El Norte (1983)

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Director: Gregory Nava

Writers: Gregory Nava and Anna Thomas, original story by Gregory Nava

Stars: Zaide Silvia Gutierrez, David Villalpando, Ernesto Gomez Cruz, Alicia del Lago, Lupe Ontiveros, Trinidad Silva, Enrique Castillo, Tony Plana


A brother and sister (David Villalpando and Zaide Silvia Gutierrez) flee to the North from unrest in their native Guatemalan village to make a life for themselves in the United States.


 This is a very moving film about undocumented immigrants, who have been caricatured in the political arena but exist in a world that is invisible to many Americans. 


The three sections of this film dramatize the conditions at home that drive our protagonists to escape, the journey itself with its hardships, and their attempts to start new lives once they have arrived in the North. 


Gutierrez and Villalpando give fine naturalistic performances. 


The story may be faulted for stepping over the line into melodrama, but there is no denying its heart-breaking finale. 


As I write this, we appear to be seeing an increase in anger toward the undocumented, so films like this can be important in highlighting their humanity and contradicting the indiscriminate demonization that has become so enmeshed in our politics. 


Every face we see, citizen or not, has a story behind it.







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