Sin Nombre

Sin Nombre (2009) is Cary Fukunaga's debut crime thriller, and you can watch it online on iFILM. Years before True Detective, the director built his first feature around the freight trains that carry migrants the length of Mexico toward the U.S. border.

Sayra (Paulina Gaitán), a Honduran teenager, rides the roof of a northbound train, chasing a reunion with her father and a shot at something better. Sharing that train is Casper, a young member of the Mara Salvatrucha gang who has just broken with his crew and now has them hunting him. Their paths lock together, and from there each one faces the same gamble: trust a stranger or go under alone. The track stretches on for thousands of miles, with raids, ransom and dread riding alongside.

Fukunaga researched the film by traveling with actual migrants, and that grounding shows in every frame. The picture took both the directing and cinematography prizes at Sundance. Cold and unsentimental, it rewards anyone who wants genre filmmaking with a real human pulse underneath. Stream Sin Nombre (2009) online on iFILM.