SIN NOMBRE is a powerful, monumental drama that touches the very soul of humanity. It’s a thrilling escape and redemption story, an unlikely friendship on a journey that would lead to… an unforgettable end. It will leave a mark with you after you leave the theater. It’s an epic, heart-wrenching little film that’s well-executed, don’t go through 2009 without watching SIN NOMBRE. Quite possibly one of the best immigrant-themed movies in recent years.
Sin Nombre tells the story of Sayra (Paulina Gaitan), a teenager living in Honduras, and hungering for a brighter future. A reunion with her long-estranged father gives Sayra her only real option – emigrating with her father and her uncle into Mexico and then the United States, where her father now has a new family. Meanwhile, Casper, a.k.a. Willy (Edgar Flores), is a teenager living in Tapachula, Mexico, and facing an uncertain future. A member of the Mara Salvatrucha gang brotherhood, he has just brought to the Mara a new recruit, 12-year-old Smiley (Kristyan Ferrer), who undergoes a rough initiation. Sayra and her relatives manage to cross over into Mexico. There, they join other immigrants waiting at the Tapachula train yards. When a States-bound freight train arrives one night, they successfully rush to board – riding atop it, rather than in the cars – as does Lil’ Mago, who has commandeered Casper and Smiley along to rob immigrants. When day breaks, Lil’ Mago makes his move and Casper in turn makes a fateful decision. Casper must now navigate the psychological gauntlet of his violent existence and the physical one of the unforgiving Mara, but Sayra bravely allies herself with him as the train journeys through the Mexican countryside towards the hope of new lives.
As I’ve said again and again, movie about immigrants have special place in my heart because I too was an immigrant. Last year we had Richard Jenkin’s phenomenal performance in The Visitor, a love story that also makes us re-evaluate our stand on this particular, arguable policy. SIN NOMBRE, however, is a different kind of greatness. It shows the poor condition and terrible environments that motivate people to migrate northbound. The depiction of gang life and poverty in SIN NOMBRE is so harrowing and sad, I think filmmaker Cary Fukunaga who’s dealt with immigrant stories before, wanted the audience to understand that there’s nothing easy about leaving their hometown, there’s nothing easy about joining a gang so you can survive everyday, there’s nothing easy either about entering foreign territory. Fukunaga makes sure the level of discomfort is raised up a notch by this portrayal so that the audience would wonder if this is even a documentary because it looks realistic.
What an amazing story also by writer Fukunaga. It centers on these two characters, Willy a.k.a El Casper, and Sayra. One is trying to run away from his gang that tries to kill him after he killed the leader, while the other is following his family to go to New Jersey. I’m glad writer Fukunaga emphasized a very good point, if you’re part of a gang, it doesn’t mean they’ll always have your back. At one point Willy said to Sayra that the so-called friends he’s defended all his life killed the only girl he ever loved. There’s no brotherhood, there’s no family, there’s only pride, vanity, wasted life and absolute death. Sayra isn’t sure why she’s coming along for the run to the border, she’s the kind of character that some of us might say..would care a little too much. But somehow she finds assurance in Willy. I don’t necessarily call them an odd couple, these are two people who are not sure what they should do next and find that to be a common ground between them. Willy knows he’s a dead man but doesn’t know if he can go around it, Sayra knows she’s too far to go back now but should she even continue at all?!
I think Willy finds some kind of second chance in Sayra, at first he had no intention of taking care of her, but their companionship would redeem him of his past, Sayra’s kindness gives him an unlikely forgiveness from his sins when she told him that she trusted him.
I enjoy the profundity that comes in the writing. It’s not a long movie and yet we get so much in return thanks to writer/director Fukunaga’s excellent, well-structured storyline. The intense gang violence completes the engaging drama of human spirit that tells us everything’s going to be all right even when death is lurking around the corner.
SIN NOMBRE is one of my favorite choices for this year’s Best Foreign Language film.
* Place the cursor on the image below to check my grade for this film
