El Norte (1983)
Directed by Gregory Nava
After soldiers destroy their family in a Guatemalan highland village, a Maya brother and sister travel north through Mexico, cross from Tijuana through a sewer tunnel and try to build a life in Los Angeles.
- Travel shown
- On foot, bike, skis or swimming
- Not shown on screen
- Fictional place
- 1San Pedro, Guatemalan highland village (fictional)≈ 00:02:00Stated on screenFictional
In their village their father is killed for organising coffee pickers and their mother is taken, so they flee north.
- 2Tijuana, Mexico≈ 00:55:00Stated on screen
At the border they find a coyote, are caught once and deported, then crawl through a rat-infested sewer pipe.
- 3End of the sewer tunnel≈ 01:10:00San Diego, CaliforniaInferred
They emerge from the pipe with the lights of San Diego ahead.
- 4Los Angeles, California≈ 01:15:00Stated on screen
The journey in numbers
- Distance travelled
- 3,437 km
- Places
- 4
- Countries
- 3
- Stops
- 4
- Bus: 3,232 km
- Car: 179 km
- On foot: 25 km
Distances are measured in a straight line between stops, so real road distances are longer.
Spotted a mistake?
Every journey is checked against the film, but we can still get things wrong.