Transpecos

Everything was going swimmingly until the border agent declared he couldn't call it in. And I never figured out why not. The movie came unglued there and fell apart. Never did find out what was going on. I backed out at the point and found another movie.

So....just tell me, what's the purpose of making this pointless movie, huh? The whole story most of the time felt like a chicken whose head was chopped off but it didn't realize yet, so still running around in circle aimlessly until all the blood drained, then died finally. These two guys driving around in the wildness in Texas....for what? Looking here and there, then got ambushed finally as they would have expected, looking for the mailbox in the middle of nowhere for what?

The cinematography is good, desert wildness looks beautiful but at the same time, very cruel and vicious. The screenplay writer(s) at first seemed to have something to tell, but then seemed totally lost and didn't know how to continue, so just shot the film without any direction. We didn't see any justice was ever served, Mexican drug cartel? Yeah, just some words in the meaningless dialog. The survived Border Patrol guy was rescued by some illegal immigrants, yet those good Mexicans were cuffed after the guy was rescued, so where's the justice? An incident report was crossed out line by line then brushed under the carpet, the survived guy even had a choice either to stay put or transferred to the north border....So tell me, what's the purpose of making this film? I finally found out that I was one the headless chickens blindly following these border patrol morons in the wildness. I've tried very hard to see if there's anything really worth seeing out of it, but in the end, just turned out NADA.

We meet three US Border Guards who are patrolling the Southern Border. They are Flores, Davis and the surly Hobbs. Davis is sort of new and a bit green around the ears etc They are doing a routine road check on a dusty stretch of New Mexico desert. The one vehicle rattles up and what it contains will set all there of them on a very different paths as to how they cope with kit.

Now to say anymore would ruin the plot. This is a film that trades on the twists to a large extent but at the same time is well rounded enough to be the sort of film you could watch again and get more from it – that is an accomplishment.

It is violent in parts and deals with some of the nastier issues to do with the Cartels and other aspects of cross border crime. At its heart though is the very human way we respond to threats and what life throws at you. The acting is all to the high end as is the cinematography which takes the arid desert and manages to make it a thing of beauty whilst managing to keep the tension ramped up. It is in English, Spanish and a touch of Mayan with a run time of 82 minutes. This is an indie film but suffers not an iota for that and is one for those who like realism with their grit and a such is one I can recommend.

"Transpecos" was a movie that I wasn't even familiar with prior to finding it. I picked it up and was somewhat intrigued by the synopsis. But it was actually more of the cast that won me over, and I decided to watch it.

This is a wholesome entertaining movie, with a storyline that had some appeal and some depth to it.

It was definitely the amazing performances by Clifton Collins Jr., Gabriel Luna and Johnny Simmons that kept the movie interesting.

The storyline in "Transpecos" was somewhat predictable though, but straightforward and entertaining enough.

I can warmly recommend that you take the time to sit down and watch "Transpecos" if you haven't already seen it. I was genuinely surprised and entertained by what I saw here.

Benjamin Davis (Johnny Simmons), Lance Flores (Gabriel Luna), and Lou Hobbs (Clifton Collins Jr.) are US Border Patrol working a remote stretch of desert. They find a stash of drugs in a car but Davis turns on the others. He had been pressured by the cartel to help them smuggle the drugs.

This is a small indie with a limited production. It's able to use the desert locations to full advantage. It needs more action to amp up the tension. It runs at a nice low-boil but I kept waiting for more instances of boiling over. Clifton is great as always although the other two could improve. Their characterization needs to be sharper. This indie does some good and worthy work.