JOURNEY TO THE NORTH

Watching El Norte is a humbling experience. The film shows not only the harrowing journey of the brother and sister traveling from Guatemala to Los Angeles, but also the remarkable spirit of resilience. When the Oscar-nominated movie came out in 1984, it received tremendous praise from both critics and viewers. As the immigration debate heats up, Criterion Collection’s re-release of El Norte cannot arrive at a better time.

Co-written by producer Anna Thomas, director Gregory Nava’s El Norte was groundbreaking in many ways a quarter-century ago. Funded by PBS, it was one of the first films to illustrate the lives of undocumented immigrants, and was very well-received by the Latin community in the United States. Spanish and Quiche are the primary languages spoken in the first half of the film, an anomaly at the time. In addition, the filmmakers’ attention to the details of the Indian’s rituals and customs also gives El Norte a great deal of authenticity.

El Norte is about immigrants as much as it is about the indigenous people of the American continent. It is ironic to call the Mayan siblings “immigrants” because they really are the native people of this land. The military kills Arturo, the father of protagonists Rosa and Enrique, when he tries to organize other coffee pickers against the oppressive regime. Stories like this happen to the native people over and over again in the last few hundred years. In El Norte, Rosa and Enrique face prejudice from mestizos and gringos alike. The slums of Tijuana is dirt poor, but the two of them understand they will always have to pretend to be Mexicans because getting sent back to Guatemala would be a death sentence.

At first glance, life in a run-down Los Angeles motel seems like a huge upgrade for the naïve duo. The sight of a running tap and the chance to be picked up as a day laborer are brand new experiences for them. This part of the film offers some very frank and satirical observation of the American culture through the eyes of immigrants. Enrique’s friend Jorge jokes about their U.S.-born Mexican colleague’s inability to understand Spanish, showing a clear divide within the Latino community in the States. Rosa, who teams up with her friend Nacha as maids for the gringos in the mansions, is absolutely confounded by her employer’s attempt to explain the dozens of functions of her washing machine. With the film’s funniest line, Nacha tells Rosa, “The important thing is, whatever they (employers) say, just smile and say yes.”

Just when Enrique starts to believe that life will be great as long as he works hard, the film squashes the illusion of the self-made man simultaneously. Deportation is a constant fear, and they reckon no matter how hard they try, they still don’t belong. The siblings’ father Arturo once said, “To the rich, a peasant is only a pair of arms.” The truthfulness of his words haunts this powerful film from the start to the end. And sadly, the message retains its relevance and power today.

El Norte is currently available on DVD.