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Bookmark this pageSin Nombre (2009)
Director: Cary Joji Fukunaga
Movie review
From Time Out London
They might starve, get shot, robbed, or even fall to their death during the night. And still they come, illegal immigrants riding the freight trains from Central America through Mexico towards the US border. It all looks so punishingly real that you have to remind yourself you’re not watching a documentary but a nerve-jangling drama, one assembled with an astute eye for sweeping vistas and edgy intimacy. American-born writer-director Cary Joji Fukunaga actually rode the very same trains, and it’s the you-are-there recreation of that dangerous milieu which is the essential thing we take away from this promising debut – that and a reminder of the sheer beauty and richness of good ol’ 35mm celluloid in circumstances where handheld digital would have been by far an easier option.Storywise, however, the movie feels rather too linear for its own good. Handsome, fundamentally decent young Casper (Edgar Flores) realises he’s in too deep with truly scary Mexican gang the Mara SalvaTrucha, and as he jumps the train north, the plot too conveniently springs an attraction to fellow traveller Sayra (Paulina Gaitan) – looking to escape the confines of her over-protective family – so both of them can flee in terror from tattooed baddie Lil’ Mago (Tenoch Huerta Mejia, charismatically terrifying) and his gang brethren. It’s a tribute to the visceral impact of the staging that the film retains its grip despite becoming somewhat predictable, while thematically it’s the usual cycle-of-violence hand wringing. For all that, it’s still a journey you won’t forget in a hurry, and Fukunaga’s clearly a name to watch.
Author: Trevor Johnston
Time Out London Issue 2034, 13-19 August, 2009
User reviews of this film
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- Paul said...
- Posted on Aug 21 2009 23:06 A good yarn, pretty straightforward plot and yes nicely shot. Felt derivative of several films that came before it, but held attention and a good alternative to Inglorious.
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- Reina said...
- Posted on Aug 17 2009 11:50 film of the year!
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- sv said...
- Posted on Aug 14 2009 15:50 this film is incredible. see it.
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Cast & crew
Director: Cary Joji Fukunaga
Cast: Edgar Flores, Kristian Ferrer, Paulina Gaitan, Marco Antonio Aguirre full cast
Genre(s): Gangsters
Rated: 15
Duration: 95 mins
UK Release: Aug 14 2009
US Release: Mar 20 2009
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