This documentary follows several children trying to get to America from Central American or southern Mexico, entirely on their own. These are naturally sad stories, but I have to say they're hardly surprising. In fact, the most surprising thing is that the homes they're fleeing really don't seem THAT bad. But I suppose the siren call of the mythical American Dream is too much for some to resist. Director Rebecca Cammisa wisely stays away from politicizing the situation, and the film is done without narration and only brief informational titles. However, this means there is also a lack of any proposed remedies to the problem. It seems to me these kids are better off sticking it out at home, at least until they're old enough to better fend for themselves. Whatever the case, the material is very engaging as we get wrapped up in the plight of these young vagabonds.

For those who've seen 'Sin Nombre' and liked it, you will also like 'Which Way Home'. The subject matter, the plight of child migrants in Latin America, is similar. However, 'Which Way Home' is a true-life documentary and 'Sin Nombre' is a fictional feature film.

The star of 'Which Way Home' is Kevin, an extremely genial 14 year old from Honduras who hooks up with Fito, another youngster who is from his hometown. Both have goals of reaching the United States and finding employment there in order to send money back to their impoverished families. Director Rebecca Cammisa and her small film crew follow the children as they travel from Honduras, through Guatemela and on through Mexico, on top of freight trains. Along the way, other children join Kevin and Fito including Yurico (aka 'Dog'),a 17 year old from Mexico who struggles with a drug addiction. We also meet Juan Carlos, who left a letter for his mother back in Guatemala, informing her that he intends to go to the United States and join his younger brother, Francisco, who was smuggled over the border a month earlier for a fee, and now lives with his grandmother in Los Angeles. The younger brother broke his arm during the trip and if not for a stranger who found him in the desert, he would have died. Eventually Juan Carlos is picked up by immigration officials and he's deported back to Guatemala, where his mother is glad he's back but also has no regrets about sending Francisco to the United States, despite the perils of the journey.

During a screening of the film which I attended, there were a number of people in the audience who inquired as to how they could contact Kevin, since they wanted to help him. Also internet posters have expressed similar sentiments. The amazing thing about Kevin is that we find out at the end of the film that despite being deported back to his native Honduras after making it to Houston, Texas, he leaves home a second time, and once again makes it to the United States. It's difficult to describe why this kid is so likable—you really must see the film. When Kevin returns home to Honduras, we get some insight into why he wants to leave home again and it basically has to do with the conflict he has with his stepfather, who regards him as lazy and someone who's doesn't earn his keep. While Kevin appears fairly happy-go-lucky a good part of the time we see him, at other times he appears troubled. One of the most disturbing scenes in the film is when Kevin reveals he witnessed a gang rape while riding inside a boxcar of one of the freight trains where fifteen men ended up raping a mother and her young daughter. At one point, the filmmakers lose track of Kevin but they finally track him down where he's studying English at a detention center in Houston before being sent back to Honduras. Later, we find out that Kevin was last living at a youth facility in Washington State, after making it to the US following his second attempt.

One thing I was surprised about was the number of social service groups throughout Mexico and Central America who are devoted to helping the child migrants. The 'House of Migrants' is a shelter near the train tracks in Mexico which gives the children some respite as they make their long journey to the US. The director there doesn't seek to judge the children and the adults who check in—although they do warn them about the perils of the journey, especially about crossing through the desert from Mexico to the US. There's also a group that has vans that offer first aid to migrants who have been injured, not to mention the official government agencies in Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras who work in close cooperation, helping to repatriate the migrant children with their families.

The dangers of the children's' trip to the US is well documented in 'Which Way Home'. There is a jarring image of a dead body floating in the water near the Mexican-US Border. The children relate harrowing stories of various migrants falling to their deaths from the top of the trains they're traveling on. In the majority of cases, however, many of the children die of exposure while attempting to cross the desert into the US. There are interviews with the parents of two of the children 'who didn't make it'. One of the son's bodies is so decomposed that the parents must wait for positive identification through DNA evidence. There's a great scene where the hearse driver brings the boy's body back to his parents and he's all broken up over so many of these cases he sees, almost everyday.

Perhaps the most memorable images in 'Which Way Home' are that of the nine-year-old children, Olga and Freddie. One wonders how two nine-year-old's could possibly end up taking such a dangerous journey all by themselves. Unfortunately, the filmmakers lost track of Olga and Freddie and their fate is unknown.

'Which Way Home' reminds me of the well-crafted made-for-television documentaries one sees often on Public Broadcasting. There is nothing particularly ground-breaking in terms of style. But the subject matter is so compelling and touching, that you will find yourself immersed in a world you would never have dreamed existed.

Which Way Home is a beautiful documentary filmed mostly from a freight train labeled, the beast by the children who mostly ride on the roof as they travel through Mexico on the treacherous journey to the good life in the United States. Ten to twenty percent will die, on average just trying to get to America.

Olga and Freddy are a pair of nine year olds from Honduras who are headed to Minnesota to live with relatives. Another, Jose, a ten year old from El Salvador is abandoned by smugglers and ends up at a Mexican detention center. The most intriguing kid is a streetwise fourteen year old Honduran who has been sent by his mother to find work in New York City in order to send money back to her. The film is heartbreaking and the brave young kids are a testament to the yearning to survive of the human spirit and the cinematography is breathtaking. Every American should watch Which Way Home to gain a perspective on the struggles of the immigrants so often denigrated here; it is an eye opener.