SIN NOMBRE- BEAUTY FROM THE SADNESS

"Honduran teenager Sayra reunites with her father, an opportunity for her to potentially realize her dream of a life in the U.S. Moving to Mexico is the first step in a fateful journey of unexpected events".

This plot is but a fragment of the full picture. SIN NOMBRE also tells the story of El Casper, a young gang member who can no longer rationalize the violent and morally reprehensible behavior him and his fellow homies not only take part in, but seek out. Sayra and El Caspers roads cross paths in the most unlikely of manners. What ensues is the ability for both characters to go through a series of self realizations that serve the story well and roll out in a natural and uncontrived manner.

SIN is set up from the first shot to make the viewer feel like this is a legitimate window into the world of these characters many people have only heard about. Riding illegally on train tops, avoiding border patrol and gang initiations are things read in books or in the occasional article about immigration laws and what we are doing to reduce gun violence.

There is no attempt to buy the viewers sympathy for future storyline outcomes or to pave a path for ultimate salvation. You are taken on a journey with flawed people who are trying to make just decisions and have hope for a future.
It's rare when you can say a story is honest in every way. SIN is honest in the broken lives, the anger that drives people and how salvation is a path of muddy terrains many never make it out of.

I think one of the things that made such a violent and sad story one that leaves the viewer with some love and hope in their heart is the way the story was set against the most spectacular bckdrops. Hundreds of travelers sitting on top of a train with an amber sky and mountains for miles gives perspective that there is beauty everywhere; inside and out. SIN tells us no life is perfect and we all have the capacity to forgive. It makes the viewer think on a humanistic level very movies could ever do. Please go see it.

If I was to pick a top 10 right now for 2009, SIN NOMBRE would be on it.