Based on the real-life experiences of one of the filmmaker’s mothers, Entre Nos is the story of a Colombian immigrant who tries to make the best of life in New York City with her two young children.
In the world most of us live in, we face plenty of challenges: families split apart, financial hardships arise, and unexpected pregnancies make even the stable parts of life feel uncertain. Any one of these difficulties is hard enough to face on its own, but imagine if your family had to simultaneously experience all of them with no safety net—broke in a foreign country where you can hardly speak the native language.
Entre Nos (or Between Us, in English) is the story of such a family. A barebones picture that earned its small audience during the Tribeca Film Festival, this Spanish-language drama thrusts us into the world of sudden poverty and alienation. There is little backstory; we are introduced to Mariana soon after she immigrates to New York from Colombia, and she is almost immediately deserted by her unreliable husband. She and her two young children are left with little indication of what to do next, and the rest of the movie chronicles their attempt to start a new life.
Entre Nos is heartbreaking, especially during its smallest moments, like when Mariana’s children tear a bag of chips apart just so they can lick up the dust in an attempt to satiate their oppressive hunger. Thankfully, the conclusion of this moving narrative is not as tragic as its majority. It’s based on a true story, and in the concluding panels we learn it was written and directed by Mariana’s real-life daughter, who made the film as a tribute to the woman who had the strength and will to support them during their most trying times.