Entertainment

NO-NAMERS GIVE FILM GOOD NAME

I’VE seen so many bad movies about immigra tion lately “Crossing Over,” anyone? that Cary Fukunaga’s “Sin Nombre” comes as a delightful shock.

Forget those weepie liberal clichés. This starless and vividly authentic romantic thriller set in Central America really rocks, and is one of the most exciting directorial debuts in years.

The story begins in Honduras, where teenager Sayra (Paulina Gaitan) hops a freight train with her long-estranged father.

They and dozens of others hope to sneak across the border into the United States, where dad has established a new family.

Meanwhile in Mexico, another teenager, Willy (Edgar Flores) is bringing 12-year-old Smiley (Kristyan Ferrer) as a recruit to the Mara Salvatrucha gang.

Smiley fits right in, but Willy begins to have doubts when his involvement with the gang costs the life of his girlfriend.

Sent with the killer and Smiley to intercept the train containing Sayra when it crosses into Mexico and rob its illegal immigrant passengers, Willy makes a fateful decision.

Even as he is drawn into a doomed relationship with Sayra, he begins fleeing the vengeance-seeking Maras and heads toward the Rio Grande.

Fukunaga, who directed a short that won a student Academy Award, handles a story that could very easily have become melodramatic with great assurance.

His is a very different, well-researched take on immigration, and he gets vivid performances from a large cast with little or no acting experience.

Although it unfolds in semi-documentary fashion, “Sin Nombre” has a strong screenplay with well-drawn characters and situations that consistently confound expectations.

The film, which was co-produced by actors Diego Luna and Gael García Bernal, is filmed on striking locations in Mexico and has an epic sweep rarely seen in indie movies. The many scenes that take place aboard moving freight trains are particularly stirring.

“Sin Nombre” is an unusual movie that both honors and transcends its subject matter. Go see it.

SIN NOMBRE Muy bien. In Spanish, with English subtitles. Running time: 96 minutes. Rated R (violence, profanity, sexuality). At the Lincoln Plaza and the Sunshine.