The Golden Dream (2013)

A road movie about teenage immigrants and their journey to the U.S.

Director:

Diego Quemada-Díez

Writers:

Diego Quemada-Díez, Gibrán Portela

Stars:

Brandon López, Rodolfo Domínguez, Karen Martínez

38 wins & 21 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Brandon López	...	Juan
Rodolfo Domínguez	...	Chauk
Karen Martínez	...	Sara
Carlos Chajon	...	Samuel
Héctor Tahuite	...	Gregorio
Ricardo Esquerra	...	Vitamina
Luis Alberti	...	Hombre con Machete
César Bañuelos	...	Jefe Secuestro Tren
Gilberto Barraza	...	Coyote
Juan Carlos Medellin	...	Policía
Salvador Ramírez Jiménez	...	Policía
José Concepción Macías	...	Jacinto
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ramón Medína	...	Kaliman

Storyline

Juan, Sara, and Samuel, three teenagers from the slums of Guatemala, travel to the United States in search of a better life. On their journey through Mexico, they meet Chauk, an Indian from Chiapas who doesn't speak Spanish. Traveling together in freight trains and walking on railroad tracks, they soon have to face an odyssey that will change their lives forever.

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Plot Keywords:

slaughterhouse | girl dressed as boy | mexico | immigrant | train | 

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Taglines:

The movie that captivated the world's critics.

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

The first version of the movie was about 2 and a half hours.

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Quotes

Chauk: [in spanish] Brother...
Juan: [in spanish] So Chauk, you finally learn some spanish. But I'm not your brother.

User Reviews

Gripping and atypical Mexican immigration story

THE GOLDEN DREAM is a quietly gripping story about illegal immigrants from Guatemala striving to reach the US where they can begin the new life of their dreams. The narrative adopts the format of a road movie which follows four different characters as they suffer many trials and tribulations in their attempts to head north. This is a Mexican movie although it does well to put across life in Guatemala. It's low budget but grimly effective, but also one of the more depressing films I've watched; not quite REQUIEM FOR A DREAM levels of depression, but getting there.

This is a harsh and realistic film in which the characters find themselves abused by various people smugglers and corrupt officials and suffer the consequences of their actions throughout. As a 12 certificate movie it leaves a lot of the more explicit material off screen but I found this to be more effective than in, say, an explicit film like HELI, because the power of the human imagination is infinitely greater than anything that can be put up on film.

The performances from the young cast are electrifying and the characters carefully delineated. Brandon Lopez is the brash head strong youth who has to learn a few life lessons en route. Karen Martinez is the heartbreaking girl who has to disguise herself as a boy just to survive. Best of all is Rodolfo Diminguez as the Mayan-descended lad whose tribal language means that the viewer as well as the other characters never find out what he's saying. Despite this he warms the heart with his oh-so-human portrayal of a boy driven to find a better world and a better life. Throughout the darkness there are a few touching moments and the excellent and thoughtful direction makes this one to watch.

Details

Country:

Mexico Spain Guatemala

Language:

Spanish Tzotzil

Release Date:

October 2015 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Golden Dream

Filming Locations:

Guatemala

Box Office

Budget:

$2,500,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,021,223

Company Credits

Production Co:

Animal de Luz Films, Castafiore Films, Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes (CONACULTA)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

D-Cinema 48kHz 5.1

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1