Grenzpatrouille

Although this is not a great film it is a lot better than its reputation. Jack Nicholson is excellent and Harvey Keitel is very good. The beautiful and beguiling Mexican actress, Elpidia Carrillo, handles a limited role with enough artistry to make me wonder why I never heard of her before. Turns out she does have a healthy list of credits both internationally and in the US.

The direction by Tony Richardson, who had his heyday in the sixties with films as varied as The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962), Tom Jones (1963), and The Loved One (1965), all adapted from novels, is at times inspired and artistic, and at other times as ordinary as dishwater. I don't think he was able to make up his mind while directing this film about whether he wanted win an award at Cannes or Venice or to just sell some tickets. As it turns out he did neither as well as he might have. Nonetheless as a snapshot of poor Mexican immigrants (and would-be immigrants) as they clash with the border patrol culture twenty-some years ago The Border is definitely worth a look. Particularly vivid is the depiction of the absurdities and hypocrisies among the coyotes, the "wets," the border patrol rank-and-file, the law and the realities of life along both sides of the thin strip separating the promised land from the third world.

Nicholson plays Charlie Smith, a border patrol cop with a trailer trash wife (Valerie Perrine) who yearns to move up to the luxury of duplex living. In particular she wants to move in next door to her high school girlfriend Savannah (Shannon Wilcox) who is married to the "Cat" (Harvey Keitel). Charlie Smith is a bit of an innocent who was satisfied with his trailer home and his sexy, loving, but not overly sharp, wife Mary. When they do pick up and move to Texas he runs headlong into the corrupt lifestyle of the Cat and the cruel realities of his job which consists of arresting illegal immigrants and sending them back to Mexico. Meanwhile Mary isn't just sitting home twiddling her thumbs. Instead she is out buying water beds and dinette sets, overstuffed chairs and sofas, and other knickknacks that put a strain on the couple's budget which leads Charlie into temptation. But when taking kickbacks turns to murder, Charlie draws the line in the sand (literally as it happens) and he and the Cat have a rather rude falling out.

Meanwhile Charles spots Carrillo as the lovely Maria with babe in arms and a little brother at her side. Predictably the system cruelly exploits her, bringing Charlie to her rescue.

I think the striking contrast between Charlie's air-headed Mary and the desperate and needy Maria needed to be further explored. As it was played Charlie is just a good joe doing a good deed or two when in fact we know he is much more involved than that. I think the movie would have been improved by making him choose between the two women as he had to make the moral choice between going with the Cat's corruption or going against him.

See this for Jack Nicholson, one of the great actors of our time, who brings subtlety and veracity to a role that could have been ordinary, while giving us only a hint of the commanding and irreverent style that he would adopt in later years.

(Note: Over 500 of my movie reviews are now available in my book "Cut to the Chaise Lounge or I Can't Believe I Swallowed the Remote!" Get it at Amazon!)

I remember seeing this movie at a seedy downtown LA theater, the second film of a double bill that I almost walked out on before it began. I was glad I stayed. I don't remember what the feature film was, but I have never forgotten this movie.

Jack Nicholson plays a on-the-take border patrol cop trying to go straight, but surrounded by corruption on both sides of the fence. He finally has to choose between fitting in by being a dirt bag, and being true to himself and cutting his ties with his buddies and his family.

The border is not only a fence between two countries, it's a moral line between decency and indecency, between moral compromise and being a truly humane and compassionate person regardless of the consequences.

The acting is superb, and the the plot could not be more timely. So give this box office bomb a go soon! It's a real diamond in the rough.

Good, low-key, absorbing drama. One thing about Jack Nicholson, he seems to instinctively know when to effectively play a subdued character. His reading and performance of this character were perfect in this movie.

He plays an increasingly unhappy, and troubled Border patrolman seemingly powerless to do anything about the brutality and corruption he sees around him. Saddled with a shrill, materialistic wife, Nicholson portrays the desperation of a man trying to make a difference, and do the right thing.

Not an award-winner, but an effective, interesting character study.

As a teacher of English in Germany you always look for worthy material on the Latino immigration influx . This film is a valuable opener for such a series of lessons. It reveals the impact of the problem. It makes use of outstanding performances: Nicholson and Keitel are as cool as ever. Pellerine is the American woman. Her friends are that, too. The mafia ring consisting of policemen and coyotes is shown realistically. Violence is explicit but not overdone. Landscape and Latino immigrants are depicted in all their shades and lights. The strong American individual wins in the end - again. The good side beats the bad side. The Ry Cooder soundtrack is more than worth listening to. It is authentically reconstructed as always. Teachers: Pick up that video or DVD and use the movie for your lessons on the US Latino problem!

There are two things about this movie that make it a must-watch: Jack Nicholson in one of his best performances, and the issue of immigration.

Nicholson is a border guard who tries to resist the money available but his crazy wife (Valerie Perrine) just spends, spends, and spends like he was a Rockefeller. He finally joins with his neighbor and partner (Harvey Keitel) and runs some Mexicans across the border.

Charlie (Nicholson) still has some morals and that causes problems for his partner. He is also taken with Maria (Elpidia Carrillo), and that causes problems for their Mexican contact, so he sets him up to control him.

However, he can't control Charlie, and now even the boss (Warren Oates) is mad at him.

Tony Richardson's film has a lot of elements of Sam Peckinpah. Exciting to the end.

Music by the great Ry Cooder.