Film Review: El Norte

"El Norte" was written and directed by Gregory Nava in 1983. The film exams the hardships involved in peasant life in Guatemala as well the difficulty in escaping these hardships in the United States. It centers primarily on Enrique and Rosa Xuncax whose father and mother were both killed by the military junta in Guatemala. Their father, Arturo, was part of a small, revolutionary group of farmers that wanted to rise against the elites taking their land and exploiting them for their "pair of arms." Rosa and Enrique flee Guatemala soon after Arturo's murder and go to America where they find their situation to ultimately be very similar to the oppression in Guatemala. The two most prominent settings used are the Xuncax's Guatemalan village and home, and Rosa and Enrique's small shack in the United States. Both of these settings are significant politically and socially. The socio-political situation of the peasants in the Guatemalan is very bleak. They are without any political influence and so can in no way change their bottom-rung social status without violence. Arturo explains to Enrique early in the movie that sometimes "you must fight for your land." The predicament of Arturo and his cohorts


Rosa's envious expression while watching two "gringos" leave in a new Mercedes illustrates the fact that she and Enrique can never truly attain all the wealth they wanted. This is illustrated by Enrique ending up screaming to foreman "I have strong arms!" in order to get a job, the screen then cuts to Enrique's father's head which was left hanging from a tree after his murder in Guatemala. The desperation of the farmers illustrates to the viewer the adversity that they faced. Early on in the movie he seems to offer hopes of breaking the cycle by allowing several events to take place. The writer seems to be of the opinion that poverty is cyclic, perpetuating itself. " Arturo wanted something better for Enrique, he wanted him to be free from oppression by the elite, but the sequence shows us that it is not to be. Namely, the killing of a soldier by Enrique, the siblings leaving Guatemalan, making it to America and finding jobs and lodging. It seems to me, at least in this particular case, it was more bad luck and Enrique's inability to do what he must to survive that stalled his progress. "El Norte" portrays well the difficult lives of peasantry in their constant search for some kind of upward mobility and struggle against government oppression. In both governments then, it seems that the poor are still just "arms" and not men. Just as in Guatemala their lack of political power gave no way to escape their impoverished social status. When Rosa looks on them they look old and decrepit. Rosa would still be dead but the author seems to think that Enrique is dead now anyways because he missed his chance. But the cost was more than he could bear. Their exploitation was essential to the economy so great measures were taken to keep them in line.