El Norte

El Norte (1983) is sadly an overlooked and underrated film from Gregory Nava. Before he made bio-pictures for Hollywood, Mr. Nava was a great film maker. His heart breaking EL NORTE is about two central American Indian peasants who risk everything so they could start a new life in the land of milk and honey "El Norte". They struggle through many hardships in their travels from Guatemala through the rough and wild terrain of Mexico and the sleazy "Coyotes" who always try to make a buck on the blood and sweat of these immigrant workers who want a chance at the American way of life.

Politics aside (people who have read my reviews know which side I stand on) you have to feel for these people who are willing to work for little just so they could have useless things. Ironically their hard work makes it able for people to buy at cost produce and cheaper goods. A gritty film that'll make you think about what these so called "illegals" have to go through. I wished this movie was available on d.v.d. in a restored format. I saw this film many years ago. The print was dark and grainy. The audio was no great shakes either. One day, people will be able to see this film. Until then check your local libraries or maybe by some ray of hope P.B.S. will air it once more (but considering the current leadership of P.B.S. that's highly unlikely).

Highest recommendation possible.

I first saw this movie in 1989 or so and, being in high school and rather naive at the time, was blown away by unromantic portrayal of the lives of two Guatemalan refugees living as illegal immigrants in California. I still find it a moving film.

Siblings Arturo and Rosa flee their mountain village after their father is killed and trek across Mexico with dreams of living in the United States -- "El Norte." The story is sprinkled with humor, but the overall theme is tragedy. The political overtones are forceful as well; the course of one's life depends more on where one was born than how resourceful one is. This idea is explored in the contrast between the situations faced by the refugees and those of Americans they encounter. Arturo's struggle to find work is perilous, and demands huge sacrifices.

Thankfully, the movie doesn't portray its subject simplistically. There are several sympathetic American characters and some unsympathetic non-Americans. However, the film is ultimately critical of America, simply because Americans have so much and give so little of it to their closest neighbours. More than that, Americans are woefully unaware of the circumstances that many of those living within their country face. El Norte is an important film because it has the ability to change this.

In the 1980s, military repression and civil warfare intensified in both Guatemala and El Salvador, resulting in massacres, forced displacement, and political assassinations. Thousands left Central America to come to America, most of them illegally. Those who entered the U.S. filed for political asylum but despite the reports of murders and disappearances, barely three percent of applicants received asylum. Today, approximately half of Salvadorans and Guatemalans living in the U.S. have less than an eighth grade education and most work long hours in jobs on the low end of the pay scale and their situation makes it nearly impossible to advance or make long term plans.

Gregory Nava's 1983 Indie film El Norte describes the plight of two young Guatemalans, Enrique (David Villalpando) and his sister Rosa (Zaide Silvia Gutierrez) who face reprisals from the military after participating in a protest meeting and undertake a hazardous journey to "the north" to find a better life. The film is divided into three parts: "Arturo Xuncax", describing the circumstances that caused the family to leave Guatemala "El Coyote", detailing their hazardous journey to reach the U.S., and "El Norte", telling the story of their life in Los Angeles. While El Norte does have a strong political message, the core of the film is the relationship between Enrique and Rosa.

The hardships of the journey are told in graphic detail, especially the last test of crossing the border by crawling on their hands and knees through an abandoned sewer line populated by hordes of rats. Things seem to be bright, however, when they arrive in Los Angeles. He becomes a busboy in an upscale restaurant, she finds work as a maid in Beverly Hills, and both try to learn English in their free time. They soon find, however, that life in the U.S. is not all that it appears and their situation unravels when Enrique is reported to INS officials by a jealous employee. El Norte wears its heart on its sleeve and the film tends toward the melodramatic, but it faithfully mirrors the fear and uncertainty that illegal immigrants face each day and I can forgive its flaws and applaud the loving bond between brother and sister and the strength it produces in their lives.

This movie is a touching story of a brother and sister trying to escape oppression in their native Guatemala and escape to 'El Norte' after the rest of their family has been taken by the army. We experience their hardships with them and see their fears and are constantly rooting for them to cross the border safely and hoping that they will find their place in the United States. They quickly realize that in 'El Norte' not everyone has a car and tons of money like their father had said. They bounce from city to city looking for work and avoiding deportation and realize that there is no place for them – not in Guatemala, Mexico or the United states. There is a lot of magical realism in the movie (which I'm not a fan of) and the ending is ambiguous but it is a great film that the viewer gets involved in emotionally.

I saw El Norte (The North) some years ago when my then girlfriend (whose father was from Mexico) rented the video and made me watch it. I'm glad she did. It covers the very basic quest story of a brother and a sister who flee Guatemala (where the indigenous population was being exterminated) through Mexico to try and find a new life in the US. Along the way they encounter all the setbacks you would imagine, including a few you don't expect. This is a serious and dramatic film that is also not afraid to find the humor that can still occur in the midst of deep struggle.

I understand that this movie was made on a shoestring and at times it shows. But the story and the acting more than carry the day. Its creative team (Gregory Nava and his wife Anna Thomas) are also responsible for the movies Selena and Mi Familia (among others), both excellent films. I think that the real history of most people living on the earth, who live ordinary lives and struggle against sometimes oppressive forces outside their control, has largely gone unwritten. In its own small way, this movie begins to make up the deficit.

Excellent--highly recommended