I used to watch this flick repeatedly in high school, mainly as a history lesson on why so many Mexicans and Central Americans have been caught jumping over the Rio Grande more than once, and some slip through the net.

At the time of the movie's making in the mid-1980's, Guatemala was a dirt-poor state plagued by civil war and massacres. Apparently the military government and left-wing rebels were fighting a violent civil war in the countryside, and army-supporting death squads were on the hunt for rebels and sympathizers.

It is this backdrop that provided the tragic tale of Enrique and Rosita, two Guatemalan Indians who are caught in the middle of the war. They live in a poor village in eastern Guatemala, and people there are already talking about how the nation's streets are paved with gold and how "every American, even those who are poor, has his own car."

El Norte has the elements of an adventure story tinged with actual tragedy early on in the story. The poor state of Guatemala's Indians is highly emphasized here in the beginning, with scenes of musicians playing their instruments while holding a cup to collect coins, like beggars. The main characters can even be recognized speaking a language other than Spanish once you go beyond the obligatory subtitles. The setting has the gravel streets, mud huts, and donkeys with big baskets pulled by short men with sombreros that one would find in any Central American village.

The desire to head up to 'el norte' becomes much more urgent for Enrique and Rosita when government troops march in. When certain family sympathizers are captured and later killed, Enrique fights back, killing one of the soldiers. The most terrifying scene comes a week later when virtually all the villagers are rounded up and herded into trucks (presumably to be taken to killing fields), with the army commander barking out "Take this trash away!" (A clear sign of what the military thought of its indigenous population) Their ultimate fate is unknown, but the military forces of Guatemala massacred the entire populations (including women and children) of more than one village during the 1980’s.

Enrique and Rosita barely escape the army’s net. Fearing another military sweep, the two of them decide to flee north to Mexico and then to the US, hence the movie’s name. They reach the border, but the first results in their capture and deportation to Mexico by the US Border Patrol (they escape deportation to Guatemala by claiming to from the state of Oaxaca). They try again and succeed, ultimately traveling to Los Angeles, But they find out that the streets of the US are not paved with gold as they had originally expected...

The actors are brilliant in their roles, considering that the movie was rather low-budget, and the movie was a bit paved over with musical numbers turned into special effects. The musical numbers, composed mainly of Spanish guitars mixed with local Guatemalan Indian folk tunes, are the main special effects here, but the storyline itself makes up for these fallacies. The director, of course, is Gregory Nava, who later brought in J-Lo to play the lead character in Selena in 1997.

El Norte provided a story that tragically is neither unique nor anachronistic. Guatemala still has its high level of income inequality between Indians and in In El Salvador, for instance, people are still escaping to the US to get away from violent street gangs (including at least a few deportees from LA) and former death squads murdering and brutalizing each other, with helpless civilians caught in between.

The story of Enrique and Rosita will continue to repeat itself as long as the average Mexican hourly wage is 80 cents per hour, with the typical American earning a minimum of $8.00 per hour.

Directed by Gregory Nava

Recommended:
Yes

Video Occasion: Better than Watching TV
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older