Release Date: March 20, 2009

(out of 4)

How many tattoos constitute as scary? In the Spanish-language film "Sin Nombre," gang members are decorated with ink on their faces, arms, chest and anywhere else you can think of to signify their badass quotient. The Chiapas brotherhood appear as vipers in war paint, taking upon with self-satisfied glee the repute of cold-blooded killers. The initiation for new recruit 12-year old Smiley (Kristyan Ferrer) is to have a gang pound him mercilessly for thirteen seconds. Thirteen long seconds. Status is earned by killing a rival gang member, and Smiley is no exception. The slightly older Caspar (Edgar Flores), a confused teen with a torn heart, is assigned to be his mentor.

Youth decay is a long-explored topic that extends through such classics as “Los Olvidados” (1950), “ Pixote” (1981) and “City of God” (2002). “Sin Nombre” is yet another film that wins its merit by depicting children lost in socially squalid conditions and coerced into a life of crime as a means for acceptance. We get acquainted with some of the roughest spots in gangland Mexico and you can practically feel your own heartbeat flutter in apprehension at the sight of such lawlessness. But the raw visual landscapes are more potent than the story, which starts very well, before it sputters into heavy-handedness and convenient crossroads.

Certain moments, yes, will bring you chills. We are concerned early on when gang leader Lil ' Mago (Tenoch Huerta Mejía) tells Smiley that there are thousands of brothers across the land that will protect and watch over him.  It is easy to formulate worry that it might not all be true and that retribution is just as likely an outcome for mistakes made within the brotherhood. As foreseen, thirteen second punishments seem all too common.

When Casper is not gangbanging he is clandestinely in love with a non-affiliated girl named Martha (Diana García). She knows nothing about gangs or about Casper's ties, she is rather naïve. When jealousy sparks, she foolishly follows Casper to a gang meeting. Lil ' Mago sees his privilege into turning her into a rape victim. And then worse happens. Distressed to a breaking point, Casper considers getting out altogether.

In a parallel story, a Honduras family immigrates through Mexico to the United States by riding atop a freight train, along with dozens and dozens other defectors. The travels concentrate on Sayra ( Paulina Gaitan ) who is guarded by her father and uncle. The footage contains perhaps the best moving train drama since the mid-section of “ Slumdog Millionaire.” It's not before long Casper, Smiley and Lil ' Mago will cross paths with Sayra, two stories merging together. The gang trio become train robbers atop the same car as Sayra . Lil ' Mago assaults Sayra while her father and uncle helplessly look on until they are interrupted by the reactionary Casper. The incident makes Casper into Sayra's hero but it also means serious consequences.

Somehow united together, Casper and Sayra go on the run while a pack of vengeful gang killers, and Smiley, go on the hunt for their blood. So far so good with no false moves story-wise up to this point. First-time filmmaker Carl Fukunaga excavates desperation and danger out of this rarely seen hostile environment. Watching the film, you feel blessed by the easy American life that all of us live in comparison. But Fukunaga is a better director than he is a writer. The story dissolves into a predictable arc which loses its grip on the audience.

The ending is overly calculated, depending on the improbable melodramatic device of characters colliding at the right place at the right time, clustered conveniently, in order to manipulate emotions out of the viewer. As powerful as the film wants to be, the final dark denouement is predestined and unreal rather than spontaneous and unforeseen. The film needed to end earlier or later than at its final contrived destination. The final shot of Smiley redeems Fukunaga's film and hits us as a very strong note.

If the story cannot be taken as entirely convincing than at least the locations and the harsh milieu of gang turf feels like an authentic threat that is for the most part constant in its 96 minute running time. The film took home awards for Best Director and Best Cinematography when it premiered at this year's Sundance Film Festival.