el norte (gregory nava, 1983)

I used to tell an anecdote about El Norte ... well, "used to" isn't quite right, since I'm still telling it, but this took place long ago and I'm not sure anymore if I remember it right. El Norte was originally supposed to show on PBS, but a positive reception at festivals led to it being released first to theaters. Thus, it was a couple of years before it made it to TV, which is where I saw it, so we're talking around 1985. So don't hold me to the accuracy of this anecdote, but as I remember, there is a scene where Enrique, an indigenous Mayan from Guatemala, is planning to escape to the north with his sister. A friend explains that once the border patrol figures out they are from Guatemala, they will send them back home, and he advises Enrique to pretend he is Mexican. The way to do this, says the friend, is to say "fuck" all the time, because that's how Mexicans talk. (This actually works when they get to the border into the United States.) Here is the scene:

Now, what I no longer remember is whether the dialogue or the subtitles were censored by PBS. My memory is, it was the subtitles, and the words "fucking" and "fuck" were missing from the titles. What was funny, though, is that the soundtrack wasn't changed, so anyone who either spoke Spanish or knew Spanish street language could hear "chingada" coming through loud and clear.

El Norte came from the team of writer/director Gregory Nava and writer Anna Thomas. The two received an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay. Twelve years later, they were responsible for one of my all-time favorite films, Mi Familia, followed by the biopic Selena (which only Nava worked on), which made a big impact. Since Selena, though, Nava has only directed two films, written one, and created the TV series American Family. The last of these was in 2006. Nava is still with us, and is apparently a mentor to young film makers, but 2006 was a long time ago, and I can find nothing to explain his absence.

El Norte feels real. When the siblings get to the U.S., everything seems liberating, and Nava/Thomas allow us to experience this as the characters do. Eventually, reality sets in, but as in Mi Familia, we are meant to respect the experiences of the characters, both at home and in the States, with an emphasis on feelings ... there is no stinting on emotion.

Comments

[Tomás]

It was a big deal of a movie in our house when it came out on VHS. I remember seeing it that first time still. Impactful for sure.

[Steven Rubio]

When I went to YouTube to find that clip, I saw one version uploaded by.... my son-in-law 😂.