A teenage girl (Bishil) who is entirely American other than that she doesn’t have legal status, becomes the target of the FBI and INS when she voices compassion for the September 11 hijackers. Despite growing up in the country, she could be deported to her home country even though she doesn’t speak the language or know the culture. Kramer ignores the fact that this girl should have been smart enough to know that supporting the 9/11 hijackers would not go over well. Again, there’s promise in this story, but Kramer never gives the story enough depth to make it seem like anything more than a political statement.

And that’s what Crossing Over is: a political statement. The immigration system is messed up and perfectly good people fall victim to it. This is a fine message to have, as we all know that the immigration system is screwy, but Kramer comprises his stories with his message. As a result, Crossing Over barely garnered a theatrical release and Kramer’s message reached almost no one.

In reality, Crossing Over is perfectly watchable and mildly entertaining, with decent performances from all involved. But it wants to be Crash without the connectivity or storytelling power of Paul Haggis. The movie is a bunch of stories, but they are too random to care about any of them. Had Kramer settled down and focused on one individual plot, he has the skills to develop an authentic film; but as is, Crossing Over just doesn’t feel authentic.