Masacre en la frontera

A 1980 Charles Bronson vehicle. Bronson is a border guard in charge of one sector. He complains that traffic is up & his crew is at their breaking point even though a new recruit, played by the late, great Bruno Kirby has joined the ranks. One night a truck full of 'wets' is pulled over w/one of the coyotes, played by Ed Harris in his debut role, sits in the back of the truck armed, ready for the worst. The deputy, played by the late, great Wilford Brimley, gets the driver's papers but as is his way, he needs to see what he's hauling which ends up w/him being shotgunned to death by Harris who also kills a young migrant pulled from the cab along w/the driver. At first wanting to punt the deaths to the Feds or Narcos, Bronson is reticent to cede the case since Brimley was his friend. Bronson tracks down the boy's mother & brings her along to see if they can nab the coyote from the Mexico side (the original driver has since been killed w/drugs planted in his truck amplifying the drug angle) but after this gambit doesn't payoff, Bronson turns his attention to the head importer of labor in the area, played by Bert Remsen (who in turn works w/a white collar type played by Michael Lerner) who denies any wrongdoing but Bronson finds a boot print (the same print found at the murder site) so Bronson knows he's got his man so all he needs to do is to get all his ducks in a row (on Christmas day no less where the smugglers are being ambitious hoping to bring at least 2000 people across) coordinating his staff as they pick off all the returning trucks back to base w/Harris' capture a surety. Atypically methodical & slow moving for a Bronson vehicle on the cusp of the decade which would catapult him into action star infamy, the film's pace affords low dividends but dividends none the less. If you're in for a cool slow burn which doesn't resort to action movie tropes & at times quite thoughtful about the immigration issue, this film may tick off some boxes. Also starring John Ashton (from Beverly Hills Cop & its sequel) as one of Bronson's men, Kenneth McMillan (from the original Dune) as Bronson's boss & genre vet Charles Cyphers (from the original Halloween) as another of Bronson's men.

Charles Bronson is the officer in charge of a border patrol station in charge of a stretch of territory East of San Diego. He explains to new officer Bruno Kirby that they're catching a hundred people a day and estimate twice as many get through. He asked for a couple of dozen new hands and got Kirby.

Those who expect a Bronson movie to be a bloodbath will be surprised at the calmer, more procedural tone of this movie. Bronson doesn't seem to care about how many people come into the US; he's just there to enforce the laws. Smuggling in people is a big, well organized business, with the men in charge getting the profits off an estimated 3,000,000 illegal immigrants a year at $300 a head. Ed Harris, in his first credited film role, is the head of the local operations. Can Bronson, who seems to have no life outside his job, bring them to book?

Don't expect to see Chuck wipe out men by request, shoot punks or grow watermelons. This time Bronson is Jeb Maynard, a tough and experienced chief border patrol officer investigating the cold-blooded murder of one of his men who is just two weeks away from retirement. With the aid of a newly transferred young officer from New York, Maynard tracks down the ruthless killer who is seemingly as elusive as the masterminds behind the crime.

BORDERLINE, a lesser known and often forgotten Bronson's film (at least to me), plays like a pilot episode of a TV series. Not much tension is delivered and not much action either, but this crime drama keeps viewers, especially fans, interested. Unfortunately, the distinctively catchy music during the opening credits is underplayed, which renders some key scenes emotionally bland.

Compared with other Bronson's films - Cold Sweat, White Buffalo, Love and Bullets - which are rather disappointing, BORDERLINE quite delivers the goods. It's always a pleasure for Bronson's fans to see him take up a different role: here we see more of his acting and charisma while less of his machismo (Not saying that this side of Bronson's acting style is unwelcome). During his long acting career, Charles Bronson only had several memorable films which made him an iconic action star. BORDERLINE is certainly not one of them. For his fans, this minor entry is worth watching regardless.

Charles Bronson has a long-listed filmography that has undeserved sleepers mixed among the favourites, but also there are quite a few standard vehicle efforts. 'Borderline' figures in that latter pile. Entertaining for the odd 97 minutes, but nothing really there to make it overly memorable. Maybe to see a steely Ed Harris make his first real dent in the major film industry, but other than that there's very little to it.

The subject at hand (illegal immigration of Mexicans crossing over the US border) is very topical and naturally integrated, as Charles Bronson plays the chief border patrol officer. However despite how strong the themes are, it's never truly harrowing and piercing enough in its context to lift it above its average layout. The human drama is too black and white (lacking an emotional punch), but also suffering was that it never gained any real sort of assured brunt when it came to the action. It can get rough, but the thrills are sparsely worked in. But this being the case it doesn't stop it from being effective, just it leaves a no real agreeable imprint.

During the nights Chief Border Patrol Officer Jeb and his overworked men take in many illegal aliens trying to cross over the border. One of his men pulls over a truck, but is shot for it. After the killing of a border patrol officer and a young Mexican boy too. The FBI is brought on to the case and believes it to have something to do with drug running. However Jeb along with the deceased boy's mother go about trying to figure out what really happened and he has his true suspicions.

What I liked was how director Jerrod Freedman gives the film quite an organic look, as the camera follows the action in a documentary-style. Freedman's direction is sturdily serviceable, never forced and lets it breeze by. Gil Mellé's rousing score is on the mark.

The cast do the best with what the script allows. Bronson alone gets through it with such genuine conviction. Harris' on-screen charisma evidently features with a well-comprised performance and Karmin Murcelo gives a wonderfully warm turn of heart-broke. There's an well-fitted supporting cast with Bruno Kerby, Michael Lerner, Wilford Brimley, Kenneth McMillan and Charles Cyphers.

Workable, if indistinguishable.

"Borderline", admittedly, is fairly undistinguished in terms of presentation. It's passable as an action flick, and entertains reasonably well for 100 minutes. It purports to shed light on the problem of illegal immigration, which in this day and age is more of a hot button issue than ever before. Characters are mostly thinly drawn, but writer Steve Kline and writer / director Jerrold Freedman aren't completely insensitive to the plight of the good, honest, hard workers like Elena Morales (Karmin Murcelo) who feel they have no choice.

The movie does benefit from giving its star, Charles Bronson (playing Jeb Maynard), a worthy adversary: a particularly ruthless and cold blooded smuggler named Hotchkiss (Ed Harris, in the role that "introduced" him), who sealed his fate when he killed Scooter Jackson (Wilford Brimley), one of Jebs' co-workers. Jeb and Scooter are among those on Border Patrol detail, and when Scooter gets murdered, Jeb takes it upon himself to solve the case. He doesn't trust the ignorant agents of the FBI, who think the whole case is about drugs. Jeb must also break in a new employee, Jimmy Fante (Bruno Kirby), an eager beaver rookie sent from NY.

What gives "Borderline" some stature today is its truly superior supporting cast. Bronson does what he usually does (which, of course, he is very cool at doing), but it's Harris and others that truly bring this to life. You can't go too wrong reading through this cast list: Bert Remsen, Michael Lerner, Kenneth McMillan, Norman Alden, John Ashton, Charles Cyphers, Virgil Frye, Luis Contreras, et al. Although the environment is very much male-dominated, Ms. Murcelo is appealing and touching as the illegal alien who reluctantly provides Jeb with the assistance that he needs.

This is worth noting for a striking music score by Gil Melle and cinematography by the consistently dependable Tak Fujimoto. It *is* enjoyable enough, even if it is formula driven and not too memorable.

Seven out of 10.