El Norte (1984)

Young-adult Guatemalen brother and sister must escape their hometown where there father has been killed as a rebel and their mother has been scooped up by the authorities. They decide to go north to the states.  The first 30 minutes or so were interminable -- the cinematography was supposed to be MEANINGFUL, I’m sure, but it came off as simply affected.  Once they start their journey, things pick up considerably.

They hire a coyote, crawl through an old sewer line, get settled into a motel that serves as a "cheap Mexicans" work force tenement, get jobs, learn English, and dodge INS.  This is just not strong enough storytelling to have any impact. It’s like an after-school special about the less fortunate; you get the point that life is hard for immigrants, but only because it’s hammered in the dialogue -- not because you actually feel it.

C