Customer Reviews

El Norte (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray]

5 star:		(69)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I purchased a copy of this film in the 80's. It is one of the most powerful statements about the kinds of things which were happening in Central America during a time when most Americans lived in belief of their government's lies. It also is a most powerful statement about family and the strength one draws from that connection. The real problems in adjusting to a different culture without losing those values with which one has been raised is also a theme of this movie. I still rank it as one of the best movies I have ever seen. I would like a copy again as mine disappeared to one of the people to whom I lent it. If it becomes available in either DVD or VHS I would certainly recommend the purchase and I would be first in line. El Norte.....que magnifico!!!!!!!

I have never seen a better movie than this one, I will never see another movie like this one.
It is a "masterpiece", it is the only movie that is based on the reality of the world (filmed in Guatemala, Mexico and United States) not only it showed the life of the 80's (the massacres of people by the governments of our countries) and it also tells how and why most of us came to this country "The North" seeking not only refugee but also a new life after being abused and tortured by the law enforcement of the Central American governments. This is the case of a brother and sister who's father is decapitated and tortured by the Guatemalan soldiers just because they don't agree with the way rich people treated their countrymen. THE BEST MOVIE EVER !... Subtitled both English/Español and Español/English. A must have, a must see.

El Norte depicts the plight of a brother and sister. They are Mayan Indians living in Guatemala but after their father is murdered in a rebellion and their mother is arrested, they have to flee their country to save their lives. They are headed north, through Mexico and then on the United States, which, like so many immigrants before them, seems like the Promised Land of electricity, flush toilets and big cars.

First they have to travel through Mexico and make believe they are Mexicans. When they finally get to Tijuana they have the difficult task of finding a way across the border without being robbed by the many unsavory characters who all compete for their small amount of money. Their first attempt ends in failure but eventually they make it by crawling on their hands and knees through a sewer pipe where they are attacked by rats. Once in Los Angeles their lives seem to improve, but they soon discover the reality of being illegal. This is not a happy story and the ending is sad and left me with a feeling of hopelessness.

One of the most striking things about the film is its innocence. It certainly was filmed on a shoestring budget and has none of the special effects we've come to expect in Hollywood films. Sometimes it had the look and feel of an amateur production, the violence looked staged, the camera often focusing on a full moon rather than or more complex shots. The acting, however, was so good that I forgot they were acting and soon was completely involved in this very human story. It was plain and simple real life. And there was humor here too, especially when the young woman gets a maid's job and has to learn to use a washing machine. However, like real life, things don't always work out for the best.

I guess I've always been aware of the plight of illegal immigrants. But I have never felt it more deeply than through this film. Highly recommended.

One reason I really like taking classes on film is that I get a chance to see films that aren't commonly available to the consumer market. El Norte is another one of these films, a film woefully unnoticed and yet rather amazing in some of the most simplistic ways. It has no really crazy effects, it doesn't focus too long on the acting, it doesn't do a lot of what films do to try to illicit a response from the audience, it just sets the camera exactly where the audience doesn't want it to be.

Enricque and Rosa are two Native Guatamalans whose family is killed for their rich farmland. Escaping with what they can, they decide to go to "The North", the United States, where they hope to make a lot of money in order to be able to return to their land safe and rich. The movie takes them along through Mexico and into California, exploring the issue of immigration from all the facets between their homeland and their destination.

The exposition of their journey and the effect it has on the viewer is so simple it makes regular cinema "language" seem almost superfluous. Instead of trying to show the Indians as "other" or even compared to the United States, it just starts off as if they are any other person in any other village we'd all recognize. Slowly, the world gets explored as the characters discover it, not by bothering to make it all from an "objective" perspective. Thus, the subjective quality of the situation becomes even more realistic despite the movie's nods to Romanticism. We don't have the filmmakers constantly saying, "Oh, how horrible it is for immigrants!", we only have the immigrants saying, "Oh, this is difficult, what else should I do?" Because of this method of storytelling, this film is actually comparable to such films as Lord of the Rings, among other things.

In fact, humorously enough, I couldn't help but expect some burly warrior to appear for no good reason and just say, "One does not just simply walk into America..." Yeah, I know, I'm a geek, but a geek with a point: what better way to make the audience relate to the situation than to paint it in a way that is reflective of the actual humanistic experience rather than some sort of, "I know you're an American, but let's try to see it from 'their perspective.'" Saying that line is admitting their inherent difference to us by saying it's a different perspective at all. It may be different than what one goes through in life in whatever region of the world, but it's still an everyman's perspective.

About the DVD: This is a terrible, terrible transfer unfit for the film it contains. Sometimes the sound is out of sync, sometimes the image gets almost too washed out to see... a good third of the time, the subtitles are illegible. If you are one of those people that gets very put-off by a such issues, you may want to wait for a later DVD release or something.

--PolarisDiB

In today's climate of post 9/11 paranoia and self-appointed "minutemen" who "guard" our borders, it's a shame this outstanding drama (originally a PBS "American Playhouse") is only available as an Australian PAL import, because more Americans need to see it. But of course, films like this are dangerous, because it might remind viewers that this country was built on the backs of immigrants who were driven from thier homelands by oppression and persecution (I am encouraged by another review on this site to see that there are some educators who see the value in showing this film to students!) Gregory Nava's highly effective portrait of Guatemalan siblings winnowing thier way to "El Norte" (the USA) after thier father is killed by a government death squad will haunt you for weeks. The two (unknown) leads give believable, natural performances as the brother and sister who ultimately find themselves living in L.A. After initially going through the expected exploitative sweat shop and day labor jobs, the pair eventually "move up" (relatively speaking) to housecleaning and food service jobs that hint at the promise of more stability and a brighter future. Fate and circumstance continue to fight them at every turn, but thier desperate optimism never falters. Don't expect a Hollywood ending- the generally bleak and uncompromising nature of the story may turn off viewers who are not prepared for an intense emotional experience (i.e. don't watch it if you are in a "popcorn" mood). Claustrophobes be warned-the most harrowing scene, a border crossing through an abandoned sewer, includes an encounter with a roving rat colony that will give you nightmares. Look for brief appearances by A. Martinez and Trinidad Silva. DVD note: The transfer is not quite as dismal as others have said (I think the reviewer confused a 16mm master print with a "bad transfer").

This film is a visual and audio masterpiece. I first saw it as a univeristy student on my campus. Then i happened on it when Rite Aid was closing out its video store for ten bucks. I use it for teaching my Spanish classes. My students are able to see Mayan culture and hear the language. They are also able to hear the distinction between Guatemalan and Mexican Spanish. Before I show the film I read them selections from Nobel Peace Prize winner Rigobera Menchu's autobiography, I, Rigoberta. It is important for them to understand the plight of Latin American people and their struggle for a better existence. (I'm trying to locate the soundtrack if anyone can assist me.)

This movie is by far one of the most well written stories about the struggles of Central American people. I am Guatemalen, so I can truly relate to this story. I've yet to watch this movie with out crying at the end. The movie captures the essence and the culture of Guatemalen people. The culture is one of very tight-nit families with old fashion values. Although this movie takes place in the 80's and a lot has changed in Guatemala since then, I can tell you for a fact that the people have not. I've gone to Guatemala many times, most recently a month ago. It would truly be paradise if it were not for the immense poverty level. I was born here in the United States, but I know the struggles my parents went thru when the came at the age of 19. Please release this movie on DVD! I do have it on VHS (and I guard it with my life) but unfortunately there is also static at the beginning. If you have not watched this movie, make sure that you do.

Gregory Nava tells the story of a brother and sister who must leave their village in Guatemala after their family is killed by militiamen. With evocative and lush imagery and a poignant musical score (including Barber's "Adagio for Strings" and Andean harp music), he helps us feel the full impact of their loss and grief. On the other hand, Nava understands that humor is also part of how we cope, and he gives us many opportunities to laugh with Enrique and Rosa as they make their journey to "El Norte", the land of their hopes. Enrique tells Rosa that he can be a man in America, more than "a pair of strong arms", which is the way Indians are perceived in Guatemala. They discover, however, that America presents hardships of its own, particularly for immigrants who are non-white. The power of this story is that it is not just about Central America and the USA, but tells a universal story about family, refugees on the run and the way cultures perceive each other. Gutierrez and Villalpando give poignant performances without falling into sentimentality. It's mystifying to me why the film is out-of-print: it's rare we get to see a film so well done.

"El Norte" is the wrenching tale of a brother and sister from a little Mayan village, in the terrifying Guatemala of the 1980s. When their father is slain by the ubiquitous right-wing death squads of the era, the brother is targeted to be killed next. They must find a way out of the workers hell that their father had lost his life fighting to improve, which is to say, a place in which they are not considered human, but merely life-support systems for pairs of strong arms, to do heavy labor for the rich. They resolve, therefore, to flee together to "El Norte," (the north), to the United States of America, the incredible paradise that most of the people who will read this review have lived in for their (our) entire lives.

To make this perilous journey, the brother and sister, Enrique and Rosa, must first travel through Mexico. This, in itself, is no slight ordeal. When they do arrive at the border to the United States, they must decide how to find a guide they can trust. A guide for crossing the border is called a "coyote." They have to choose a coyote who will not rob them. The characters are so trusting, and so innocent-looking, that your heart will really go out to them, as they attempt to negotiate these transactions with the vicious human predators who try to pass themselves off as legitimate coyotes.

One of my favorite scenes occurs in this part of the film. They have an encounter with some US border guards, from the INS. The director apparently had a lot of fun, playing with sociolinguiistic issues, in this scene. Enrique and Rosa communicate with the border guards in Spanish, but confer with each other in a Mayan indian dialect, when they feel they might be getting bamboozled by the authorities. The border guards can't understand the obscure Mayan dialect, of course. They confer with each other in English, a language of which, at this point in the movie, Enrique and Rosa are completely ignorant. I should point out, perhaps, that there are always subtitles, in every scene.

When Enrique wants to pretend that he is Mexican, in order not to fall afoul of certain US border quotas for refugees, he does this by livening up his Spanish with a torrent of curse words. I was not aware of this personally, but apparently, in Latin America, Mexicans are known for being particularly foul-mouthed.

The director has more fun with language issues throughout the film. One example is a French restaurant in which Enrique gets a job, once they do arrive in Los Angeles. The menus are in French, the clientele is entirely English-speaking, and the waitstaff is entirely Spanish-speaking. I sensed that some entertaining scenes may have been edited out in this context, but the general idea is still interestingly presented.

There is also a strong element of the distinctive Latin American storytelling technique of "magical realism." For other examples of this approach, I would like to recommend that you read "100 Years of Solitude," by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, or "Aura," by Carlos Fuentes. There are many other books and films approached in this style -- those are just two of my personal favorites.

But these are abstract, intellectual issues. The main strength of this film is the simple human warmth that you will feel for Enrique and Rosa. You want them to succeed so much! I kept thinking of some of my own ancestors, who sacrificed so much to come to America, and attempted to create a new life for their descendants. Enrique and Rosa are doing the same thing in the modern world, and you will be awed by what they will go through, to make it here. They must deal with sickness, without social security numbers; employment in the USA, with only rudimentary English language skills, (and no green cards); and the social mysteries of the subculture of Hispanic California, with all the unpredictable, arbitrary social hierarchies which exist there, and which they could not possibly have foreseen. Who can they trust? What will become of them? All we know is that, as long as they are in America, they will always be more than what they were back in Guatemala, which was nothing more than pairs of strong arms to do labor for the rich. At least, in the Land of Opportunity, they will be given credit for their basic humanity... right?

I would also like to let you know, whoever reads this, that this film is also intelligently discussed on the non-profit website imdb.com, which often links to Amazon.com products. This website is for the Internet Movie Database. You can learn more there about this film, by searching for it in the title field near the upper left hand corner of the imdb.com screen. If you take a moment to do this, I would like to encourage you to look through the comments, which you can link to from near the bottom of the first screen that comes up for this film. On September 1, 1999, the actor who played Enrique posted his own personal review of this film! His name is David Villalpando, and his review contains many thoughts which, I hope, may encourage you to purchase this terrific film.

This movie is amazing, a powerful story of a brother and sister who try to escape poverty, to get into the US and make something of themselves. But a word of caution: the version of El Norte that you get from this page is in Region 0, NOT Region 1. This means it was made by someone, not professionally done. It also, inevitably, means lower quality. But I still recommend it. It's a great film, and it's probably not actually out in an official Region 1 release yet, only on VHS.