Sin Nombre

Director: Cary Fukunaga


Producer: Amy Kaufman


Genre: Adventure, Crime, Drama, Thriller


Writer: Cary Fukunaga


Released: 2009


Time: 1 hr. 39 mins.


Movie Rating: 88 %

Sin Nombre is about two young adults, Willy “El Casper” (Edgar Flores) and Sayra (Paulina Gaitan) traveling to go to America and crossing the United States border illegally, but during their journey Casper’s past comes in trouble them. Sayra is traveling to cross the border in search of a better life in America and Casper is escaping from his past. He is escaping from his past, because he has murdered his gang’s, “La Mara Salvatrucha or the MS13”, leader. He murdered his leader, Lil’ Mago (Tenoch Huerta Mejia), because Lil’ Mago killed his love, Martha Marlene (Diana Garcia). So when Casper and Sayra’s lives meet they click and they start liking eachother, so they continue their journey together. The journey turns into Casper running from the MS13 or La Mara Salvatrucha and Sayra sticking by and following Casper.

This film is great, because it gives you a deeper look into the lives of the most dangerous gang organization, the MS13. It demonstrates the way that they operate and how they gain their ranks within the gang. This is shown through Smiley (Kristian Ferrer) and how through out the film he is determined to kill Casper to gain his tattoo of the MS13 to gain rank within the gang. Then we see how that for them if you bare the mark of the MS13 then you’ll always be protected everywhere you go if there is a MS13 clan in that area. Then it shows how they will kill you if are not part of the MS13. Like when they kill that “chaval” and feed his corpse to the dogs. Now that is extreme. Then it shows how they have no respect for the women outside of their gang. This is show in the scene of when Lil’ Mago tries to rape Martha Marlene. This scene also shows that if they want something they will just take it no matter what. This film is great, because it also shows how hard it is to get out of that troubled life. This is show through how Casper tries to escape, but obviously that doesn’t work. Then it also shows how they punish the members that don’t obey orders or that mess up the orders that are given to them. Their punishment is to be beat up by other members of the clan or gang for 13 seconds. This is also how you get initiated into the gang as well. Then the film is great because it shows how two extremely different lives can meet and be united, without even really knowing each other or even knowing what that stranger can do to you. This scene through the relationship that Casper and Sayra develop through their journey on the train and their escape from the MS13.

My rating for this film adventure, crime, drama, thriller is: <3 for it’s great, it’s pretty passable