Always tell people where you're going

"127 Hours" is a kinetic motion picture where the main character is physically trapped in one position for about an hour of screen time. This new film by Danny Boyle tells the story of real-life adventure-seeker Aron Ralston (played here by James Franco) who has his right arm trapped under a boulder while exploring a vast nature reserve. One shot shows you exactly how far removed Ralston is from possible help  - there is no-one to be seen for miles. And that's the film: Ralston's alone, he's trying to figure out a way to get out of this life-threatening situation, and he revisits key memories pertaining to a lost love.

This description may not make it sound like "127 Hours" is much of a film, but that's not the case. As is typical of his visual and aural approach, Boyle's storytelling is again infused with an incredible energy. This often works (as in his seminal "Trainspotting") and sometimes falls flat (in the overrated and excessively edited "Slumdog Millionaire"). Here, it's this audio-visual kinesis that keeps the film - and, in a way, Ralston - alive. The film manages to mine this energy from its opening scenes, which frames Ralston as one of millions of persons going about his own business; on that fateful day, he was the guy something unfortunate happened to. It is to the film's credit that even though you probably know how everything comes to pass, as I did, the buildup to the climax and equally tense denouement remains riveting.

"127 Hours" was nominated for a Best Picture Oscar, and Franco for Best Actor.

A Better Tomorrow

To employ a broad term, Latin America has provided some of the most visually and emotionally arresting films of the past few years. Two key South American films from the previous decade, "Y Tu Mama Tambien" (Cuaron 2001) and "City of God" (Meirelles & Lund 2002), are masterpieces by any measure. Now director Cary Fukunaga (of the forthcoming "Jane Eyre" adaptation) has given us the political drama "Sin Nombre", a film without South African release but legally obtainable from overseas. (It may pop up on satellite, but I'm not sure.)

In this epic, wrenching drama, we meet Willy (Edgar Flores), or "El Casper" as he is known to his fellow gang members. Willy is part of the infamous Mexican Mara gang run by the deadly El Sol (Luis Pena) and his intimidating brother Lil' Mago (Tenoch Huerta). Willy has recently assisted in the induction of a new member, the eager young Smiley (Kristian Ferrer). As some of Willy's actions indicate, he is not fulfilled by gang life.

Then there's Sayra (Paulina Gaitan) who intends to flee the poverty and constraints of Honduras with her family. They intend to take the train to New Jersey, where they will reunite with family members already there. This train ride is completely illegal, as those wanting to escape to the land of the free do so without documentation and on the roof of the train, where they are exposed to the elements and are easily spotted by immigration control. Sayra is told that the journey is "life threatening", and we see how dangerous this journey really is. At some stage Sayra and Willy meet, and the film details their perilous transit with empathy and without soft focus.

"Sin Nombre" - "without name" - is a powerful, moving film about the plight of the less fortunate without being patronising or condescending to its characters or viewers. It does not rub our faces in squalor and decay but chooses instead to show us people who face social danger regularly and are willing to do whatever is necessary to leave that world behind in favour of a new, better one. The title's play on namelessness indicates the problematics of a dictated identity bound to geography and social structures (gangs), while also pointing to the 'non-existence' status of illegal immigrants. The film is as much a vivid illustration of the costs of illegal immigration as it is a condemnation and demonstration of the detrimental social role of Mexican gangs, groups whose power and influence reach far into the United States.

Thirty three year-old Fukunaga, whose social consciousness is surely informed by his education as a History major, avoids the potential pitfalls of statistics and proselytising. His focus is always on the experiences of his characters as they struggle in and against the world, and this reveals the larger social reality without comprising its complexity (illegal immigration and gangs are not simple issues).

The film is alive with colour, and I must mention cinematographer Abriano Goldman's contribution in making Mexico come to life on screen. No wonder; Goldman shot on 35 mm film, not digital. 

"Sin Nombre" won multiple awards at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. It was produced by Diego Luna and Gael Garcia Bernal, the two male leads in "Y Tu Mama Tambien".