El Norte [NTSC / Region 1 - Latin American Import]
by Gregory Nava
![El Norte [NTSC / Region 1 - Latin American Import]](/images/El-Norte-NTSC-Region-1-Latin-American-Import-B000M0MV32-L.jpg)
![Buy El Norte [NTSC / Region 1 - Latin American Import] at Amazon.com](/images/buy.gif)
(Click here)
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD details
Director: Gregory NavaPrimary Contributor: Zaide Silvia Gutierrez
Primary Contributor: David Villalpando
DVD: Region Code 1
Format: Color, Full Screen, NTSC
Running Time: 139 unknown-units
Published: 1983
DVD Reviews of El Norte [NTSC / Region 1 - Latin American Import]
DVD Review: Harrowing, true and masterful depiction of a tragic journey
Summary: 5 Stars
"El Norte" is one of the most scarring, deep, and harrowing movies I have seen. The film was directed by Gregory Nava (Selena, Bordertown and wrote the screenplay for Frida). It received an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay. This movie was made in response to the large scale extermination and discrimination of the indigenous people in Guatemala which forced many of them into a large scale exiled to the North.
The movie covers the plight of two young indigenous siblings (Zaide Silvia Gutiérrez and David Villalpando) who must escape their native Guatemala because of persecution against the indigenous people. Their father was murdered, the mother "disappears" and soldiers round up various people in their village, all because they wanted to form a labor union. Fearing for their lives, the two young siblings decide to go North.
Throughout the film we see the hard journey as they travel from Guatemala to the United States. They encounter poverty, blatant racism, discrimination, illness and death.
The movie employs the surroundings as another character, showcasing the beautiful coffee fields of Guatemala in contrast with poverty-stricken Tijuana, Mexico and the arid California town where the poor and rich live in visibly divided class lines. The film also uses magical realism, a widely used and important literary mechanism (see One Hundred Years of Solitude, Magical Realism: Theory, History, Community), to show the influences of culture. Foreboding is also part of this film, as it comes full circle with repeated lines and images.
The film is nothing less than masterful and I equal how I felt when I was done watching it as the same devastating, catatonic, unable-to-cry-cause-I-am-in-shock-feeling from when I saw Requiem for a Dream. The film is devastating, true, and uncompromising in its depiction of these two young siblings and their sad and tragic journey.
It is one of the best and most realistic movies I have seen. There is a scene with rats when the siblings are crossing the US border. The actress, Zaide Silvia Gutierrez, insisted that she would do the scene herself with the rats. Nevermind that she had a phobia of rats. Such is the commitment of the writers (Gregory Nava and Anna Thomas), actors and director to this movie. It was something they believed in. It was a movie that is nothing less than excellent.
Description of El Norte [NTSC / Region 1 - Latin American Import]
will ship within 24 hoursBestsellers in DVD
![The Story of Jeremiah [VHS] Image](/images/noimg.gif)
The Story of Jeremiah [VHS]Vision Video; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Wresting With God [VHS]by Vision Video
Vision Video; Published: 1990-10-01; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Price in other shops:
Study Bible Video with Workbook [VHS]Spring Arbor Distributors; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $7.95
Price in other shops:
Tempo:Childrens TV Favourites Video [VHS]HarperCollins Audio; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $9.17
Price in other shops:
Tempo.Herbs:Parseley'Sb/ Party Video [VHS]HarperCollins Audio; VHS Tape; VHS Video
![Strike the Original Match [VHS] Image](/images/Strike-the-Original-Match-VHS-0001374079-X.jpg)
Strike the Original Match [VHS]New Liberty Films; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Price in other shops:
![Medjugorje The Miracles and the Message [VHS] Image](/images/Medjugorje-The-Miracles-and-the-Message-VHS-0001373293-X.jpg)
Medjugorje The Miracles and the Message [VHS]JPN Film Production; Release date: 1995-12-15; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $29.99
Mayo Clinic Echocardiography Review Course for Boards and Recertification DVD 2008by Mayo
DVD
Price in other shops:
Pediatric Diagnostic Imaging DVD: Single Userby Oakstone
DVD
Price in other shops:
Cost Accounting [VHS]by Charles T. Horngren, George Foster, Srikant M. Datar, Howard Teall
Pearson Canada, Toronto; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Similar DVDs, VHS Video, Audio CDs
The Other Side Of ImmigrationRelease date: 2010-10-25; DVD
Best price: $10.46
Price in other shops:
7 SolesRelease date: 2009-09-15; DVD
Best price: $5.09
Price in other shops:
The Motorcycle Diaries (Widescreen Edition)Universal; Release date: 2005-02-15; DVD
Best price: $4.75
Price in other shops:
My FamilyNEW Line Home Video; Release date: 2004-04-06; Published: 2004-04-01; DVD
Best price: $2.95
Price in other shops:
Maria Full of GraceHBO Home Video; Release date: 2004-12-07; Published: 2004-12-01; DVD
Best price: $3.49
Price in other shops:
Sin NombreUniversal Studios; Release date: 2009-09-01; DVD
Best price: $9.92
Price in other shops:
Which Way HomeNew Video; Release date: 2011-01-25; DVD
Best price: $12.49
Price in other shops:
Like Water for ChocolateLions Gate; Release date: 2011-05-17; DVD
Best price: $4.66
Price in other shops:
Under the Same MoonFox; Release date: 2008-06-17; DVD
Best price: $6.33
Price in other shops:
Innocent VoicesWarnervision; Release date: 2008-04-08; DVD
Best price: $2.24
Price in other shops: