Now don't get turned off but Sin Nombre is a Spanish language film directed by Cary Fukunaga. Yes that's right if you see this film you will have to read subtitles but honestly it is worth it! It was actually released in 2009 so this is a bit late but I have only recently fallen in love with Latin American film and I really regret all those years I spent bitching about subtitles because I was really missing out and you are too! Almost every scene of Sin Nombre is tragic,beautiful, exciting, romantic, heartbreaking and uplifting all at once, an art I find has only really be achieved in the cinema of Latin America.
The film is centers around Casper (played by the gorgeous Edgar Flores) a Mexican boy who is a member of the MS13 and growing resentful of gang life, and Sayra (Paulina Gaitán) a Honduran girl being forced to travel illegally with her estranged father and brother to the USA on the roof of a train. The two youths collide through a series of very unfortunate events and strike up an unlikely friendship. Both Casper and Sayra are desperately trying to take control of their own lives and face many adversities along their quest for independent identities.
The real draw of this film is the way it's made. It's very like Y Tu Mama Tambien or The Motorcycle Diaries in the sense that is it technically a road film but also it takes a very simple humanistic plot line and sets it against the backdrop of a continent in turmoil. Fukunaga has followed in the footsteps of Salles, Cuaron and many others before him and used the power of film to showcase South American problems to the world in a contemporary and entertaining fashion.
If you haven't seen it I highly recommend it and if you're interested in getting in to Latin American cinema heres a list of my favorite films from down south-believe me you won't regret it!
La Ciénaga
The Motorcycle Diaries
Y Tu Mama Tambien
City of God
Soy Cuba
Amores Perros
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