Sin Ruta (2012) short film by Luis Fernando Midence

Sin Ruta (2012)
Without direction ( original title)

21 min|Short, Drama|10 Aug 2012

7.1Rating: 7.1 / 10 from 40 usersMetascore: 7.1

Sin Ruta is a two-way narrative attempting to open up the discussion on illegal migration across two worlds and reflect on social issues in smaller countries. Teo is a gay musician from the southeastern region of Guatemala, who longs to go to America. On his way to Mexico he is brutally attacked after a group of men discover he’s gay and ends up in the hospital of a small town. There he meets Ray, an American doctor, who abandoned his country after accidentally killing one of his patients. The fate of each of the characters is altered after they meet, challenging their beliefs about the ideal country and questioning their decisions for fleeing. While Teo wonders whether things will actually be better for him in the US, Ray finds himself having to flee once again after almost killing another patient.

Director: Luis Fernando Midence

Writer: Luis Fernando Midence

Country: Guatemala

Genre: Drama, Short film

Language: English, Spanish

Duration: 21 min

Stars: Andrea Castillo, Juan Pablo Asturias, Oscar Clavería, Pablo Castillo

Sin Ruta (Without direction) is a short film about two young men who find themselves in opposite directions. Teo is gay, a musician in a small town in Guatemala, humiliated in various ways because of his sexual orientation. He sees the only salvation in going to the USA. On one occasion, after being brutally beaten, he ends up in the hospital, where he meets an American doctor who is hiding from the American federal authorities due to an accident when, as a novice doctor, he caused the death of a patient. Both are looking for a way to get out of a seemingly hopeless situation and start a new life.

It happens in our lives that we fall into situations from which we do not see a way out. Feelings of rejection and shaky self-confidence, loss of loved ones and similar difficult moments can always be overcome. Sometimes by radical decisions such as going to another country or another city, and sometimes by facing the problems that have befallen us and seeking help from those we can trust.
I myself got into difficult situations. The film reminded me of the days when I decided to move to another country. A friend with whom I spent days and nights did not have the strength to take me to the border behind which a one-way train train was waiting for me. I called the man I had been in a relationship with before him. Without a word he came for me, we loaded our suitcases and headed for the border. We exchanged in silence what we were feeling. Bitterness, sadness and anxiety did not allow me to speak.

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