The greatest sin of all is risking nothing.
Honduran teenager Sayra reunites with her father, an opportunity for her to potentially realize her dream of a life in the U.S. Moving to Mexico is the first step in a fateful journey of unexpected events.
Genre(s): Adventure, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Runtime: 96 minutes
Rating: 7.7/10 (1,466 votes)
Release Date: 18 January 2009
Country: Mexico, USA
Languages: Spanish
Company: Canana Films
Sound: Dolby Digital
MPAA: Rated R for violence, language and some sexual content.
Director(s): Cary Fukunaga
Related Videos for Sin Nombre (2009)
Thinking of watching this movie? Then click on the like button!
Producer(s):
Gerardo Barrera - executive producer
Pablo Cruz - executive producer
Gael García Bernal - executive producer
Amy Kaufman - producer
Diego Luna - executive producer
Writer(s):
Cary Fukunaga - (written by) (as Cary Joji Fukunaga)
Cast:
Marco Antonio Aguirre - Big Lips
Leonardo Alonso - Policía Judicial
Karla Cecilia Alvarado - Marera
Juan Pablo Arias Barrón - Niño #3
Rosalba Belén Barrón - Niño #2
Felipe Castro - Marero (as Sixto Felipe Castro)
Rosalba Quintana Cruz - Tierra Blanca Mujer
Marcela Feregrino - Kimberly
Kristian Ferrer - El Smiley
Édgar Flores - Willy / El Casper
Music: Marcelo Zarvos
Gerardo Barrera - executive producer
Pablo Cruz - executive producer
Gael García Bernal - executive producer
Amy Kaufman - producer
Diego Luna - executive producer
Writer(s):
Cary Fukunaga - (written by) (as Cary Joji Fukunaga)
Cast:
Marco Antonio Aguirre - Big Lips
Leonardo Alonso - Policía Judicial
Karla Cecilia Alvarado - Marera
Juan Pablo Arias Barrón - Niño #3
Rosalba Belén Barrón - Niño #2
Felipe Castro - Marero (as Sixto Felipe Castro)
Rosalba Quintana Cruz - Tierra Blanca Mujer
Marcela Feregrino - Kimberly
Kristian Ferrer - El Smiley
Édgar Flores - Willy / El Casper
Music: Marcelo Zarvos
Posted on: March 1, 2009
April 16th, 2009
I liked this movie. Like never before I got the perspective ofimmigrants coming over to the US from Latin America. It gave me abetter understanding of the extent of the gang culture. The naturalscenery was beautiful. At the same time they were not shy about showingyou human depravity. Not a film for the week hearted. I am shocked thatIMDb rates it so low as of today. I think this is one of the best filmsof the decade. It would be a great tool to use the next timeimmigration becomes a big subject. The actors felt like real peoplethat you can identify with. For someone that knows a little Spanish itis great practice.
April 18th, 2009
Let's be clear from the outset, this is a dark, bleak and violentmovie. The episodes in-between the on-screen savagery, consist of a lotof regret, anxiety and a deep, deep sadness.
Having said that, I also think that this is one of the most importantmovies I have seen in quite awhile, buried unfortunately amidst theclutter of beginning-of-the-year garbage releases and the upcomingsummer blockbusters. I wish this movie had a much higher profile, infact I think that this movie should be required viewing in high-schoolsall across North America, USA and Canada in particular.
It should also be seen by all those people who think about immigrantsas a pest and as parasites who come to take away their jobs and be adrain on their resources, abusing the social system or whatever. Thesame people who watch Lou Dobbs and his "one man crusade" to saveAmerica from the invading plague of illegals. The minute-men whogleefully think that the wall now separating the US from Mexico is thegreatest thing since the pyramids. The same people that after havingspewed their vitriol, hatred and bile against immigrants have noproblem with Juan mowing their lawn and Consuela looking after theirsnot-nosed mortally obese children, and Miguel picking-up all the s*itthey leave in the streets, malls and every other place one can throwgarbage in.
Maybe, just maybe, watching this movie will at least give them aglimpse into the lives, backgrounds and destinies of these people, whoare abused, mistreated and forgotten by almost everybody, people whobasically have come to symbolize a type of disposable human garbage,that truly are without a face, an identity and "sin nombre", without aname. Perhaps we could all come to understand what it is that drivesthese waves of humanity to risk it all for even the promise of a betterfuture. Then we could all come to realize that "life, liberty and thepursuit of happiness" are not exclusively American values, but ratheruniversal values to which all people aspire to.
Even amidst all the doom and gloom of the movie there are some sublimemoments of beauty, humanity and yes even hope. It was quite hard attimes for me to watch this movie, not because of what I saw, butbecause I can relate to what I saw and be reminded of a time in my lifeI wish I could forget, but know I can't. It will be part of me untilthe day I die. I want people to learn and understand instead of beingso quick to judge and dismiss the plight of other fellow human beings.
WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF THE SITUATION WAS REVERSED?
April 19th, 2009
SIN NOMBRE is a powerful, monumental drama that touches the very soulof humanity. It's a thrilling escape and redemption story, an unlikelyfriendship on a journey that would lead to… an unforgettable end. Itwill leave a mark with you after you leave the theater. It's an epic,heart-wrenching little film that's well-executed, don't go through 2009without watching SIN NOMBRE. Quite possibly one of the bestimmigrant-themed movies in recent years.
As I've said again and again, movie about immigrants have special placein my heart because I too was an immigrant. Last year we had RichardJenkin's phenomenal performance in The Visitor, a love story that alsomakes us re-evaluate our stand on this particular, arguable policy. SINNOMBRE, however, is a different kind of greatness. It shows the poorcondition and terrible environments that motivate people to migratenorthbound. The depiction of gang life and poverty in SIN NOMBRE is soharrowing and sad, I think filmmaker Cary Fukunaga who's dealt withimmigrant stories before, wanted the audience to understand thatthere's nothing easy about leaving their hometown, there's nothing easyabout joining a gang so you can survive everyday, there's nothing easyeither about entering foreign territory. Fukunaga makes sure the levelof discomfort is raised up a notch by this portrayal so that theaudience would wonder if this is even a documentary because it looksrealistic.
What an amazing story also by writer Fukunaga. It centers on these twocharacters, Willy a.k.a El Casper, and Sayra. One is trying to run awayfrom his gang that tries to kill him after he killed the leader, whilethe other is following his family to go to New Jersey. I'm glad writerFukunaga emphasized a very good point, if you're part of a gang, itdoesn't mean they'll always have your back. At one point Willy said toSayra that the so-called friends he's defended all his life killed theonly girl he ever loved. There's no brotherhood, there's no family,there's only pride, vanity, wasted life and absolute death. Sayra isn'tsure why she's coming along for the run to the border, she's the kindof character that some of us might say..would care a little too much.But somehow she finds assurance in Willy. I don't necessarily call theman odd couple, these are two people who are not sure what they shoulddo next and find that to be a common ground between them. Willy knowshe's a dead man but doesn't know if he can go around it, Sayra knowsshe's too far to go back now but should she even continue at all?! Ithink Willy finds some kind of second chance in Sayra, at first he hadno intention of taking care of her, but their companionship wouldredeem him of his past, Sayra's kindness gives him an unlikelyforgiveness from his sins when she told him that she trusted him.
I enjoy the profundity that comes in the writing. It's not a long movieand yet we get so much in return thanks to writer/director Fukunaga'sexcellent, well-structured storyline. The intense gang violencecompletes the engaging drama of human spirit that tells us everything'sgoing to be all right even when death is lurking around the corner.
SIN NOMBRE is one of my favorite choices for this year's Best ForeignLanguage film.
–Rama's SCREEN–
April 19th, 2009
Sin Nombre is a violent, brutal, film that also contains scenes thatshow love and compassion. It portrays gang violence in the communitiesof Central America. It shows how well organized the gangs are, howvicious they are, how widespread they are and how powerful they are.But aside from this it also shows the objective reason why people inMexico and Central America want to come to the U.S. It shows thegrinding poverty, the incompetence of their basic infrastructure and afeeling of hopelessness that pervades the film. There are alsobeautiful love stories shown in midst of all the horror. Although manyof the characters are ground down and destroyed, there is a hopefulending, but not in the typical, clichéd, happy-ending fashion. Irecommend it, which is why I gave it a rating of 9 out of 10.
April 25th, 2009
This is one of the worst movies I have ever seen. I cannot understandwhy it achieved a 7. I had a problem to even vote 1 (one) for it. It isabout a gang of kids from Honduras, Guatamala and Mexico trying to maketheir way to the U.S.
The movie has lots of violence and bloody scenes where many people areshot and/or killed for little or no reason by a bunch of kids withguns. I can only compare it with "City of God", another bloody violentpicture. If there is any point to making this movie it went over myhead. I wanted to leave earlier in the picture but thought that nothingcould be this bad so stayed on in hopes it might get better or moreinteresting but it was bad throughout.
Don't waste your time or money on this film.
April 26th, 2009
In Sin Nombre, first-time writer-director 31-year-old Cary JojiFukanaga has crafted a uniquely moving film experience that dramatizeswith authenticity the drive among the poor in Latin America to pull uproots and seek a better life in the U.S. Transcending genres andstyles, Sin Nombre, translated "without a name", is performed by mostlynon-professional local actors whose weathered faces mirror the harshrealities of their life. The film is shot by cinematographer AdrianoGoldman with 35mm film rather than digital-video which is today's normand avoids stylistic clichés such as hand-held cameras anddizzier-than-thou fast cutting.
Opening in Tapachula in the state of Chiapas in southern Mexico with asaturated color palette of deep red and orange, the trajectory of thislow-budget, but beautifully shot thriller follows two parallel threadsthat meet in the middle. It begins with the initiation of a new memberinto the Mara Salvatrucha gang, in this case, a twelve year old boycalled Smiley (Kristyan Ferrer) who has been recruited into the gang byyoung Willy aka Casper (Edgar Flores). Smiley must endure a gang ritualwhere he is thrown to the ground and kicked and beaten thirteen timesto prove his toughness. As if that is not enough, the pre-teen is thenforced to shoot a prisoner from the Chavalas, a rival gang.
Breaking the rules, Willy takes Smiley with him to meet his secretgirlfriend Martha Marlene (Diana Garcia) but the clandestine meetingends when sadistic gang leader, Lil' Mago (Tenoch Huerta Mejia) findsout about it and tries to rape her with tragic consequences. In thesecond thread, Sayra (Paulina Gaitan), a Honduran teenager is reunitedwith her father and decides to join him and her uncle on a perilousjourney to New Jersey to meet other family members. In a powerfulscene, they join other immigrants at a train crossing and then climb tothe top of the railroad car of a passing train to begin the journey.One of the many dangers they face is that of being robbed by gangs orother poor Latinos who think they must have huge sums of money.
In this case, the robbers are Casper and Smiley who have been orderedto join Lil' Mago. When the leader tries to rape Sayra, however, Caspertakes action which ensures that his future and that of Sayra will beinextricably linked. To reach the U.S., Sayra and Willy, now drawntogether out of mutual need and attraction, have to overcome thenetwork of covert operatives employed by the Mara gang, the danger ofthe border patrols, and the ordinary Mexicans who throw rocks at themand put their journey in peril. Powerful performances by Gaitan andFlores create an electric chemistry that wraps our hearts around theirstruggle to find release from their troubled past.
Winner of awards for directing and cinematography at Sundance, SinNombre has been attacked by some critics because it is a story aboutthe truth of poor people's lives wrapped in a conventional framework.In my view, that is precisely what gives the film its strength. It isnot an easy task for any immigrant who wants to make it to America, andSin Nombre alerts us to the dangers as well as the opportunities. Itsucceeds not only as education but as theater, allowing the viewer notonly to understand the perils illegal immigrants face but to relateemotionally to them as human beings.
Fukanaga was not a criminal or an immigrant but knows full well thatthe common thread existing among all people is that of being able todream of a new day for themselves and the people they love. He spenttwo years doing research among the Mara Salvatrucha gang based inMexico and Los Angeles, and in riding on the top of freight cars withHonduran and Salvadorean immigrants headed towards the U.S. border. Theresult is both deeply moving in its poetry and off-putting in itsviolence, a film of heartbreaking sadness but also one of joy andredemption, one of the best so far of 2009.