Learning to survive and having the most dangerous journey to find a better life from where you live in poverty, from where you live in fear, and where you aren’t wanted, isn’t always going to be easy. A journey that you think will have peace and not sorrow and poverty will not always give a happy ending.

El Norte is a 1983 British-American drama and thriller, directed by Gregory Nava and screenplay by Anna Thomas. The film stars Zaide Silvia Gutierrez as Rosa Xuncax and David Villalpando as Enrique Xuncax. The story follows as two teenage Indians, Rosa and Enrique, just barely making out alive from the massacre of their village which was attacked by Guatemalan army killing Rosa’s and Enrique’s parents, friends, and villagers. Wanting a better life than living in fear both Rosa and Enrique traveled to El Norte, the United States.

During their journey the two siblings learned that not all the people are really nice to you. They only want one thing that can help themselves. “Money”. This really had a big impact on the two teenagers because now they don’t know who to trust to get to El Norte.  

This movie really explains the real situation that immigrants have to go through problems of their environment at their home, crossing the border, and also trying to adapt in America. The most hurtful part for immigration to go through of all the process in crossing the border, in my opinion, is how they have to spend a lot of money for someone to help them and how it is a life and death situation. But above all I believe this movie is a 5 star movie, a true classic.