EssenceStory Well Deserved Praise

Tetrady not as good as all the hype

TrueHello Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

FrogGlace In other words,this film is a surreal ride.

travelinggirl A sweet wonderful film that really shows the life and plight of undocumented aliens. What motivates me to give it a 8 out of 10 is the ending part of the film and the lack of certain realistic aspects of the film and story. Aside from magic realism (a very popular genre in post-modernistic Latin American literature and film – see NOTE below), the characters of brother and sister have very few real hardships - in comparison with what Central Americans actually have to endure on their very difficult and torturous trip to the north. There are rapings, muggings, and of course, the most difficult and common entry point, the desert. The desert is such a huge aspect of the journey that needs to be overcome. If there had been more usage of the indigenous dialog – it would have been so much more truer to the experience of what these people went through.NOTE: For all you video game "fanboys" out there - here is the definition of "magic realism": A literary or artistic genre in which realistic narrative or technique are combined with surreal elements of dream or fantasy.

Rachel Henderson This is probably one of the best films made yet about illegal immigration from Latin America because it tells of the hardships experienced at home, on the journey, and of life in America as illegal residents. Rosa and Enrique are Mayan peasants who are orphaned in the beginning of the movie by soldiers. They flee Guatemala for "El Norte," the place where their dreams can finally be realized, where wealth comes easily, and where they can leave their life of poverty. Unfortunately, however, it is apparent that their destiny is sealed from the beginning of the movie: they were dead the moment they were first targeted by the soldiers in their country. From that moment on, it seems as though death is trying to find and take them. In a gruesome scene, Enrique and Rosa cross the boarder through a rat-infested sewer where Rosa is attacked in what ultimately is fatal. Once in the United States, they live their lives so as to go undetected by society and live just to "get by." The real tragedy lies in the fact that after a life threatening journey across the boarder, Rosa and Enrique still do not escape living in constant fear. Rosa brings up the tragic idea that they have no place they can call home, and that there will likely never be a moment where they can live in complete and total peace of mind and being. This movie challenges everyone's ideas on illegal immigrants--both those in favor and against. For both parties, the movie brings to light that there is urgent need for reform in immigration that will correct the injustices that millions of people experience each year. The movie shows that neither kicking them out nor allowing them here solves the problem. There are no solutions promoted or suggested by the movie, but rather demands a response from the audience to seek and find a solution.

hbc1949 The oppression of immigrants is without question.....by coyotes, federals, etc. up to and including the employers in the USA who exploit the illegal immigrants who, for the most part, want little more than a chance to have a better life.The biggest issue for me with EL NORTE was the time line. In the time it takes Enrique and Rosa to learn English well enough to get work and such...and to converse in fairly idiomatic ways........her disease is --what?----waiting to erupt? The bites were not the same day as her fever, right? Also, the acting was wooden to the point of "community theater is better" especially on the part of the gringos---from the Border Patrol guys to the Chicago woman......And...would two Spanish speaking people talk to each other in English when communicating complex ideas such as best chance, green card, etc. as the scene at the motel with Enrique and the "arranger?" There are many good and great movies out there about the perils of immigration, oppression and so forth--and THIS one got the Oscar nomination? Again..a good concept.

theodoraalfonso This movie responds to the many of my fellow citizens in the United States that want to send the immigrants (legal and illegal) back to their native lands. Back in 1954, Guatemala had elected President Arbenz to lead and develop their country. Arbenz wanted to expand the economy of his country and provide unlimited opportunities to his fellow Guatemalans. The United States government could not allow another country in this hemisphere to expand and proper. The countries affected by this doctrine were Puerto Rico, Guatemala, Dominican Republic, Haiti, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras, Chile, Argentina, Venezuela, Bolivia. These lands were part of the economy of the United States to grow our plantations. The peasants were being used to grow our crops and did not have an option or the opportunity to industrialize. Who would want to leave their native lands and travel to the cold regions of the United States?