Cinema: An Immigrant Tragedy in Texas Alamo Bay

The Killing Fields, Birdy, The Falcon and the Snowman, Witness: all films acutely concerned with a crisis in American values, and all directed by "foreigners." Be it Sunrise or The Best Years of Our Lives, Fury or Flashdance, Hollywood movies have seen their energy and conscience reflected through the fond, critical eyes of European directors. Be grateful to these immigrant artists; they are among the last adventurers into the dark, hard regions of the American soul.

It is a troubled, divided soul that French Director Louis Malle (The Lovers, Murmur of the Heart) uncovers in Alamo Bay. The script is based...