I am writing to tell you of an amazing film called "Sin Nombre." Written and directed by Cary Fukunaga, at it's heart, it is a love story between two teenagers on a road trip. The catch is that both of them are immigrants trying to get through Honduras, Guatemala, and Mexico to cross the border, without papers, and they are hitching on top of a train. To further complicate matters, the main male character is wanted by a hardcore international streetgang, who have taken out a hit on him!
Despite the extenuating circumstances being rather extreme, the film does an excellent job of making each character empathetic, and never overwrought. "Sin Nombre" is one of the most unique portrayals of gang life that I have seen on screen to date, because it does not just abjectly vilify anyone - rather, each member is there for a reason, and each has his own morale code.
I am recommending this film to you all because it is a fair and even portrayal of life in poorer nations, and it does a good job of presenting the limited options that these otherwise recognizable teenagers have. It is also a film that very realistically depicts gang life and the inability to ever truly escape one's barrio - no matter how many miles away.
The movie is in slangy, Honduran Spanish, but subtitled in English. For all you Spanish aficionados, check out the extensive use of "vos" and the unique street names of each gang member.
One more thing, the movie does have a bit of on-screen violence, but it is never gratuitous or sensationalized. Please let me know what you think of this film, and feel free to post other movie reviews with sociological relevance.
Paz en la calle! (Peace in the streets!)
-B.C.
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