Through a storyline that reads like something straight out of Donald Trump’s immigration playbook, the dramatic indie thriller Simmer imagines a world in which undocumented immigrants are given full American citizenship—if they can pay thousands of dollars to the U.S. government.
In the trailer, we see that Congress has approved controversial “landmark legislation” that calls on the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency to start the “process of deporting five million undocumented immigrants.” It also introduces an immediate pathway to citizenship called the “American Dream Fee” where immigrants can stay in the country if they fork over $20,000 per individual.
During one scene, an undocumented father is dragged out of his home by ICE agents as his wife and child stand by screaming. Chef Hernandez (Marsuvio Sanchez) watches the events unfold and he’s desperate to find a way to pay the money needed so his family isn’t deported.
When Chef’s shady boss learns that he’s looking for a way to raise the cash, he offers him a job as a driver. “All you need to do is pick up a car from across town, drive it to a specific address and leave it there,” his boss tells him. “If you do this for me, I’ll pay you $20,000.”
Chef asks: “But what am I delivering?”
We’re assuming Chef is going to have to make a few runs to raise the $60,000 he needs to save his family, but we’re not sure he’ll complete the task with all that yelling coming from inside the trunk of the car.
Simmer hits VOD platforms on Jan. 26.
