Editing El Norte (film)

{{Short description|1983 film by Gregory Nava}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = El Norte
| image          = El Norte, film poster.jpg

| alt            =
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| director       = [[Gregory Nava]]
| screenplay     = Gregory Nava<br/>[[Anna Thomas]]
| story          = Gregory Nava
| producer       = Anna Thomas<!--Per BFI-->
| starring       = [[Zaide Silvia Gutiérrez]]<br/>[[David Villalpando]]
| narrator       =
| cinematography = [[James Glennon]]
| editing        = Betsy Blankett Milicevic
| music          = The Folkloristas<br/>Malecio Martinez<br/>Linda O'Brien<br/>[[Emil Richards]]
| studio         =  [[American Playhouse]]<ref name="bfi"/><br/>Independent Film Productions<ref name="afi"/>
| distributor    = Mainline Pictures<ref>{{cite web|title=El Norte (1983)|website=BBFC|access-date=9 July 2023|url=https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/el-norte-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc00otywmzq}}</ref> (United Kingdom)<br />[[Cinecom|Cinecom International Films]]<ref name="afi"/><br />[[Island Records|Island Alive]]<ref name="afi">{{cite web|title=El Norte (1983)|website=AFI Catalog of Feature Films|access-date=9 July 2023|url=https://catalog.afi.com/Film/71027-EL-NORTE?sid=4c99a392-af2a-4f74-b6aa-71f47b72cc12&sr=7.6491113&cp=1&pos=9}}</ref> (United States)
| released       = {{Film date|1983|11|10|United Kingdom|1984|1|11|[[New York City]]}}
| runtime        = 139 minutes
| country        = United Kingdom<br/>United States<!--Alpha sort-->
| language       = English<br/>Quiché<br/>Spanish <!--Alpha sort-->
| budget         = $800,000<ref>''La Factoria'' web site. Last accessed: December 11, 2007.</ref>
}}
'''''El Norte''''' (English: ''The North'') is a 1983 [[Independent film|independent]] drama film, directed by [[Gregory Nava]]. The screenplay was written by Gregory Nava and [[Anna Thomas]], based on Nava's story. The movie was first presented at the [[Telluride Film Festival]] in 1983, and its wide release was in January 1984.<ref name="bfi">[https://web.archive.org/web/20171107132528/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b74dd57a1/ ''El Norte''] at the [[British Film Institute]]{{better source needed|reason=Help request: a live link can be searched for at https://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web/search/expert - if available, replace the archive URL with the live link. Or if none found, remove this 'better source needed' template. | date=October 2023}}.</ref>

The drama features [[Zaide Silvia Gutiérrez]] and [[David Villalpando]], in their first film roles, as two [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|indigenous]] youths who flee Guatemala due to the ethnic and political persecution of the [[Guatemalan Civil War]].<ref>[https://www.avclub.com/the-50-most-important-american-independent-movies-1842597128/slides/22 America's 50 best independent movies|AV Club]</ref> They head north and travel through Mexico to the United States, arriving in Los Angeles, California, after an arduous journey.

The picture was partly funded by the [[PBS|Public Broadcasting Service]] (PBS), a non-profit public broadcasting television service in the United States.

''El Norte'' received an [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]] nomination for [[Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay|Best Original Screenplay]]<ref>[https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1985/D 1985|Oscars.org]</ref> in 1985. In 1995, the film was selected for preservation in the United States [[National Film Registry]] by the [[Library of Congress]] as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-film-preservation-board/film-registry/complete-national-film-registry-listing/|title=Complete National Film Registry Listing |website=Library of Congress|access-date=2020-04-28}}</ref>

==Plot==
The writing team of Nava and Thomas split the story into three parts:

=== ''Arturo Xuncax'' ===
The first part takes place in a small rural Guatemalan village called San Pedro and introduces the Xuncax family, a group of [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|indigenous]] [[Maya peoples|Maya]]ns. Arturo is a coffee picker and his wife a homemaker. Arturo explains his worldview to his son Enrique and how the ''indio'' fares in Guatemalan life, noting that, "to the rich, the peasant is just a pair of strong arms".<ref name="efilmcritic">[http://efilmcritic.com/review.php?movie=4474 Review: ''El Norte''], efilmcritic.com, February 17, 2003. Accessed: July 27, 2013.</ref> Arturo and his family then discuss the possibility of going to the United States where "all the people, even the poor, have their own cars".

Because of his attempts to form a labor union among the workers, Arturo and the other organizers are attacked and murdered by government troops when a co-worker is bribed to betray them—Arturo's severed head is seen hanging from a tree.<ref name="popmatters">.[http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/norte/ Rathke, Renee Scolaro]. ''Pop Matters'', film review, "Same Old New World", undated. Accessed: April 21, 2007.</ref> When Enrique attempts to climb the tree that displays his father's head, a soldier attacks him. Enrique fights back and kills the attacker, then escapes with his sister Rosa and hides in a safe house until morning. Enrique and Rosa thus escape capture, only to learn that many of their fellow villagers have been rounded up by soldiers. The children's mother too "disappears": abducted by soldiers. So, using money given to them by their godmother, Enrique and Rosa decide to flee Guatemala, the land of their birth, and head north.

=== ''Coyote'' ===
During the second part of the film, the two teenagers flee Guatemala, travel through Mexico, and meet a Mexican [[Coyotaje|coyote]] who guides them across the border. This section includes various comic scenes relating to mutual stereotyping among different ethnic groups; the two attempt to pass themselves off as indigenous Mexicans, failing to convince one Mexican truck driver after naming the wrong destination, but later succeeding in convincing a U.S. Border Patrol officer by copiously peppering their responses with the Mexican word for "fuck", which a neighbor had suggested was how all Mexicans speak.<ref name="popmatters" />

Thus, Enrique and Rosa are only deported to a border town in Mexico and not to Guatemala, giving them a base for a second attempt to cross the border. After their first failed attempt to cross the ''"frontera"'', in which a man posing as a coyote deceives and attempts to rob them, they have a horrific experience when they finally cross the U.S.-Mexico border through a sewer pipe laden with rats; critic Roger Ebert noted:

{{blockquote|The scene is horrifying, not least because it's pretty clear these are real rats. Disease-free rats purchased from a laboratory, yes, but real rats all the same, and although Gutierrez was phobic about rats, she insisted on doing her own scenes, and her panic is real.<ref name="ebert2004">[http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-el-norte-1983 Ebert, Roger]. Great Movies: ''El Norte'', film review, August 1, 2004. Accessed: July 27, 2013.</ref>}}

=== ''El Norte'' ===
In the final part of the film, Rosa and Enrique discover the difficulties of living in the U.S. without official documentation. The brother and sister find work and a place to live and initially feel good about their decision. However, Rosa is nearly caught up in an immigration raid and must find a new job. Working as a domestic, she is puzzled when her Anglo employer shows her a washing machine. Enrique becomes a busboy and, as his English classes begin to improve his command of the language, is promoted to a position as a waiter's assistant. He is later approached by a businesswoman who has a better-paying job for him in Chicago as a foreman, which he initially declines; he too encounters problems when a jealous [[Chicano]] co-worker reports him to immigration, causing him to flee the restaurant and seek out the businesswoman.

When Enrique finally decides to take the position, Rosa becomes gravely ill with typhus contracted from the rat bites she received during their border crossing. When this happens, Enrique must make the tough decision of missing the flight to Chicago to be by her side, and thus loses the position. As Enrique sits by her bedside in the hospital, a dying Rosa laments that she will not live to enjoy the fruits of their harrowing journey to the U.S. Rosa sums up the film's major theme when she says to Enrique:

{{blockquote|In our own land, we have no home. They want to kill us....In Mexico, there is only poverty. We can't make a home there either. And here in the north, we aren't accepted. When will we find a home, Enrique? Maybe when we die, we'll find a home.}}

After Rosa dies, Enrique is shown once again waiting with the other day-labor hopefuls in a parking lot, offering his services to a man looking for "strong arms"; reviewer Renee Scolaro Rathke observes: "It is a bitter realization that Arturo's words about the poor being nothing but arms for the rich holds true even in El Norte."<ref name="popmatters" />

Although Enrique is temporarily employed once again, he is distracted by haunting daydreams about his sister's lost desires for a better life. The final shot in the film again shows a severed head hanging from a rope, which may be the same image used in Part I of the film; one critic has commented that a hanging, severed head is "a symbolic device used in some Latin films to signify that the character has committed suicide".<ref name="spotlight">[http://www.christiananswers.net/spotlight/movies/pre2000/elnorte.html Brett Willis]. ''Christian Spotlight on the Movies'', film review, undated. Accessed: July 27, 2013.</ref>

==Cast==
{{Cast listing|
* [[Zaide Silvia Gutiérrez]] as Rosa Xuncax
* [[David Villalpando]] as Enrique Xuncax
* [[Ernesto Gómez Cruz]] as Arturo Xuncax
* Alicia del Lago as Lupe Xuncax
* [[Lupe Ontiveros]] as Nacha
* [[Trinidad Silva]] as Monte Bravo
* [[Enrique Castillo]] as Jorge
* [[Tony Plana]] as Carlos
* [[Diane Cary]] as Alice Harper
* [[Mike Gomez]] as Jaime
}}

==Background==
The origins of ''El Norte'' are the director's experiences in San Diego, California, where he grew up. Nava came from a border family and has relatives on the other side in Tijuana, Baja California. As a youth, he crossed the border several times a week, often wondering who lived in all those cardboard shacks on the Mexican side.

For research the producers of ''El Norte'' learned about the plight of [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|indigenous]] Guatemalans from years of research, much of it conducted among exiles living in Southern California. Nava said "There are hundreds of thousands of refugees from Central America in Los Angeles alone. Nobody knows the exact number, but a recent television inquiry estimated 300,000 to 400,000. In our own research, we came across a community of [[Maya peoples|Mayans]] from Guatemala—5,000 from one village—now in Los Angeles. The original village, which is now dead, had 15,000."<ref name="Insdorf">[http://movies2.nytimes.com/mem/movies/review.html?v_id=65144 Insdorf,  Annette]{{Dead link|date=August 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}. ''The New York Times'', "''El Norte:'' On Screen and in Reality, a Story of Struggle", January 8, 1984. Accessed: July 27, 2013.</ref>

Annette Insdorf of ''The New York Times'' wrote that Nava discussed the singular nature of the US-Mexico border. Nava said:

<blockquote>The border is unique—the only place in the world where an industrialized first-world nation shares the border with a third-world country. In California, it's just a fence: on one side are the Tijuana slums, on the other side—San Diego. It's so graphic! This was the germ of the story.<ref name="Insdorf"/></blockquote>

The movie has become a staple of high school Spanish language and Human Geography classes throughout the United States and [[multiculturalism]] studies in college.

===Financing===
Nava and Anna Thomas spent two years raising money for ''El Norte'' but they did not pursue film studios or television networks because much of what makes ''El Norte'' special would have been jeopardized if a major studio had been involved in the filmmaking process.

Financing for the film was provided by PBS's [[American Playhouse]] (50%) and the rest in pre-sales. One such pre-sale was made to the United Kingdom's Channel 4.<ref name="Insdorf"/>

==Themes==

===Magical realism===
Parts of ''El Norte'' provide an example of how Latin American [[magical realism]], primarily found in novels, has been depicted in a theatrical film.<ref name="ebert2004"/><ref>Vasquez, Emilia. Capital Community College, ''Latino Guide: Latino and Latin-American Films''. Last accessed: November 26, 2009.</ref><ref>[http://www.criterionconfessions.com/2009/01/el-norte-458.html Rich, Jamie S.] Criterion Confessions, film review and analysis, January 18, 2009. Accessed: July 27, 2013.</ref> Ann Hornaday of ''The Washington Post'' wrote: "''El Norte'' was seminal, both for its graceful blend of classical narrative and magic realism, and the power with which it brought an otherwise invisible world to life."<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/26/AR2006052600393.html Hornaday, Ann]. ''The Washington Post'', "Moral Compass Points 'Norte'", May 28, 2006. Accessed: July 27, 2013.</ref>

===Indigenous view and bigotry===
''El Norte'' portrays an [[Amerindian]] point-of-view and this is exemplified by the religion they follow. An example is when Rosa Xuncax sings the eulogy at the funeral of her father and its Native American-Maya religious theme. A traditional Maya belief is that life has a cyclical nature.<ref>West. Dennis. ''Cineaste'' v21, n4 (Fall, 1995):26 (3 pages). "Filming the Chicano Family Saga: Interview with Director Gregory Nava". Nava discusses his use of indigenous spirituality in his films, fall 1995.</ref> Rosa sings in her Maya language:

{{blockquote|We came only to sleep, to dream. All things are lent to us. We are only on Earth in passing.}}

Throughout ''El Norte'' young Rosa and Enrique and their family are subjected to many epithets, hatred, and bigotry due to their indigenous heritage. When the father Arturo inadvertently kills a soldier, for example, a [[ladino people|ladino]] screams:

{{blockquote|That bastard Indian killed Puma!}}

And, when Rosa and Enrique reach their destination in Mexico, a passenger screams at the timid Maya youngsters:

{{blockquote|We have arrived to Tijuana, you damn Indians.}}

===Guatemalan exodus===
[[David Villalpando]], the actor who played Enrique Xuncax, gave an interview to ''Lear Media'' about what the film meant to him and why he believes the film is important. Villalpando said:

{{blockquote|Fifteen years ago, the indigenous people in Guatemala were living a cruel extermination that forced them to flee toward Mexico and the United States. This exodus lasted a decade and half a million Guatemalans made the journey to the United States seeking for asylum and refuge...''El Norte'' became a powerful fighting element, grew an audience, searched audiences, and left the theaters to tell its truth.<ref>Villalpando, David. ''Lear Media'', interview with David Villalpando.</ref>}}

==Production==
When Nava and his production crew were, more or less, kicked out of Mexico during the film shoot, he had to re-create a Mexican village in California. Nava said "We were filming in Mexico during the end of the López Portillo presidency, one of the last of the old-fashioned caciques to rule Mexico. One day, men with machine guns took over the set. I had guns pointed at my head. We were forced to shut down production, bribe our way out of the country, fight to get our costumes back, and start shooting again in California. Ironically, in the United States our extras were real Mayan refugees. They were the people the movie was about."<ref>Santiago, Soledad. ''The Santa Fe New Mexican'', "Bordering on brilliance", December 2, 2006.</ref>

Nava tells the story that, at one point, Mexican police kidnapped their accountant and held him for ransom, and at the same time, his parents had to pose as tourists in order to smuggle exposed film out of the country in their suitcases.<ref>Ebert, Roger. ''Chicago Sun-Times'', "Confessions (with recipes) of the Vegetarian Epicure", July 24, 2006.</ref>

===Filming locations===
The film was shot in Mexico and California. In Mexico, the locations were [[Chiapas]], [[Morelos]], [[Mexican Federal District|México, D.F.]], and Tijuana. In California, the locations were San Diego and Los Angeles.

==Distribution==
The film was released in Scotland on October 11, 1983. On December 11, 1983, the movie opened in New York City and on January 27, 1984, it opened in wide release.

It was screened in the [[un certain regard|''{{lang|fr|un certain regard|nocat=true}}'']] section at the [[1984 Cannes Film Festival]].<ref name="festival-cannes.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/1349/year/1984.html |title=Festival de Cannes: El Norte |access-date=2009-06-24 |work=www.festival-cannes.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121001192224/http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/1349/year/1984.html |archive-date=2012-10-01 }}</ref>

A director's cut was re-released in May 2000.<ref name="Gee">Gee, Shannon. ''Seattle Weekly'', film review, "Crossing the border to new hardships", May 10, 2000.</ref>

The film was re-released theatrically by [[Fathom Events]] in association with [[Lionsgate Films|Lionsgate]] on September 15, 2019, followed by a digital release two days later, to commemorate its 35th anniversary, and featured new interviews with director Gregory Nava and the film's two stars, Zaide Silvia Gutierrez and David Villalpando.<ref>[https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/acclaimed-immigration-film-el-norte-returns-more-relevant-ever-n1053111 Acclaimed immigration film 'El Norte' returns, more relevant than ever - NBC News]</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Film News Roundup: 'El Norte' Set for 35th Anniversary Re-Release|website=Variety|first=Dave|last=McNary|date=3 August 2019|access-date=9 July 2023|url=https://variety.com/2019/film/news/gregory-nava-norte-35th-anniversary-release-1203290593/amp/}}</ref> The film was preserved by the [[Academy Film Archive]] in 2017.<ref>{{cite web|title=Preserved Projects|url=https://www.oscars.org/academy-film-archive/preserved-projects?title=el+norte&filmmaker=&category=All&collection=All|website=Academy Film Archive}}</ref>

==Reception==

===Critical response===
When released, the staff at ''Variety'' described the film as the "first United American independent epic."<ref>[https://variety.com/1982/film/reviews/el-norte-1200425546/ ''Variety'']. Staff film review, 1983. Accessed: July 27, 2013.</ref>

In his four-star review, film critic Roger Ebert was pleased with Nava's and Thomas's work and likened it to a classic film of yesteryear, writing: "''El Norte'' (1983) tells their story with astonishing visual beauty, with unashamed melodrama, with anger leavened by hope. It is a ''Grapes of Wrath'' for our time."<ref name="ebert2004"/>

In a scene where the characters cross into California by means of a rat-infested sewer tunnel and emerge to a view of San Diego, ''Commonweal'' critic Tom O'Brien wrote: "...{{nbsp}}the scene sums up its rare strength".<ref>O'Brien, Tom. ''Commonweal'', film review, April 6, 1984.</ref>

Film critics Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat of the website ''Spirituality and Practice'' were touched by Nava and Thomas' story and the attention they give to the character's native roots, and wrote: "Nava's attention to details, particularly the aesthetic and religious beauty of Indian culture, and his sympathy for the protagonists' inner lives lift this story above its melodramatic moments and make the tale a memorable one."<ref>[http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/films/films.php?id=6404 Brussat, Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat]. ''Spirituality and Practice'', film review. No date. Accessed: July 27, 2013.</ref>

Some film reviewers objected to what they considered the film's overly sad end as [[Vincent Canby]] of ''The New York Times'', wrote: "Until its arbitrarily tragic ending, ''El Norte'' seems about to make one of the most boldly original and satirical social-political statements ever to be found in a film about the United States as a land of power as well as opportunity." However, Canby did find the acting top-rate and noted the realism they bring to their tasks. He added: "Mr. Nava does not patronize his 'little people.' This has something to do with the straight, unactorly quality of the performances, especially by Zaide Silvia Gutierrez as Rosa and David Villalpando as Enrique, two splendid Mexican actors."<ref>[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9804E7DD1E38F931A15752C0A962948260 Canby, Vincent]. ''The New York Times'', film review, "Film View; ''El Norte'': A Fine Movie Fuel led by Injustice", January 22, 1984. Accessed: July 27, 2013.</ref>

Rotten Tomatoes reported that 92% of critics gave the film a positive review, based on 60 reviews.<ref name="tottentomatoes">{{cite web |url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/el_norte/ |title=El Norte movie reviews |work=Rotten Tomatoes |publisher=Fandango |access-date=August 10, 2021}}</ref>

===Accolades===
'''Wins'''
* [[Festival des Films du Monde - Montréal|Montréal World Film Festival]]: ''Grand Prix des Amériques,'' Gregory Nava; 1984.

'''Nominations'''
* [[Academy Awards]]: Oscar; [[Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay|Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen]], Gregory Nava and Anna Thomas; 1985.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=il6P0bgjRTQ Robert Benton and Peter Shaffer winning Writing Oscars®-Oscars on YouTube]</ref>
* [[Writers Guild of America, East]]: WGA Award; Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen; Gregory Nava and Anna Thomas; 1985.

'''Other distinguishments'''
* In 1995 the film was selected for preservation by the United States [[National Film Registry]].<ref>[https://variety.com/2019/film/news/gregory-nava-norte-35th-anniversary-release-1203290593/#! Gregory Nava's 'El Norte' Set for 35th Anniversary Release - Variety]</ref>

==Soundtrack==
A soundtrack for the film was produced in France by Island/Phono-Gram. The album was produced by Gregory Nava and [[Danny Holloway]]. The CD features original music for the film by Los Folkloristas, [[Emil Richards]], and Linda O'Brian.

It also features "Rosa's Song" sung by the actress Zaide Silvia Gutiérrez.<ref>Music Disc web site. Last accessed: December 11, 2007.</ref> ''[[Adagio for Strings]]'' by the American composer [[Samuel Barber]] was featured at two different points in the film. It also contains excerpts from the First Cello Concerto and ''[[De Natura Sonoris No. 1]]'' by Polish composer [[Krzysztof Penderecki]], the latter of which is used twice.

==Home media==
[[The Criterion Collection]] released ''El Norte'' on DVD and Blu-ray on January 20, 2009.<ref>[http://www.criterion.com/films/972 ''El Norte''] information site at The Criterion Collection. Accessed: July 27, 2013.</ref><ref>[https://www.amazon.com/Norte-Criterion-Collection-Silvia-Gutierrez/dp/B001ILTUKQ/ref=tmm_dvd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr= Amazon.com]</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/el_norte.pdf ''El Norte'' essay by Matthew Holtmeier at National Film Registry]
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=deq3xI8OmCkC&source=gbs_similarbooks ''El Norte'' essay by Daniel Eagan in America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry], A&C Black, 2010 {{ISBN|0826429777}}, pages 781-783
* {{IMDb title|0085482}}
* {{TCMDb title|id=483204}}
* {{AFI film|71027}}
* [http://www.thefreelibrary.com/El+Norte%2c+deracination+and+circularity%3a+an+epic+gone+awry.-a0168737567 ''El Norte''] extensive summary and analysis at ''The Free Library''
* [http://www.christiananswers.net/spotlight/movies/pre2000/elnorte.html ''El Norte''] film review: a Christian point of view
* [http://www.ucm.es/info/especulo/numero22/north.html ''El Norte''] scholarly analysis by Hugo N. Santander at American University
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efCK1A8k2Ds ''El Norte''] film trailer at YouTube
* [https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/1005-promised-land-el-norte ''Promised Land: El Norte''] an essay by [[Héctor Tobar]] at the Criterion Collection

{{Gregory Nava}}
{{Grand Prix des Amériques}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Norte, El}}
[[Category:1983 drama films]]
[[Category:1983 films]]
[[Category:American political drama films]]
[[Category:American independent films]]
[[Category:British political drama films]]
[[Category:British independent films]]
[[Category:1980s English-language films]]
[[Category:Films about illegal immigration to the United States]]
[[Category:Films about the labor movement]]
[[Category:Films directed by Gregory Nava]]
[[Category:Films set in Guatemala]]
[[Category:Films set in Los Angeles]]
[[Category:Films set in Mexico]]
[[Category:Films shot in California]]
[[Category:Films shot in Mexico]]
[[Category:Magic realism films]]
[[Category:Mayan-language films]]
[[Category:1980s political drama films]]
[[Category:1980s Spanish-language films]]
[[Category:United States National Film Registry films]]
[[Category:Films set in Tijuana]]
[[Category:1983 independent films]]
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