← Back to results
Sin Nombre
Sin nombre
2009 96 min Mexico, United States of America R 16+
★7.7
Drama, Action, Thriller, Crime
Director: Cary Joji Fukunaga
Trailers
Description
Sayra, a Native Honduran teenager, hungers for a better life. Her chance for one comes when she is reunited with her long-estranged father, who intends to emigrate to Mexico and then enter the United States. Sayra's life collides with a pair of Indigenous Mexican and Mestizo-Mexican gangmembers who have boarded the same USA-bound train.
US Gross:
$2.54M
Worldwide:
$5.1M
Starring
Paulina Gaitan
Actor
Marco Antonio Aguirre
Actor
Leonardo Alonso
Actor
Awards
Sundance Film Festival 2009
— Best Cinematography (Drama)
Sundance Film Festival 2009
— Directing Award (Drama)
Sundance Film Festival 2009
— Grand Jury Prize (Drama)
Key opinion
Sin Nombre is a raw, atmospheric crime drama that succeeds in grounding its fictional narrative within the gritty reality of migrant journeys and gang culture. While some viewers find its simplistic plot and predictable tropes underwhelming, most appreciate its authentic, humanizing look at lives often rendered invisible.
| Cinematography | Fukunaga's cinematography captures the bleak atmosphere and brutal environment with striking, immersive visual style. | |
| Culture | The film utilizes extensive research and realistic detail to provide a compelling and authentic portrayal of MS-13 and the perilous migrant experience. | |
| Screenplay | The narrative strikes a balance for some as a rare, coherent piece of realistic storytelling, while others find the script thin, predictable, and lacking in thematic depth. | |
| Emotion | The depiction of violence oscillates between being viewed as a necessary, visceral reflection of harsh reality and being criticized as gratuitous or uncomfortable to watch. |