The only disappointing thing about Sin Nombre coming out on DVD today is that it isn't available on Blu-ray. I should hope going DVD-only isn't a trend for Focus Features releases going forward. Cary Joji Fukunaga's feature debut does the best job I've seen of late in capturing the perils of the journey people are going on as you read this, no matter the time of day. Most other films covering related ground focus on all the white actors they can cast to get a larger budget and wider release, where Fukunaga wisely chose to tell the right story that serves no other masters. Sin Nombre is one of the best, most perfect films I have seen this year. It's spare, lean, and brutal in just the right proportions.

Don't let a quantity of only two extras listed on the back make you think the DVD isn't worth looking at for interesting behind-the-scenes stuff. I'd rather have the substantiveness of what is on here than the hour of fluff featurette garbage on most DVDs these days. The twelve Deleted Scenes [10:03] come from various parts of the film. A couple of the first deal with friends of Sayra's that didn't make the final cut, and much to my delight, there's also more of Smiley's eccentric grandma. The Feature Commentary with Fukunaga and producer Amy Kaufman points out a lot of good stories about the production and never lost me. Some brief personal anecdotes from Fukunaga about his own background were intriguing to say the least.