If you're looking for a Spanish-language film that provides an unflinching look at the desperate life that too many people in Central America live, one worth buying or renting on DVD is Sin nombre, which has been recognized by critics as one of the top movies of 2009 and in my opinion is worthy of a best-picture nomination two months from now.
You can read About.com's review of Sin nombre on the World/Independent film site, so I won't go into detail about the film here. Suffice it to say that if you've traveled extensively to poor areas of Central America or Mexico, much of the film will have a look of familiarity. And since much of the film focuses on Central American gang life, the film is ruthlessly violent, although never gratuitously so, so consider yourself forewarned.
Students of Spanish may enjoy hearing the frequent use in this film of the personal pronoun vos, which is sometimes used as the rough equivalent of or intimate alternative to tú in some regions. In this film, vos is used to show the emotional closeness of some characters. And, as you might expect, many of the characters use an abundance of words and phrases that aren't used in polite society, much less taught in school or on this site.
You can also learn more about this film by reading About.com's interview with writer/director Cary Fukanaga.
The title of the film, by the way, means "without name" or "anonymous." Sin is a common preposition usually meaning "without."
Comments
I agree. This is a film worth watching. It’s one of those films that keeps you thinking long after seeing it. It changes your perspective.
I saw this film a couple of months ago. It’s definitely worth watching. It gave me an understanding as to why people are willing to go through what they do to come to this country. It’s the only way to get out of an impossible situation without money. I used to think ‘how bad could it be?’ and now I see how ignorant I was.