Immigration where you don't expect it.

I watched "Shinjuku Incident" tonight.  I was surprised that it was a movie that dealt so heavily with oppressed people who immigrate.  I would guess from the plot that Chinese immigrants to Japan are not uncommon and that they often arrive on boats.  Jackie Chan's character is following a woman who has gone to Japan to find a better life.
It is interesting to see that illegal immigration is not an issue relegated to the USA.  Other countries struggle with it too and it really does divide people.  Chan examines the struggles of poor Chinese immigrants fighting to survive amidst strong ethnocentrism.
In the meantime, there is some fighting and violence and random action.  While the movie isn't perfect, it is still worthwhile to experience the collision of cultures outside of US understanding.  To see issues play out in front of you that are common between different people groups is powerful.  The plight of the poor, moving to find hope and opportunity in new lands, and the fight they have to assimilate into new cultures is difficult.  We all need to learn how to bridge the gaps that divide us instead of ways to force those gaps further apart.  Shinjuku does not make this any easier, but it does provide a new perspective.