In Tapachula, Mexico, Willy (Edgar Flores) is a teenage member of the Mara Salvatrucha gang. They provide him with the family he lacks and the camaraderie that he needs. He is so impressed with the gang that he has introduced 12-year-old Smiley (Kristyan Ferrer) to his brothers and participates in a tough initiation ritual where the young boy is severely beaten and kicked. Then the newbie is forced to shoot a captured member of a rival gang. Although Willy knows the rules, he takes Smiley along with him for a secret rendezvous with his girlfriend Martha Marlene (Diana Garcia). But when Lil' Mago (Tenoch Huerta Mejia) finds out about this affair, he attempts to rape her, and she dies after hitting her head as he pushes her down.
Sayra (Paulina Gaitan) is a teenager living an impoverished life in Honduras. Her ticket to a much better future than she ever imagined comes when she is reunited with her estranged father who is heading to New Jersey with her uncle. She decides to go with them on the long and dangerous journey. After crossing into Mexico, they join a large band of other immigrants waiting to hop on the top of railroad cars in Tapachula. Lil' Mago has ordered Willy and Smiley to join him in robbing the unarmed immigrants on the train. When he starts to rape Sayra, Willy acts boldly and murders him. He then shoves Smiley off the train. Suddenly he becomes a walking dead man, knowing that members of his gang will come for revenge. Smiley, who knows that he is in trouble with his brothers, volunteers to be the one who tracks Willy down.
Sin Nombre is a powerful dramatic thriller written and directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga; he received the Student Academy Award for his short film Victoria para Chino. He provides a moving portrait of the arduous journey taken by immigrants from various countries as they travel through Mexico to the United States border. Along the way they encounter comrades who throw them food as well as enemies who pitch stones and curse at them.
Sin Nombre is translated "without a name" and for most established citizens, the hordes of immigrants heading for the promised land of America are nameless and faceless. The engaging story of Sayra's growing intimacy with the depressed and street savvy adolescent who saved her life enables us to open our hearts to both of them as their journey grows more dangerous with the vengeful gang members in pursuit.
