Many of the iconic American films have been those stories that focus on the aspects that have defined the history of our country: immigrant stories such as The Godfather; the taming of wild country as depicted in the entire Western genre; and stories of expansionism and manifest destiny as seen in Chinatown. It’s easier for us, as Americans, to recognize these themes and how they fit into our understanding of the American story. But what about the national histories of other countries? It’s quite difficult to translate a film steeped in history from one country to another. Without a reference point we can only watch the film unfold as entertainment, missing out on the possibility for a deeper resonance.
Mexico and the United States share a great deal of history. Although we may not be as well informed as to the particulars of life below the border and their own history, we may reflect on our knowledge of immigrant stories, especially those involving Hispanics, when we watch Sin Nombre, last year’s feature debut from director Cary Fukunaga. Being raised in southern California surely made Fukunaga sensitive to the issues surrounding Central American immigrants, but what a bold choice of subject matter for a recent graduate of the NYU film school to tell a story in a foreign language (and rife with slang unknown even to most native Spanish speakers) of immigrants and gangs crossing paths in the slums of Mexico.
The film opens with a harrowing scene in which a young boy nicknamed Smiley (Kristian Ferrer) is initiated into the Marero gang by receiving a beating that lasts until the leader, L’il Mago (Tenoch Huerta), counts to thirteen. It seems Smiley’s introduction to the gang has been made by Casper (Edgar Flores) who whisks him away from his protesting grandmother.
After this brief introduction to Casper and the Marero, which takes place near the Guatemalan border, we abruptly shift to the teenage Sayra (Paulina Gaitan) in Honduras as she meets her father for the first time. Her father has already been deported from the United States where he has a family in New Jersey, but now that he has access to his eldest daughter, he intends to bring her and his brother with him on his next attempt to return.
The journey undertaken by Sayra and her family is the typical dangerous route used by the majority of Central American migrants headed for the US. After crossing from Guatemala into Mexico they have to be on the lookout not only for Mexican border guards, but also marauding bands of pirates and gangs such as the Marero who either steal what money they have or kidnap them in order to extort money from their families in America. They travel on top of a freight train, which carries enough perils of its own. And as if that weren’t enough, there are corrupt police and border guards willing to sell them to gang members and extortion artists.
The train ride takes them through the seediest parts of Mexico along a mostly defunct rail line. The virtual ghost towns and abandoned rail yards they pass through call forth images of the wild and untamed west we hold dear. But these places are often fraught with danger and there’s no John Wayne or Gary Cooper to watch over the less fortunate. My mistaken belief about the immigrants who cross the border into California and Texas has always been that the most dangerous part is avoiding the US border patrol. On the contrary, once they reach the American border, they’re basically home free. The migrants traveling on the train encounter both farm laborers who toss fruit to them as well as youths who throw rocks at them shouting epithets and telling them to go home to their own country.
At one point, the migrants are stopped in a rail yard that we recognize from a scene involving Casper and Smiley and we know that eventually Sayra and Casper will cross paths. The reasons for this convergence I shall not reveal except to say that Casper is done a great injustice by someone in his own gang. Later, while robbing the migrants atop the train, he has the opportunity to save Sayra and exact his own vengeance simultaneously. This, of course, sets him on the lam from his own gang as well as the different branches located throughout the country. He is doggedly pursued by Smiley (anxious to prove his mettle to the gang leader) and El Sol.
So far I’ve provided a lot of exposition, but I haven’t even gotten to the heart of the story which is the bond that develops between Sayra and Casper. In some ways it’s a tired convention, but Fukunaga’s screenplay allows it to happen organically. His attraction (and I don’t necessarily mean romantic attraction) to her takes some time to show. He feels responsible for her, but she may also remind him of his girlfriend, who he may not have realized he truly loved until he lost her. She is drawn to him primarily because she recognizes what he’s gotten himself into by saving her life, but I think there’s more to the attraction. She’s dazzled by the mystery of the young man before her and the tattoos he wears marking him as a killer. There’s an element of danger, but also a level of protection she sees from him that her father has never provided during his absence. It is one of the great strengths of the film that neither of these attractions is explicitly discussed. The actors use body language and eye contact, Fukunaga allows us to watch Casper as he replays video of his girlfriend on his camera.
The attraction of Sayra to Casper is similar to what we see in the character of Smiley who seems to want nothing more from life than to be a Marero. There’s a key scene between Smiley and some other boys his own age where he gets to show off his newly acquired gun. The boys are impressed and want details about his experiences. This is a culture of admiration. They see the gang as something to belong to. It gives them purpose and protection. There is also an element of magical mysticism surrounding the Marero which we see reflected in the nicknames they give themselves: the leader L’il Mago (Little Wizard); the second in command El Sol (The Sun); and Casper, whose name recalls images of a friendly ghost.
This brings me to the larger point I think Fukunaga is trying to make which is the idea that the abject poverty these characters and a great deal of people from that part of the world find themselves in is likely to drive them to a choice between two lives: be part of a gang or be an illegal immigrant in the US.
The writing is truly the film’s strong point, but Fukunaga shows his technical skill as a director in shooting several scenes on top of a moving train. It is seamlessly edited, including the cutting of action sequences and the joining together of two plot lines, by Luis Carballar, who brings with him the experience of working on another film with multiple storylines – Amores Perros – and Hollywood veteran Craig McKay, whose work has included both action and drama, most notably Reds and The Silence of the Lambs.
The title of the film, which means “Without Name” in English seems at first to refer to Casper, who has given up his given name to be part of a gang. However, I’d say it has more to do with the fact that the principal characters’ (Casper, Sayra and Smiley) stories could potentially be anyone’s story. The film may be focused on these people at this time and place, but ultimately there are millions of people who struggle daily with the same kinds of things that these characters struggle with. Any of the three could be the protagonist in his own film. I’d be most interested in seeing how Smiley’s story continues. Tell me you don’t agree.
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