#458: NAVA, Gregory: El Norte (1983)

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NAVA, Gregory (United States)
El Norte [1983]
Spine #458
Blu-ray


Brother and sister Enrique and Rosa flee persecution at home in Guatamala and journey north, through Mexico and on to the United States, with the dream of starting a new life. It's a story that happens every day, but until Gregory Nava's groundbreaking El Norte, the personal travails of immigrants crossing the border to America had never been shown in the movies with such urgent humanism. A work of social realism imbued with dream-like imagery, El Norte is a lovingly rendered, heartbreaking story of hope and survival, which critic Roger Ebert called "a Grapes of Wrath for our time."

140 minutes
Color
Monaural
in K'iche', Spanish, and English
1:78:1 aspect ratio
Criterion Release 2008
Director/Writers


Original screenplay by Gregory Nava and Anna Thomas.
Nava was 34 when he directed El Norte.

The Film

Film Rating (0-60):

60

The Extras

The Booklet

Eighteen-page booklet featuring an essay by novelist Héctor Tobar and critic Roger Ebert’s 1983 review.

Commentary

Featuring Nava.

In the Service of the Shadows: The Making of “El Norte.”

Video program featuring interviews with Nava, producer and co-writer Thomas, actors Gutiérrez and Villalpando, and set designer David Wasco.
The Journal of Diego Rodriguez Silva

Nava’s 1972 award-winning student film.
Gallery

Of Chiapas location-scouting photographs.
Theatrical trailer

Extras Rating (0-40):

39

60 + 39 =

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