X
- 1984
- R
- Cinecom Pictures
- 2 h 21 m
- 1984
- R
- Cinecom Pictures
- 2 h 21 m
Summary Mayan Indian peasants escape oppression in Guatemala and flee to the United States.
Directed By: Gregory Nava
Written By: Anna Thomas, Gregory Nava
- 1984
- R
- Cinecom Pictures
- 2 h 21 m
- 1984
- R
- Cinecom Pictures
- 2 h 21 m
Summary Mayan Indian peasants escape oppression in Guatemala and flee to the United States.
Directed By: Gregory Nava
Written By: Anna Thomas, Gregory Nava
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 10 Critic Reviews
75
90% Positive
9 Reviews
9 Reviews
0% Mixed
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
10% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 10 Critic Reviews
75
90% Positive
9 Reviews
9 Reviews
0% Mixed
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
10% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
This is the first film to approach the subject of "undocumented workers" solely through their eyes. This is not one of those docudramas where we half-expect a test at the end, but a film like "The Grapes of Wrath" that gets inside the hearts of its characters and lives with them.
A small, personal, independently made film with the sweep of El Norte, with solid, sympathetic performances by unknown actors and a visual style of astonishing vibrancy, must be regarded as a remarkable accomplishment. [11 Jan 1984, p.15]
Although the film's Guatemalan and Mexican portions include much effective storytelling, the long American episode is the most stirring.
When it comes time to paint a view of Southern California from the perspective of outsiders looking in and expecting miracles, Nava's touch is marvelously sure, the satirical edge all covered in chrome. Nava's is the kind of talent that a low budget cannot hide. [30 Mar 1984, p.D6]
Not exactly a great film, but it's a very good one that, through the devices of fiction, manages to provoke a number of healthily contradictory feelings about the world we all inhabit at the moment.
El Norte deserves credit for being one of the first films to engage American cinema in a discourse on the immigrant experience, but its approach to the material—shallow, condescending, and hectoring—undermines its stabs at brutal realism.
Though his subject is a serious one and his intentions are apparently noble, Nava has made a film that is essentially indistinguishable from Love Story.
Production Company
American Playhouse,
Channel Four Films,
Independent Productions,
Island Alive,
Public Broadcasting Service (PBS)
Release Date Jan 27, 1984
Duration 2 h 21 m
Rating R
Tagline The magical film that reveals the world between the dream and the reality
Awards
Academy Awards, USA
• 1 Nomination
Montréal World Film Festival
• 2 Wins & 2 Nominations
National Film Preservation Board, USA
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
