Movies

Decades later, ‘El Norte’ returns to its Sundance roots

BBG News

Following its 40th anniversary celebration last year, the Sundance Film Festival continues to reflect on its illustrious past. With more than 80 brand new feature films set to be screened, the Park City, Utah event will also reprise showings of pivotal movies that have significantly influenced the Sundance Institute and independent filmmaking. Among this year’s selections is a screening of the 1983 movie “El Norte,” which was first presented at the festival on Tuesday.

Forty years later, Gregory Nava and co-writer Anna Thomas’s film “El Norte,” which was originally nominated for an Oscar for best original screenplay, continues to be considered a fresh American classic. This powerful epic portrays the perilous voyage that some migrants from Central America undertake in pursuit of a better life in the United States, and it still resonates deeply in 2025, just as it did when it was first released.

For over four decades, Nava has been deeply associated with Sundance, encompassing its festival and institute. He was a part of the inaugural Sundance Lab in 1981, where he refined “El Norte,” collaborating with his actors to shape the story that resonated with his personal experiences living near the border and the extensive research he conducted by speaking with Central Americans who had fled violence in their homelands.

Reflecting over Zoom about that filmmaker retreat, Nava describes it as an extraordinary event. He worked with Sydney Pollack and Waldo Salt there. One of the conditions Nava put forward to Sundance was that for ‘El Norte,’ they should gather professional actors alongside those who had no acting experience. They brought Ivan Passer, a renowned Czechoslovakian director known for ‘Intimate Lighting,’ who was skilled at working with nonactors.

By choosing relatively untrained actors Zaide Silvia Gutiérrez and David Villalpando as his main characters, Nava aimed to infuse the movie with a raw, genuine emotional depth that resonates with reality. This approach allowed for a compassionate representation of individuals who are frequently overlooked, even in their own narratives.

Nava comments, “Los Angeles was filled with figures working in the shadows,” referring to individuals such as housekeepers, gardeners, childcare providers, and various city workers. From my personal background, I could tell these individuals were primarily from Guatemala, Mexico, or refugees seeking a better life here in the U.S., and one of them had an extraordinary tale to share.

However, Nava understood that narrating this grand saga required a unique method, deviating from the style he noticed in Hollywood-told stories. Instead, he envisioned a narrative deeply rooted not in European story structures but in Indigenous, particularly Mayan, folklore.

In creating “El Norte,” one of my goals was to narrate a Latino tale authentically, using a style that resonates with the Latino community. I aimed to avoid producing a film that mimicked someone else’s work.

As a movie connoisseur, I delved into the grandiose novels from Latin America, such as Gabriel García Márquez’s “One Hundred Years of Solitude” and Miguel Ángel Asturias’ “El Señor Presidente.” However, my journey didn’t stop there. I ventured even further back, finding inspiration in the ancient Popol Vuh, a sacred text revered by the Kʼicheʼ people of Guatemala. It was during this exploration that the concept of “El Norte” as a tale about siblings initially took shape in my mind.

One common element found in ancient Mesoamerican and Mayan folklore is the recurring theme of twins, specifically pairs rather than singles. For instance, in the Popol Vuh, there are the twin brothers Hunahpú and Xbalanqué. Given that our characters originate from Mayan culture, I aimed to reflect this heritage accurately, staying true to Mayan mythology and storytelling traditions.

As a movie enthusiast, I find “El Norte” deeply moving, being centered around a brother and his sister, portrayed by newcomers Villalpando and Gutiérrez. Divided into three sections – “Arturo Xuncax,” “Coyote,” and “El Norte” – this film chronicles the heart-wrenching story of Rosa and Enrique.

The siblings are forced to flee their hometown due to the brutal violence perpetrated by the military, which takes the lives of their parents. With their own lives at stake, they embark on a perilous journey towards a promised land that offers hope. This odyssey initially leads them through Mexico, then across the border, and eventually into an unforgiving Los Angeles that crushes their dreams with icy indifference, whether American or otherwise.

In a similar fashion, Nava drew inspiration from various 17th and 18th-century Mayan manuscripts to create unique symbolism for the movie. He highlights a particular scene where Rosa discovers that armed men have taken (and presumably killed) her mother. Instead of depicting a violent event, Nava instead portrays Rosa arriving at her mother’s cooking stone (comal) and finding it filled with white butterflies.

In the Chilam Balam, there’s an image portrayed of times when trouble strikes the land – epidemics, the Spanish conquest, conflicts with the Itza, deaths, famine – a gathering of white butterflies is mentioned. When I read this, it struck me powerfully. This is our unique Latino storytelling, told in a way that has never been seen on screen before, with images that are deeply rooted in our culture.

To honor his pledge of incorporating Maya folklore into “El Norte,” Nava was firm about crafting a trilingual film – it’s told in K’iche’, Spanish, and English – thereby authentically depicting a voyage that is as much about language transformation as it is about geographic movement.

In the progression of the movie, from Guatemala through Mexico and finally to the U.S., particularly Los Angeles, Nava gradually erodes the magical realism that was deeply rooted in Rosa and Enrique’s upbringing. The vivid symbolism that once defined their hometown, where their lives were interwoven with dreamlike imagery, begins to dissipate. As they navigate life as undocumented workers in the U.S., they are confronted by an unforgiving reality, which rapidly takes hold.

Nava clearly recognizes how relevant the movie “El Norte” feels today. With ongoing discussions about the border and the supposed migrant crisis, the film’s emphasis on the human side of its Mayan characters shifts the narrative back to the real-life struggles and choices faced by those risking their lives to cross the border.

Nava recalls a recent screening of it for students at USC who watched it for the very first time.

Following the movie’s end, he remembers being surrounded by students. They told him the film appeared as if it had been made just last year. This interaction was quite rewarding for him, as he could respond affirmatively that their work had such impact and relevance. However, 40 years later, he lamented that the situation portrayed in the film remains unchanged.

The themes portrayed in the movie remain relevant today, as the problems it addresses persist. Essentially, the tale of Rosa and Enrique continues to represent the struggles faced by countless other refugees who continue to journey towards the U.S., searching for a brighter future.

The impact of its narrative is powerful, culminating in a striking final scene – a graphic image of a severed head. It’s a grim ending, but one that Nava felt was essential. He understood that this film needed to be produced independently, away from the studio system, and with support from institutions such as the Sundance Institute and PBS (partially funding the production). His goal was to provide an unfiltered portrayal of the harsh everyday lives of people like Rosa and Enrique.

In my perspective, expressing the truth was crucial for me throughout the process of creating this film, especially since it was an independent project. Truthfully, I couldn’t contrive a joyful conclusion for the narrative about refugees settling in our nation. To do so would have been misleading.

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2025-01-28 22:02

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