I hate it when films are described as the 'new' something because it invariably means they are a poor imitation and, well, lack the originality of the first for which they were so charming or memorable.
But the trailer for Sin Nombre, described as the 'new City of God' on some posters, looked really promising and without reading anything else I decided to give it a go.
And I am so glad I did. It is certainly a contender for one of the films in my top five this year (and I see a lot of films).
Sin Nombre is set primarily in Mexico and tells the story of Willy, a gang member on the run, who meets Sayra who is travelling from Honduras with her family to attempt to cross the border with the US and start a new life.
It is at times brutal and touching. Edgar Flores plays Willy and from what I glean on the internet is a relative new-comer to the world of acting but nonetheless puts in a startlingly emotional performance. He has such an expressive face that it gives him an incredible screen presence.
There is also a beauty to the gritty realism which isn't really suprising as this is the diretorial debut of Cary Fukunaga who was a cinematographer. He also wrote the film.
It has a couple of hand over mouth incidents but not where you would expect. City of God shocked, this does too but in a different way.
It is really good, go and see it.
I can't find an embedable version of the trailer without the annoying American voice over* but if you click here it's on the Empire website.
What the professionals say:
The Times "To say that this brutal, brilliant film about Central American migrants
travelling through Mexico doesn’t pull its punches is an understatement."
NY Times "The caressing, honeyed light in “Sin Nombre”
beautifies and softens every ugly moment in this equivocating
(inspirational yet hard-boiled) story about geographic and moral border
crossings."
Empire "Captivatingly naturalistic performances and cinematography almost makes up for the lack of a larger political framework."
* It just completely ruins it with that stereotypical trailer voice-over that booms something akin to: "He was on the run... she was looking for a new life". I think the simpler European trailer is far more evocative.