1. Did I enjoy it? YES
The next two films I write about both deal with immigrants, this one about the dangerous journey to cross the border (illegally) and the second about the hardships immigrants face once they get inside the United States. Both films are worth your time, but this one is the best. Sin Nombre deals with two stories, one about Willy aka El Casper, a teenager running away from his gang after avenging the death of his girlfriend. Only problem is the person he killed was the gang leader, so he decides to stow away on a train that his leader originally intended to rob. The other story is about a family determined to cross the border with hundreds of other illegal immigrants on the top of a train. This is the same train Willy and his gang attempt to hijack. This is an excellent film, though not a feel good movie. It was especially difficult to watch the violence the two leading girls in the film experience, although I think a main point of the film besides the immigration aspect is the great danger of the gang culture. And this is a nasty gang. To enter, you have to kill a member of the rival gang. Casper's young friend, El Smiley, has to do just such a thing. Gangs seem to take the place of a family for those who don't have one or do not like their own. Smiley is uneasy about killing at first, but the young kid gets used to it quickly because he wants to belong.
2. Would I watch it again? YES
Someone in this film does make it to the United States. It is heartbreaking when we discover the main characters who don't. I've never put too much thought into the immigration issue, although even after seeing this film, I still think immigrants need to enter this country through legal means. But that does not take away from the great sacrifices so many people experience trying to get to the land of opportunity.
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