| Sin Nombre | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster |
|
| Directed by | Cary Joji Fukunaga |
| Produced by | Gael Garcia & Diego Luna |
| Written by | Cary Joji Fukunaga |
| Starring | Paulina Gaitán Edgar Flores Kristyan Ferrer Tenoch Huerta Mejía Diana García Héctor Jiménez Gerardo Taracena Luis Fernando Peña |
| Music by | Marcelo Zarvos |
| Cinematography | Adriano Goldman |
| Editing by | Luis Carballar Craig McKay |
| Distributed by | Focus Features |
| Running time | 96 min. |
| Country | United States and Mexico |
| Language | Spanish |
| Box office | $5,101,756 |
Sin Nombre is an American and Mexican film written and directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga.
Filmed in Spanish, the film's name means "Nameless". It won several awards, including the prizes for directing and cinematography at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival.
The poster title is stylized as Sin noMbre to indicate the connection to the Mara Salvatrucha gang.
Contents |
Willy, nicknamed El Casper (Edgar Flores), is a member of the Mara Salvatrucha gang and lives in Tapachula, Chiapas, Mexico. He introduces a young boy (Kristyan Ferrer) into his gang, and the boy is given the nickname Smiley after a violent initiation. Casper later helps Smiley to complete this initiation by helping him to execute a rival gang-member. Casper is romantically involved with a girl, Martha Marlen. Fearing for the girl's safety, he keeps the relationship a secret from his gang. His double life causes his gang to doubt his loyalty and his girlfriend his fidelity. When Martha follows Casper to a gathering of his gang, the gang leader, Lil Mago (Tenoch Huerta Mejía), escorts her out, despite Casper's misgivings. Mago attempts to rape Martha and accidentally kills her. Later, he tells a bitter Casper that he will "find another"and that "the beast took her".
Shortly afterward, Mago brings Casper and Smiley to La Bombilla, a location along the train tracks where illegal immigrants stow away on passing trains on their way to the United States. Among the illegal immigrants is a Honduran family introduced earlier consisting of the teenage girl Sayra (Paulina Gaitán), her father (Gerardo Taracena), and her uncle, who are on their way to relatives in New Jersey. Lil Mago, Casper, and Smiley rob the passengers for any money they have until Lil Mago spots Sayra and attempts to rape her. Casper intervenes, kills Mago, and then sends Smiley off.
Smiley goes back to the gang and reports about Mago's death. The new gang leader, El Sol, accuses Smiley of collusion, to which Smiley timidly protests and begs to be sent to kill Casper to prove his loyalty. El Sol agrees and Smiley travels north to get the help of the local gang members.
On the train, the still shocked Casper keeps aloof from the other passengers. Some try to throw him off the train but Sayra warns him and keeps on approaching him, despite her father's warnings. Casper's knowledge from previously smuggling gang members and avoiding the police proves useful, as he eludes his pursuers. He is finally accepted by Sayra's family but decides to leave the train while the others are sleeping. However, Sayra has followed him. Her father and uncle decide to continue the journey until the train is apprehended by immigration officers.
Traveling north on a car transport organized by a friend of Casper, Casper and Sayra barely escape a trap laid for them and enter an immigrant shelter, where Sayra sees a familiar face. She is informed that her father has died and her uncle has been caught. In disbelief, she rushes off to cry at the chapel, where Casper comforts her.
They reach a river that constitutes the border to the United States. A coyote agrees to take them across one by one. Casper pays the man with his camera containing the cherished pictures of his murdered girlfriend and insists Sayra to go first. As she is halfway across, the gang appears and begins to chase Casper. Casper flees the pursuing gang but runs into Smiley, who shoots him once, then slowly two more times, the last of which in the head. This allowed time for the others to catch up. They then all proceed to empty their magazines and clips into Casper in a sort of execution style, while Sayra struggles to hold on to the raft while she sobs.
The closing scenes show Sayra phoning her father's new family from outside a U.S. mall, her uncle setting off on another attempt to cross the border, and Smiley getting his lip tattooed as a sign of his loyalty to the gang.
The film was mostly shot in Mexico City. Locations were found there resembling as closely as possible Tegucigalpa and the train station in Tapachula.[1]
The film was also shot in Torreón, Coahuila, Mexico. Several of the extras used in the film were actual migrants. Fukunaga said of working with them, "I didn't have to tell them anything - they know how to sit on top of a train."[2]
The executive producers included Diego Luna and Gael García Bernal.
| Awards | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Award | Category | Recipient(s) | Outcome |
| Austin Film Critics Association Awards | Best Foreign Language Film | Won | |
| British Independent Film Awards 2009 | Best Foreign Film | Nominated | |
| Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards | Best Foreign Language Film | Nominated | |
| Chicago Film Critics Association Awards | |||
| Best Foreign Language Film | Nominated | ||
| Most Promising Filmmaker | Cary Joji Fukunaga | Nominated | |
| Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards | Best Foreign Language Film | Won | |
| Deauville American Film Festival | Jury Prize (tied) | Won | |
| EDA [Alliance of Women Film Journalists] Award | Best Non-English-Language Film | Nominated | |
| 2009 Edinburgh International Film Festival | Skillset New Directors Award | Cary Joji Fukunaga | Won |
| Indiana Film Journalists Association Award | Best Foreign Language Film | Won | |
| Spirit Awards | |||
| Best Feature | Nominated | ||
| Best Director | Cary Joji Fukunaga | Nominated | |
| Best Cinematography | Adriano Goldman | Nominated | |
| 2009 Sundance Film Festival Awards (U.S. Dramatic Competition) | |||
| Directing Award | Cary Joji Fukunaga | Won | |
| Excellence in Cinematography | Adriano Goldman | Won | |
| 2009 Stockholm International Film Festival Awards | |||
| Best First Feature | Won | ||
| Best Actor | Edgar Flores | Won | |
| FIPRESCI International Film Critics Prize for Best Film | Won | ||
| St. Louis Film Critics Awards | Best Foreign Language Film | Nominated | |