gavin6942 Peasants escaping mindless labor and a murderous Guatemalan government head to America in hopes for something better.I am not super knowledgeable about immigration and I cannot say it is a topic I am very passionate about one way or the other. I don't think immigrants (legal or otherwise) should be demonized, but I certainly understand why we have a process in place so not everyone can come in.I think this film had a very realistic approach, and was more than just propaganda. We understand why the two main characters make the choices they do, and cannot be upset with them even if they are "illegal". We see the trouble they run into and the adjustments they make. I found it fascinating how the film explores the whole range from finding work, to the immigration authorities to getting medical care.

circlevision91 I wrote this review after viewing the film in my Spanish class. I turned this into the teacher for extra credit.El Norte, the north. A film made under a limited budget and by a director with limited talents. No offense to the director or actors, who obviously but their heart into the story, but directors of the 1920s silent era have managed to pull off more genius and drive emotions deep into the human soul better than this movie has ever done. Now, I don't expect everyone to be a Cecil B. DeMille or a Steven Spielberg, but this director needs to take a crash course in cinematography.I find what ruined it was self-indulgent directing. Not so much the story or the meaning, but the direction itself. The close-ups weren't saved for dramatic effect, and he did not take advantage of them at the appropriate time. The music was ill-chosen. A new score may not have been available, but better soundtracks could obviously have been used in place. Nothing ruins a potentially breathtaking scene like music that comes straight out of a commercial.Now, I realize the whole point behind the story; that illegal immigrants suffer a lot of trauma when trying to cross the border. I'm for helping everyone achieve the American Dream as much as the next guy, but the way they go about it was ill-advised. Sure, if they went through customs there would be a lot of bureaucracy and papers to fill out, as well as years before one became a citizen, but it would have saved them a lot of time, stress, and even their lives Whether or not the filmmakers wanted to accomplish instilling pro illegal-immigration theories is not relevant, and that does not detract from the film's potential entertainment value. When looking at it from an entertainment standpoint, it really is a moving film. No matter what is ruined by directing and unnatural camera angles and sloppy acting, there still is a storyline behind the mess. Oppressive regimes, murdered parents, cheating trail guides, selfish employers, friendly comrades… it's all in there. It may not be Gone with the Wind, but there is a heart in the midst of it all.The hodge-podge of languages (Mayan, Spanish, and English) made it confusing. Who was who? What was what? I started to shift in my seat from discomfort. Then there were the seemingly random additions, like the voices that just spontaneously began speaking from seemingly no where, and without utilizing "oil on the lenses" or "fog". It made it too hard to distinguish reality from fantasy in the film. Then there was the strange head hanging from a tree in the final cut of the film; what was the point of that? Whose head was it? Films of the foreign market range from masterpieces to be placed on the shelf beside Casablanca and My Fair Lady to works of utter mediocrity. This film, unfortunately, is dangling on the fringe of that character. What saves it is the heart that the film holds in its grasp, underneath all the swearing and bad makeup. The 80s hairstyles and cars are evident, as are those sprinklers and washing machines that could only be found in a junkyard nowadays. The movie is dated, has some entertainment value, but could have so much more going for it if the director paid attention to detail instead of trying to make an "arty picture."

mendez_pablo I was born in the Guatemala and to tell you the truth this movie has a lot of accurate information about the happenings in my native country. The movie tells you the story of a brother and sister and the awful reality of the trip they had to make to cross the southern border of the United States of America.The comment below mine says that the characters speak a "SOUTH American NATIVE LANGUAGE", but this information is incorrect (despite the fact that the person that wrote this comment apparently is educated enough, and gives classes in some university that i gladly do not attend to).Guatemala is part of Central America ... the territory that unites NORTH and SOUTH America. The language spoken by the characters has vocabulary from two Mayan languages: MAM & CAKCHIQUEL spoken by more than a million Guatemalans.Overall the movie is crude but a true statement of what illegal immigrants have to go through when they decide to make the trip to the USA. (This movie was shown in one of my human rights classes, it could be an accurate "source" of information that portraits reality without abusing it)

Tommy Nelson A Guatamlean brother and sister decide to leave for the north when the "strong arms" kill their mother and father. Rosita and Enrique go through hard times trying to get to America, and have hard times in America. From about ten minutes on until the end I was completely glued to the screen. The movie is split in to three categories, the first is them in Guatemala, the second is them in Tiijuana, and the third is them in America. The acting is great, the script is great, the direction is great, and the Indian music works surprisingly well. The ending of the movie at first glance is just a normal end to a movie, but it has a deeper meaning after watching it again. This is Gregory Nava's best film, and if he will be remembered for any this will be it. I highly recommend this extremely compelling drama, and I personally think this was the best film of 1983.My rating: **** out of ****. 135 mins. Rated R for Strong Language and Violence.