Seeking the promise of America, a beautiful young woman, Sayra (Paulina Gaitan), joins her father on an odyssey to cross the gauntlet of the Latin American countryside. Along the way, she crosses paths with a teenaged Mexican gang member, El Casper ...
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Seeking the promise of America, a beautiful young woman, Sayra (Paulina Gaitan), joins her father on an odyssey to cross the gauntlet of the Latin American countryside. Along the way, she crosses paths with a teenaged Mexican gang member, El Casper (Edgar M. Flores), who is maneuvering to outrun his violent past. Together they have to rely on faith, trust and street smarts if they are to survive their increasingly perilous journey towards the hope of new lives.Amazon.com
Although the phrase never appears in this documentary-style Spanish-language thriller, sin nombre means "nameless." First-time California filmmaker Cary Fukunaga tracks two such individuals, emblematic of many immigrants, whose narratives converge by the suspenseful ending. Willy (Edgar Flores), a Mexican native who belongs to the brutal Salvadoran brotherhood Mara Salvatrucha is just trying to make it through each day alive, while Sayra (Paulina Gaitan) seeks a better life for herself by traveling from the Honduras to join relatives in New Jersey. Their worlds collide on a freight train heading north as Willy and his brethren relieve Sayra and her companions of their few valuables. When the leader of the Mara attempts to have his way with her, Willy steps in, making himself a target, and the couple races for the border before the gang catches up to them (just as Willy gets separated from his best friend, Sayra gets separated from her family). Winner of directing and cinematography awards at Sundance and produced by Y Tu Mamá También's Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna, Sin Nombre takes a frustratingly long time to get cooking. The actors, some non-professionals, give persuasive performances, but the Mara are so reprehensible, the first act makes for tough going. Once Willy breaks free from their stranglehold, however, he starts to engender some sympathy. As with the desperate Columbian drug mule in Maria Full of Grace, it's hard not to root for him and Sayra to beat the odds in order to start fresh in the States. --Kathleen C. FennessySimilarProduct