Rating: R
Movie Release Date: March 20, 2009
DVD Release Date: September 1, 2009
Plot 411: One family works together to find a better life; another turns on one of their own and is out for blood.
Review: In this gritty drama, two families are put to the test on a long train ride from South America bound for the U.S. The first family, a father who has come back to help his daughter (Paulina Gaitan), is seeking a better life that can only be attained in America. They risk it all for a chance of a future. The other family, bound by gang hierarchy and mentality, hunts a wayward brother (Edgar Flores) who has killed one of their own. These two groups intersect on the northbound train, where anything can happen. This movie feels very real and captures the immigrant experience and gang life in vivid detail. Everything is so raw and exposed that you feel as though you're on this journey with the characters. It's almost a road movie, except we travel mostly by train. It's a coming-of-age story in which the characters are faced with life-altering choices. The movie has a similar feel to City Of God/Cicade de Deus because its honest portrayal of gangs, poverty and violence. The movie is a powerful example of how life can be harsh when there are no options left. Innocent bystanders are killed while criminals roam free. Some people, who are looking for acceptance, embrace the violence to fulfill their loneliness. Others are punished for deciding that there is more to life than killing.
Movie Release Date: March 20, 2009
DVD Release Date: September 1, 2009
Plot 411: One family works together to find a better life; another turns on one of their own and is out for blood.
Review: In this gritty drama, two families are put to the test on a long train ride from South America bound for the U.S. The first family, a father who has come back to help his daughter (Paulina Gaitan), is seeking a better life that can only be attained in America. They risk it all for a chance of a future. The other family, bound by gang hierarchy and mentality, hunts a wayward brother (Edgar Flores) who has killed one of their own. These two groups intersect on the northbound train, where anything can happen. This movie feels very real and captures the immigrant experience and gang life in vivid detail. Everything is so raw and exposed that you feel as though you're on this journey with the characters. It's almost a road movie, except we travel mostly by train. It's a coming-of-age story in which the characters are faced with life-altering choices. The movie has a similar feel to City Of God/Cicade de Deus because its honest portrayal of gangs, poverty and violence. The movie is a powerful example of how life can be harsh when there are no options left. Innocent bystanders are killed while criminals roam free. Some people, who are looking for acceptance, embrace the violence to fulfill their loneliness. Others are punished for deciding that there is more to life than killing.
Watch It: And successfully be transported to another life, where life and death are interchangeable.
Skip It: And risk missing a great film by Asian American writer/director Cary Fukunaga.
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