The title, meaning “the golden cage,” sounds pretty and poetic, but the film itself is an unsentimental look at three teenagers heading north from Guatemala. We never learn why they’ve decided to leave, or what they’re leaving behind. With vague hopes of a better life in the United States, and dreams of snowflakes, they make their way through Mexico, like thousands of others using the tops of trains as free transportation. This route was also portrayed in 2009 fine Sin Nombre, which wove in a story about gang rivalry. This movie is less heavily plotted, and quieter, though many of the same perils are illustrated. A major turn in the plot does occur midway, but this only emphasizes the film’s strong theme, which is the role of luck. Some of the train riders will make it north, some will get sent home and give up, or perhaps try again, and some will meet worse fates. Sara, one of the teens, disguises herself as a boy to avoid some of those risks, but some cannot be controlled.
IMDb link
viewed 10/21/13 6:50 at Ritz East [Philadelphia Film Festival screening] and posted 10/21/13
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