Sin Nombre

Honduran teenager Sayra reunites with her father, an opportunity for her to potentially realize her dream of a life in the U.S. Moving to Mexico is the first step in a fateful journey of unexpected events.

Honduras isn't a country that is mentioned a great deal in the foreign cinema that makes it to our shores, though the scenarios we are presented with here are familiar ones. Sin Nombre, whilst not breaking new ground in terms of its subject, approaches the matter from a different vantage point and impresses with both visceral presentation, and a clear social conscience.

Since the success of City of God, the way has been paved for a great many films that take gang culture in the poorest communities as their topic of discussion. The difference here is that the gangs are not the main theme of the narrative, the primary concern is the effect that they have on the lives of those around them. To some degree, the criminal underworld is a barrier to bettering their circumstances and the part that is played by violence in preventing average people from achieving their goals, despite the fact that they don't belong to that world, is very much emphasised.

There is perhaps a degree of allegory to the narrative in that innocence is corrupted by violence in the form of the young Kristyan Ferrer's El Smiley. His transformation from innocent schoolboy to heartless gangster is a stark one and drives the point home with unfaltering candour. The initiations are brutal, leaving no room for compassion, and his desire to give up his future for the sense of brotherhood he has witnessed is a truly disquieting aspect of the film. The sense of privilege and superiority innate in his recruiter is abundantly clear in his dealings with the boy's family and this only adds to the attractiveness of becoming part of that life.     

 

All this heartache and suffering can make for uncomfortable viewing at times, but in the best possible way. There is no intention of making the struggles of everyday life more palatable and these challenges are brought sharply into focus. There's a tangible desperation in the desire to escape this degree of poverty, with the hardships encountered being numerous and unforgiving. It comes as little surprise that so many decide to leave in search of a better life by way of the American border.

The lengthy journey that people must take to find this salvation makes up the majority of the film and also digs deeply into the consequences of gang life and ordinary citizens clashing due to grisly circumstance. It's here that the film really comes into its own, raising many questions around whether the potential for redemption in those who have lived their lives steeped in blood even exists. There is hope in Paulina Gaitan's Sayra, the antithesis of El Smiley, seeking a way out of the misery of her homeland and to building a better life for herself and her family. 

Whilst both the setting and some of the circumstances that frame the narrative are nothing new, the contemplative nature of the movie is where its true potency lies. This makes for a picture that stands above the crowd and unflinchingly does its aims justice.

The Verdict:

7.5/10
An affecting film that is unfaltering in its representation of hardship and violence. The questions raised dig deeply into the nature of damnation and redemption, delivering a slice of life in the barrios that is difficult to shake.

Cherrybomb

Three teenagers go on a wild weekend of drink, drugs, shop-lifting and stealing cars that quickly spins beyond their control.

There's not much in cinema more awkward or embarrassing than a film that tries to be contemporary, but misses the mark by a mile. Cherrybomb has all the hallmarks of an attempt at cool, but gets it so horribly wrong.

You can be sure that disassociating himself from Harry Potter's Ron Weasley is pretty high on Rupert Grint's list of things to do before he hits thirty. I personally enjoyed those films, but being typecast as the weedy ginger kid will do him no favours as far as his career is concerned. This, then, was one of several opportunities he has taken to show that that's not all he can do. In this instance, he could have chosen much better. 

First and foremost, the film absolutely reeks of trying too hard to be 'edgy' (though I hate the term). It's all here. The drink, the drugs, the partying, the devil-may-care attitude, the raging hormones. However, this isn't where my issues with it lie. There's also a constant recourse to cliché in both the framing of the plot and in the presentation. The obligatory club scenes (look how much fun we're having!), extreme closeups on random people and objects, scores of teenagers that appear from nowhere, onscreen graphics that show the contents of text messages being sent and received. The editing too tries to follow the Skins school of film-making and frequently comes up short. This leaves the cringe at an unbearable level for large chunks of the movie.

I can sort of see what the narrative is going for, but it never quite makes it. There appears to be little in the way of a relationship between the characters and the journeys they take, all coming out of it much the same way as they went in. As well as this, the conclusion doesn't seem to be in tune with anything else that occurs previously. It was unclear to me if this was intended as a shock tactic, or if it's just shoddy writing. 

As for the performances, Grint is by no means terrible here and gives a good account of himself, in spite of the context. Kimberley Nixon is also decent, considering the material. The pick of the bunch is Robert Sheehan, who is incidentally the only Irish actor among the three main roles to star in this, a film set in Northern Ireland. It's an odd one - he can be very irritating at times, but when he shows his vulnerability, he blows everyone else off the screen. His scenes with the superbly natural Lalor Roddy are by far the best of the movie.

The Verdict:

4/10
Spends so much time trying to be trendy that it forgets about more or less everything else. Dull and uninteresting along with huge servings of cringe. Avoid.