The documentary filmmakers were very thorough, including multiple perspectives and across decades of activity.  The researchers were definitely very thorough, even including personal details of the man with the pet bird who visited the detainees every single week for several years.  It makes me wonder what they excluded from the film, and how the information they chose shaped the story.

The documentary is definitely unique in that it dedicates a large portion of air time to interviewing the undocumented immigrants.  The emphasis on the personal lives of the lawyers and the Chinese passengers of the Golden Venture was an interesting choice.  The documentary took the time to humanize and empathize with them, struggling at a bad time and bad place.  It almost made the documentary seem like a good guy vs. bad guy kind of dilemma.

I wish the film had included more about American context, besides 9/11 and other acts of terrorism.  Instead of seeing the Golden Venture as just an isolated incident, it would be interesting to connect the newcomers with the undocumented group that already exists in New York.  They might have included organizations and family members of undocumented immigrants.  The film also did not emphasize how terrible the living conditions were for the undocumented immigrants that stayed in America.  The narrator gave a brief overview of the hours and the housing but did not emphasize the terrible conditions.