Arturo is a field worker whose socialist sympathies cause the authoritarian military government to kill both him and his stay-at-home spouse. Rosa and Enrique flee for their lives. They have enough money to make it to Tijuana, an impoverished Mexican border town south of San Diego, but have difficulty finding a trustworthy "coyote" who will help them cross the border.
Finally, they are recommended to Raimundo (Abel Franco), a middle-aged restaurant manager who has them crawl through sewer tunnels to cross the border. There, the siblings encounter a large group of rats, in the most memorable scene of the movie. But they reach the end of the tunnel safely, and Raimundo places them in a low rent Los Angeles motel dominated by undocumented workers.
Both soon find reasonably good jobs. Rosa becomes a seamstress and works with Nacha (Lupe Ontiveros), an older and shrewd immigrant. Enrique is a waiter at a four-star restaurant. Later, Rosa works as a maid, and both learn broken English at night school.
An opportunity for a promising Green Card job arrives for Enrique, but he must travel to Chicago and separate from Rosa. Unluckily, Rosa becomes deathly ill, forcing Enrique to make an important decision.
How others will see it. El Norte was initially intended as a PBS television feature, but it received such a stir on the festival circuit that it was released in theaters. It earned a best screenplay Oscar nomination, a rare honor at the time for an independent movie primarily in a foreign language.
In 1995, it was added to the national film registry, a choice that has political correctness aspects but is nonetheless an honor. Today, the movie is fairly obscure but has a small but loyal following, as well as high user ratings at imdb. There is a dip among women under 30, who may find the infamous rat scene difficult to watch.
How I felt about it. El Norte is not a neoreolist film, even though the two young leads had little if any prior professional acting experience. The film does not resemble a documentary. It is a drama with symbolic elements that are subject to interpretation.
Thus, the movie is filled with traditional, even stereotypical characters, along with a sense that fate drives our actions yet denies our efforts. We have the brave father, the worried mother, the murderous soldier, the traitorous informer, the virginal (and comely) daughter/sister, the ambitious but loyal son/brother, the mestizo racist, the criminal opportunist, etc.
One representative stereotype is missing: the racist gringo. This may be because the movie was ultimately intended for a white American audience. There are gringo employees, either as immigration agents or employers, but they are treated in a realistic (albeit comic) manner.
Certainly, a message is afoot. The most important lesson is that illegal immigrants accomplish a great deal just to get to the United States, and they are further accomplished if they manage to stay here and muddle along on what low-paying work they can get.
There are other messages, too. Mestizo prejudice against Indians is rampant throughout the Americas. The rich exploit the poor. Even if you work hard and persevere, your mobility is limited.
There is a measure of truth in all this, along with a measure of exaggeration and idealism. For example, Rosa apparently dies a virgin. Both Rosa and Enrique quickly learn passable English. Many people have come to the U.S. on student visas and become multi-millionaire entrepreneurs. Admittedly, fewer entered the country illegally and become highly successful, although some undoubtedly have.