Film Review: El Norte
“El Norte” was written and directed by Gregory Nava in 1983. The film exams the hardships involved in peasant life in Guatemala as well the difficulty in escaping these hardships in the United States. It centers primarily on Enrique and Rosa Xuncax whose father and mother were both killed by the military junta in Guatemala. Their father, Arturo, was part of a small, revolutionary group of farmers that wanted to rise against the elites taking their land and exploiting them for their “pair of arms.” Rosa and Enrique flee Guatemala soon after Arturo’s murder and go to America where they find their situation to ultimately be very similar to the oppression in Guatemala. The two most prominent settings used are the Xuncax’s Guatemalan village and home, and Rosa and Enrique’s small shack in the United States. Both of these settings are significant politically and socially. The socio-political situation of the peasants in the Guatemalan is very bleak. They are without any political influence and so can in no way change their bottom-rung social status without violence. Arturo explains to Enrique early in the movie that sometimes “you must fight for your land.” The predicament of Arturo and his cohorts
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Some common words found in the essay are:
El Norte, Peasants Guatemala, Arturo Enrique, Rosa Enrique, Rosa Enriques, Enrique Rosa, Guatemala Rosa, Rosa Xuncax, Immigration Department, Guatemalan America, rosa enrique, heart soul, el norte, lower class, rosa gotten sick, conflict resolved, peasantry government, guatemalan village, final sequence, strong arms, social status,
Approximate Word count = 1280
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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