (de Rossi), "resentful cop" (Collins) and "enigmatic government agent" (Spader). When the characters are established they really seem to have a very natural relationship and the film stays away from any hint of being a "buddy movie", which given the seriousness of the topic, would have been a mistake. What you are left with are just well seen characterisations, the same is equally true for the supporting cast.I enjoyed the setting of Mexico and the urban scenes which the director used to make the film look very 'normal'; no glossy idealised Mexican villages but equally no attempt to make the backdrop look squalid unless it needed to be. I suppose this is no big deal but it did make me pay more attention to the plot and the actors.It is the plot and its unravelling which makes this worth watching. The viewer is lead through the story only knowing as much as the characters, and like them, is led down some blind alleys before the denouement, which in itself I found worthwhile.Like another reviewer I found the ending just slightly contrived, apart from that I couldn't see any faults and have to say I found this thoroughly enjoyable and considerably more captivating and enjoyable than many of the so called thrillers being released at the moment.If you get a chance to rent this or it's on TV then I'd say it's well worth watching.