Desierto

"Desierto" boasts actors that clearly have talent, the actual production of the film is decent as is the cinematography of the beautifully brutal desert. However, this film is poorly directed, predictable and shallow, and the premise is laughable--An American picks off illegal immigrants crossing off the boarder.

This film beats the audience over the head with its narrative, it tries to ignore the actual legality of illegally crossing the boarder by making the viewer feel "bad" for those doing so. Furthermore, the villain is like a caricature. Jeffrey Dean Morgan's character is a stereotype. Repugnant as it is, the white man is a racist villain merely because who else would be? What is even worse, is that besides being blatant in its political motives it ambiguously paints the portrait that anyone who is opposed to illegal aliens entering an autonomous nation is akin to the racist murderer that is not even that scary but is intimidating because he is the only fool with a firearm.

In short, this movie is the most horrific film in its presentation or direction, but it is profoundly shallow while also being a film that tries to preach without preaching. Nothing is more pretentious. It is not thought provoking or provocative. A balanced film, say depicting the trials of immigrants, the oppression and violence of cartels partnered with the struggles of boarder patrol agents and the American citizens at risk along the border could have been a strong, well-rounded film that heralds the human spirit and justice over lawlessness. However, this film does not do that. It is shoddy in script, narrative, and message.

"The United States is that way. Good luck." Moises (Bernal) and a group of Mexicans are headed to America to start a new life. When the truck breaks down they must find a way to cross themselves. When Sam (Morgan) sees them attempting to make their way over he takes it upon himself to stop them. This is a difficult movie to review. First off, this is a very good movie that is full of great acting and one that I do recommend. On the other hand, the movie feels like it forgot to put in a beginning. There is a tiny scene where Moises explains why he wants to go to America. Sam simply sees a group of people walking and starts shooting. I think the movie takes into account the fact that this is such a hot button issue that it assumes the audience knows the character motivations. That being said, the lack of this aspect really hurts in the character development and you really don't connect on any other plane but Sam is mean and Moises is innocent and has done nothing wrong. Just adding this small but important detail may have really helped the movie. All that said though, the movie is still very much worth watching. Overall, a movie that is tense and exciting and will bring up some intense feelings. I give this a high B.

Moises (Gael García Bernal) is crossing the American-Mexican border with a group of other illegals. Their truck breaks down and they're walking across the desert. Moises helps those who have fallen behind. The leading group is massacred by lone gunman Sam (Jeffrey Dean Morgan). Moises and the remaining survivors are pursued by Sam and his dog.

It's a simple man hunting man movie. It's basic B-movie. The premise gets on the political radar and both sides find fault in this. One should ignore trying to make a policy statement from a pulpy B-movie. That's all this is and it can't support more than that. More than anything, I would change some of the events. Moises seems to be the helpful type at first. When the dog first attacked, he should go back to help. Somebody should pick up a rock at least. He seems to be smart and calm. He should be able understand that with a dog, the gunman will track them down one by one without a doubt. Later, there is a moment when Moises abandons Adela. It may be logical but it's ill-fitting emotionally. Those are the only two scenes with which I have a problem. Otherwise, this is simple B-movie and Gael is a great actor.

Gael García Bernal is one of many migrants who tries to cross into the United States in 'Desierto'. While he and many other migrants attempt to enter the United States via badlands and flat desert, the majority of them are picked off by a crazy, racist sniper. Bernal and a few others attempt to flee the crazy racist before they're left to rot in the desert.

This film pretty much had no script. What ever little dialogue it had wasn't terribly important, and the villain of the piece talked either to himself or his dog about getting out of the Hell that he lived in while near the border. This was confusing, considering how much he was defending his land from migrants, yet he wanted to leave the Hell that he was living in.

Also, when one watches a film in a packed theatre and people are laughing at important scenes, then either something was lost in translation, or the movie is a farce, and this movie wasn't lost in translation by any means. The villain was plain terrible.

At the Toronto International Film Festival, it won the the FIPRESCI Prize for Special Presentations. Feel like I need an explanation about this.

While it was shot in a decent way, one hopes that Jonás Cuarón pieces together a better script in the future.

Actually pretty decent! Something you should watch after your errands are completed, have nothing else to do or watch and it's 2pm Saturday afternoon!