Sin Nombre
by Cary Fukunaga
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DVD details
Actor: Juan Pablo Arias Barrn, Karla Cecilia Alvarado, Leonardo Alonso, Marco Antonio Aguirre, Paulina GaitanDirector: Cary Fukunaga
Brand: Universal Studios
Writer: Cary Fukunaga
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Spanish (Original Language)
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 60 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2009-09-01
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Universal Studios
DVD Reviews of Sin Nombre
DVD Review: Take me to the river
Summary: 5 Stars
Every now and then a debut film comes along that has a voice. And when I say "voice", I mean that the director's confidence and clarity of cinematic vision has a tangible presence-from the very first frame to the closing credits. Maybe I'm a little jaded, but it doesn't happen that much these days. So when I saw Cary Fukunaga's amazingly assured first feature, "Sin Nombre", it "...made my big toe shoot right up in my boot," (as Little Richard described his reaction the first time he ever saw Jimi Hendrix perform on stage).
Defying all expectations, this modestly budgeted, visually expansive gem hinges on a simple narrative, but is anything but predictable. It's an adventure, yet it is informed by an almost meditative stillness that makes the occasional frisson that much more gripping and real. It delves into gang culture, but it isn't a movie about gangs. It has protagonists who are desperately attempting to immigrate to the United States by any means necessary, yet this isn't yet another earnest message film about "the plight" of illegal immigrants. It's a "road movie", but the future's uncertain-and the end is always near.
The film is basically comprised of two stories, which eventually merge as one. One story begins in Honduras, centered around a headstrong teenaged girl named Sayra (Paulina Gaitan) who joins her long estranged father and uncle as they journey to Mexico, where they plan to ride the rails as far north as possible before making a final dash across the border to America, where dreams of milk and honey await in New Jersey (they hope). Sayra's father hopes to use their time together on the road to become reacquainted with his daughter. Sayra, who seems to be working through some abandonment issues, is polite but set on keeping a cool distance from his belated attempts at offering fatherly advice and exerting parental authority. Still, Sayra, her father and her uncle begin to form a family unit, precipitated more by circumstance and necessity than by genuine affection.
Another type of extended family unit is examined in the film's companion narrative, which takes us to the southern Mexico state of Chiapas, and is centered on a local chapter of the notorious "MS-13" gang. We are introduced to the group by witnessing a brutal initiation rite, a 13-second long "beat down" on a disturbingly young inductee nicknamed "El Smiley" (Kristian Ferrer). Punches and kicks are soon replaced by congratulatory hugs, as Smiley is welcomed as a "brother" by his new homies, and anointed a "son" by the leader, "Lil Mago" (Tenoch Huerta Mejia). We also meet Willy, known to his homies as "El Caspar" (Edgar Flores) who is Smiley's sponsor, and a de facto big brother figure to the young boy. While he is a dedicated and respected member of the gang, Willy gives us glimpses of a creeping disenchantment with gang life; we sense that he dreams of a better life. He also has something that appears to be lacking in his fellow homies-a genuine heart and soul. This pang of conscience leads to a fateful conflict with Mago, a repugnant sociopath who will accept nothing less than unquestioning, blind obedience from his underlings. Circumstance puts Willy in the same train yard where Sayra and her relatives await to jump a train that will take them north; and thusly their stories converge.
While this is a very human story, containing all the elements of classic drama (love, hope, betrayal, revenge, personal sacrifice), it is also very much about geography, and the elegiac tone that it evokes for what is essentially a harrowing tale. As the train whistle stops its way the length of Mexico, that country's rugged beauty is captured in gorgeous "golden hour" hues by cinematographer Adriano Goldman. Goldman's work here started to remind me of the great Nestor Almendros, who did the magnificent photography for Terence Malick's "Days of Heaven". Whether or not Malick was a conscious influence on Fukunaga is a moot point, because this film stands on its own. Besides, one could have worse influences.
For an unknown cast (many acting in a film for the first time), there are an astonishing number of outstanding performances. I think this adds to the naturalistic, believable tone of the film. My film going companion, who is a native of Mexico (she's from Colima), was quite impressed by that element, and seconded the motion that the milieu was muy autentico. Sin Nombre is another rarity these days-it's meant to be seen on the big screen.
Description of Sin Nombre
Seeking the promise of America, a beautiful young woman, Sayra (Paulina Gaitan), joins her father on an odyssey to cross the gauntlet of the Latin American countryside. Along the way, she crosses paths with a teenaged Mexican gang member, El Casper (Edgar M. Flores), who is maneuvering to outrun his violent past. Together they have to rely on faith, trust and street smarts if they are to survive their increasingly perilous journey towards the hope of new lives.Although the phrase never appears in this documentary-style Spanish-language thriller, sin nombre means "nameless." First-time California filmmaker Cary Fukunaga tracks two such individuals, emblematic of many immigrants, whose narratives converge by the suspenseful ending. Willy (Edgar Flores), a Mexican native who belongs to the brutal Salvadoran brotherhood Mara Salvatrucha is just trying to make it through each day alive, while Sayra (Paulina Gaitan) seeks a better life for herself by traveling from the Honduras to join relatives in New Jersey. Their worlds collide on a freight train heading north as Willy and his brethren relieve Sayra and her companions of their few valuables. When the leader of the Mara attempts to have his way with her, Willy steps in, making himself a target, and the couple races for the border before the gang catches up to them (just as Willy gets separated from his best friend, Sayra gets separated from her family). Winner of directing and cinematography awards at Sundance and produced by Y Tu Mamá También's Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna, Sin Nombre takes a frustratingly long time to get cooking. The actors, some non-professionals, give persuasive performances, but the Mara are so reprehensible, the first act makes for tough going. Once Willy breaks free from their stranglehold, however, he starts to engender some sympathy. As with the desperate Columbian drug mule in Maria Full of Grace, it's hard not to root for him and Sayra to beat the odds in order to start fresh in the States. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
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