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MOVIESAn epic journey, a remarkable filmBy Michael BurkettThe RegisterPerhaps the greatest gift one can expect from a motion picture is to change the way we look at even a small slice of humanity — not just for the length of the drive home from the theater, but for a long time to come.That is the reward in store for those who see “El Norte,” a haunting, poetic and warmly sympathetic movie about the tragic plight of illegal Latin American immigrants — as seen through their eyes.It is a remarkable film, and that is no lightly considered superlative. It not only describes this film’s stunning artistic success, but its existence as well. A true 149-minute epic, it is the first feature to be directed by Gregory Nava, it is a Spanish-language film (subtitled in English), and it stars largely unknown Hispanic actors ... yet it is an American film, financed entirely outside of the studio system.Remarkable, eh?Co-written by Nava and his wife/producer Anna Thomas (both graduates of UCLA’s film school), “El Norte is the three-part saga of a young Guatamalan brother and sister, Enrique (David Villalpando) and Rosa (Zaide Silvia Gutierrez), and their journey to Los Angeles — an exotic land where, according to some ancient issues of Good“El Norte,” An Independent Productions Him In association with American Playhouse. Produced by Anna Thomas. Directed by Gregory Nava. Screenplay by Gregory Nava and Anna Thomas. Cinematography by James Glennon. Edited by Betsy Blankett. Starring Zaide Silvia Gutierrez, David Villalpando, Ernesto Gomez Cruz, Alicia del Lago, Eraclio Zepeda, Stella Quan, Rudolfo Alejandre and Trinidad Silva. Running time; 2 hours, 19 minutes. Rated R. Opens today at Edwards Lido Cinema, Newport Beach. For showtlmes or other Information, call 673-8350.Housekeeping magazine, even the poorest people have a flush toilet, their own car and a modern house loaded down with space-age appliances.In their small Mayan village, their father — a peasant farm laborer who tried to organize a protest against the rich landowners — was murdered by government soldiers, and their mother was taken away, never to be heard from again.If Enrique and Rosa do not escape to “the north, a similar fate will be in store for them.In the second segment, the two innocents arrive in Mexico, where the citizens have a harsh, American-like prejudice against refugees — especially those who try to pass themselves off as Mexicans. Once in bleak, dusty Tijuana, which appears to be populated solely by would-be Americans, they find a “coyote” (someone Please see EL NORTE/C12
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