What makes it so special

This is the first American-made film to put a Central American character at the center of a narrative about North-South relations. In previous well-meaning films such as Old Gringo, it's the Anglo characters that get most of the development and attention. Judging from the many other films I've seen in this genre, El Norte may well be the finest portrayal made to date of the pathos and complexity of the Hispanic immigrants' encounter with affluent, culturally alien America. Maria Full of Grace is a well-made recent addition, but El Norte is a truly great movie, heads and shoulders above the rest.