Desierto (2015) User Reviews

Not quite there

[mariellealien · 5/10 · 23 May 2017]

The movie isn't bad - but it isn't great either. I wish the characters had more flesh and backgrounds to be honest.

Racist white man shoots people trying to cross the border. Why does he do it? That would be interesting to know. Why is he so hateful? And what are the people who are trying to cross hoping for, what are their dreams - what do they leave behind?

I felt little sympathy for them, other than the obvious - because they were so one-dimensional - and the murderer isn't really any better - which leaves for a movie you only watch to the end because your favourite actor is in it.

Not Subtle, But Interesting

[stevendbeard · 6/10 · 15 October 2016]

I saw "Desierto", starring Gael Garcia Bernal-Mozart in the Jungle_tv, Letters to Juliet; Alondra Hidalgo-This is her first movie; Lew Temple- The Walking Dead_tv, The Devil's Rejects and Jeffrey Dean Morgan-Negan on The Walking Dead_tv, The Losers.

This is a movie about illegal immigrants from Mexico crossing the border into the United States. Hey, just in time for the election season-I bet Trump has already seen this one more than once. Gael and Alondra are just two of the approximately twelve to fifteen immigrants making the journey in the back of a packed truck when it breaks down in the middle of the desert. They are forced to make the rest of the trip on foot. That is when they cross paths with Jeffrey, a good old boy, driving around in his pick-up truck-with a Rebel flag, of course, so you will know he is a racist-drinking his whiskey, with his rifle and hunting dog named Tracker, in case you had any doubts about what kind of dog he was. Yep, Jeffrey takes his border patrol part time job very seriously. Lew plays a real Border Patrol policeman that runs into Jeffrey but can not seem to catch him doing anything wrong. As you can probably guess, Jeffrey starts to take out the immigrants, one by one, until only a small group is left on the run-Oh yeah, Tracker does his share of making the group of runners just a little smaller, too. The movie is in Spanish with English sub-titles, so you have to do some reading. And, in case you are not up on your Spanish, Deseirto means desert. It's rated "R" for violence and language and has a running time of 1 hour & 34 minutes. It is an interesting movie, not real subtle, but interesting. I don't know if I would buy it on DVD but it would be a good rental.

angst in minimal narration

[billchiu · 7/10 · 9 October 2016]

this is a well put together experiment that feels like the original The Hitcher - free-form descent into insanity in a desolate plain - minimal non-goal-oriented dialogues, unhurried narration, motivations that are barely hinted leaving room for implications. well carried with odd mixture of seasoned actors and inexperienced actors - an unevenness that might help to build (and ground) the surreal vibe of the film. story is less narrative and more event and situational. it has a minimalist score, long and wide-angle shots, handful of shocking scenes punctuating its uneven trajectory of an ever-present suspense, a suspense not only of kill-or-be-killed but also exceptions of human nature. the dog (and its dog-nature) were as villainous as its human monster, yet so easily pardoned because of its apparent ignorance and preoccupation with love and angst of its master.

The hunting party

[searchanddestroy-1 · 16 April 2016]

Terrific experience here this movie which is a sort of mix-up between Don Medford's HUNTING PARTY and BEYOND THE REACH, released last year and starring Michael Douglas. But beware, BEYOND THE REACH is far far far lesser than this pure jewel from Mexico. Do not even dare to compare the two features, except for the basic script line, that's all. A brutal, powerful piece of work, folks. But I admit that I would have preferred a different ending, such as the one you had in HUNTING PARTY, back in 1970. THIS WAS AN ENDING.

But nevertheless, this movie is awesome. In the last fifteen minutes, I felt my heartbeat as a war drum.

Serious.

Go for it...

JDM fans will want to watch this to prepare for TWD!

[dutchrig · 6/10 · 14 October 2016]

This was a surprisingly good movie! Unlike other reviewers, I did not see the "politics" in the movie at all. The fact that the gunman was killing illegals was just part of the story line. The same guy could have been killing sorority girls and not Hispanics, and the plot would have been: serial killer attacks sorority girls. It is basically the same plot and story line of any "slasher movie"--only in this one, JDM uses .300 WinMag and not a butcher knife.

I thought the movie was well acted by Jeffery Dean Morgan and Gael Garcia as the protagonists. The dialogue was insipid at times, but the overall tension created by Morgan's character and more so, by Tracker, his dog, was excellent.

If you want to get ready for Negan in The Walking Dead (also played by Jeffery Dean) then I recommend you watch Desirio as a warm-up.

Down Time!!!

[focusone-52868 · 6/10 · 5 September 2019]

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!

basic B-movie

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 23 July 2018]

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.

Prey for them

[kosmasp · 7/10 · 15 May 2017]

If you keep yourself distanced from others, you do not recognize those others as human beings. As fellow persons, who deserve your respect. This was done and thought of way before someone claimed he wanted to build a wall, that would solve the "problem" at hand here. Politics aside for a moment if possible, this is a journey for people who seek a better future for themselves.

Of course some would say and argue they don't deserve that and we'd be right back to square one. So while I said politics aside, it's almost impossible to watch this and not having an opinion on it. Whether you think the people crossing the border are doing the right thing or the guy not letting them off the hook so easy is the one who's right, do not forget: We're talking human beings here. And while this is a fictional movie, there is some real life based idea behind this. Which makes it somewhat hard to watch if you think too much about it.

But as a movie it works. The characters are believable enough and the suspension is high as it should be ...

What is the directors intention?

[shmittyfro · 3/10 · 16 April 2017]

Desierto is a movie that tries to tackle a very serious topic with a handful of caricatures and two very good actors which are lazily directed.

From a purely technical stance it tries to offer up some captivating shots during its first couple of minutes but it becomes quite clear as the movie progresses that Quaron does not know how to shoot a chase sequence, which this movie basically is. It's one big horror movie chase sequence that leaves a lot to desire in terms of dialog and pacing.

The most concerning thing is that one leaves the movie without knowing what the directors intentions were. Was it to shine a light on the topic? to make a polarizing movie? to get some sort of radical reaction from the viewer? to serve as a cautionary tale?

In any case, it ends up being a pretty tasteless and irresponsible treatment of a serious topic and it doesn't offer up anything else as a possible saving grace.

Great Cinematography, Mediocre Story

[Freedom060286 · 7/10 · 30 August 2021]

There isn't much of a story to this one, a man pursues a group of illegal migrants with the intention of killing all of them. There are some errors: for example, some of the migrants are wearing winter coats, despite it being said to be 120 F. Also an inconsistency: the hunter shows incredible marksmanship in the early part of the movie, yet misses closer, easier targets in the second half.

However, on the positive side, the dog is amazingly well-trained and quite entertaining in some of his actions, such as jumping into the truck through the window. And the cinematography is outstanding, some of the desert backgrounds are very well-chosen and beautiful to behold.

Beautifully shot...but that is all

[mjmegelsh · 2/10 · 15 October 2016]

"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.

Under rated

[monindy · 9/10 · 14 March 2016]

Saw this film at the Toronto Film Festival. Surprised at the average ratings this film has received. An edge of the seat film, that tackles illegal immigration across the U.S Mexican border.

A simple, yet powerful story that made me re think illegal immigration, long after I had finished watching the movie.

The actors and dogs did a great job playing their part and the setting of the movie was ideal. Watching this movie in surround sound, made the suspense more intense. This movie could not have been released at a better time, due to its subtle message on illegal Mexican immigration. I would thoroughly recommend watching this movie and look forward to its release on DVD.

Gritty, on the edge

[lopamudrax · 7/10 · 13 December 2015]

Desierto Griity, at the edge. human and inhumane nature of the species called homo sapiens. Given the refugee scenario all across the world this movie has a lot of significance.

Instead of a maniac killing the illegal immigrants creeping across the border its the political and government that's murdering the journey of the refugees.

The environment is harsh and yes they are ironically called the bad lands. True that but humanity is not bad right? We are not born with prejudice. That is instilled in us with our surroundings.

Can we not as a race merge the borders and stop the racism, sexism and all other isms and just enjoy how the earth meant us to?

On the movie, the acting and the bare knuckle direction gripped till the end. It rattled just like the snakes and made sure we were alert at all steps.

Desierto: Mexicans chased by a maniac with a rifle, over, and over, and over again

[12_Monkeys · 4/10 · 20 April 2016]

Although there are some good (technical) elements in this film, such as the camera work, the music score, and the production design; the screenplay is so bland and apathetic that it makes the film feel like a tragic waste of a nice concept.

First of all, if you've seen the trailer to Desierto, then you've pretty much seen the film. Nothing much happens aside of what you see in the trailer: a psychotic madman spots some illegal Mexicans attempting to cross the border into the U.S. and he decides to take matters into his own hands, by killing them all with his rifle. This pretty much happens within the first 15 minutes of the film, so no spoilers there. What might feel like somewhat of an anti-climactic spoiler is that THAT IS IT -- Nothing more happens in the film.

If you expect some kind of explanation to the villain's motivation to kill the Mexicans, there is none. If you think that at least there is an interesting story behind some of the illegals that are trying to reach U.S. soil, nope, sorry, you won't get an interesting story there either.

Instead, what the script does is basically repeat itself: once the first shootout takes place, we're left with 5 characters the villain still has to chase after. Then, the villain's dog takes care of murdering one of the 5 left (quite easily and without much struggle from the poor Mexican fellow, I might add), which leaves 4. Some more hunting goes on and the 4th guy dies, victim of another gunshot by the merciless, yet unexplained murderer. And then there were three...

And guess what happens next? More story? A nice chunk of juicy background to shed some light on who our characters are? -- Nope. The villain's dog takes his second victim. And just when we have two victims left (Gael Garcia is one of them, of course), the killer mastermind and his evil pet decide to call it a day: "Come on Tracker, we'll get them tomorrow..." (sorry but: WHAAAT?!?!?)

Anyway, moving on: our two victims exchange some words before nightfall in the middle of nowhere (in the desert, of course). That's when I thought to myself: "Yes, finally, some interesting facts about our characters so that I can actually care if they live or die... right?" -- Wrong... Unfortunately this conversation reveals just about as much information as a "small talk encounter at a super-market" would reveal about them. And suddenly, hey, IT'S DAYTIME AGAIN!

But wait, where did they sleep? What did they use for shelter? Isn't it supposed to be like super cold at night in the desert? -- Huh... guess that doesn't matter...

Morning arrives and our only two unharmed victims wander around the desert attempting desperately to find help, and... you guessed it, story starts all over again, and the maniac with the rifle and his demonic dog start tracking them, AGAIN, even though they had already tracked them the day before, but got too tired to finish the job, which (if they had finished it) would have also made the film a short film.

And so, the suspense moments of the piece have its highs and lows, some feel so ridiculously low that people at the theater started laughing (can't blame them). There is one sequence in particular in which Gael is attempting to get away from the killer by going round and round a gigantic rock. Both characters chase one another around this rock for what feels like an eternity, until Gael finally remembers his childhood (I'm venturing a guess here) and he stops, and climbs the rock so the killer can get past him, and Gael can now become the chaser... Can't even begin to express what a waste of time that sequence was.

All in all, a lazy script which has a promising and gripping high concept idea, but which fails to engage, and therefore ends up being nothing more than that: a concept. It would have made a nice 20 or 30-minute short film, but because it doesn't go deeper, the narrative has to repeat over and over until we get tired of it and it becomes numbingly boring.

And yet, the film has made its way through Toronto, London, and now Cannes -- Huh... I wonder why that is... probably has nothing to do with the fact that it was written, produced, directed, and edited by Alfonso Cuaron's son...

Desierto Leaves You Desolate

[krocheav · 21 October 2017]

Chase movies can be a hit or miss genre - this one has exciting hit possibilities but misses on just about all the points it should score on. We know basically nothing about any of the characters - what drives them, where they are from, or quite why they do the things they do. The hapless runners are all Mexicans fleeing poverty - on their way to the USA via the 'back door' of the badlands (Donald's wall would actually have helped them!) and the Hunter...well, he's somehow just driving around the desert looking for people to murder. With him, he has his trusty dog - trained to hunt down and kill whatever his master sends him after - human or otherwise. Once the murderous chase is on you know exactly what's about to happen every bloodied step of the way.

No subtleties here, just people led to the slaughter - and so it goes, repetitively and soullessly on and on. Some nice visuals, a promising opening and a curious music score can't add any more to the threadbare script. Only a famous movie-making father (Alfonso Cuaron) could fund this, his son Jonas Cuaron's minor attempt at fame - surprisingly, this was Mexico's entry as 'best' foreign language film at 89th Acadamy Awards (must have been a very light year indeed!) Lovers of mindless excitement won't be too disappointed - thinkers can expect to be.

A Fight for survival in this Mexican tale of emigration

[t-dooley-69-386916 · 6/10 · 3 December 2016]

This film starts with a group of South Americans crossing into America in the desert. They are in a clapped out old truck that finally decides to die. Left with no option, the traffickers decide they have to take them on foot to the chosen land

Problem is there is a gun wielding vigilante on the loose with his tracker dog – inventively enough called 'Tracker', and this is his home and he aims to keep it that way. Gael Garcia Bernal stars as Moises in this and he is always good value. The supporting cast are all excellent too but the real plaudits have to go to Jeffrey Dean Morgan as the deranged Sam.

The other real achievement here is that it is a linear story with no flash backs and told in a way that all you have to glean empathy from are the players in the situation they are now. That is always a tough thing to do as we hardly know anyone and so finding a way to connect is not always so easy. This is overcome by good acting and allowing the characters to let each other know of themselves and by so doing we get to do the same. Whilst this is not the best in the genre of emigration to America films it is still more than able to warrant attention – in English and Spanish this is one for those who like their films to have one foot in realism.

A movie that is worth watching and is important but it forgot to add character development. I didn't really connect with them.

[cosmo_tiger · 7/10 · 22 December 2016]

"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.

No countries, no borders

[deloudelouvain · 7/10 · 13 April 2017]

Desierto is a good entertaining movie with a story that makes you think about how some people are just evil to the bone. Jeffrey Dean Morgan does an excellent job playing the racist border controller with his loyal but lethal dog. He's the kind of guy you hope something really bad will happen to him during the entire movie. He plays the redneck racist American that can not stand immigrants while he's himself a descendant of immigrants. There are a lot of those people right now so this movie could teach them a lesson even though I think they are too stupid to understand. The movie is beautifully shot. If you are a nature lover you could just watch the movie just for the nature shots. For the rest the story is what it is, illegal immigrants being chased by a racist killer. But it's captivating to watch.

Desert Thriller delivers

[djderka · 7/10 · 31 August 2017]

Actually I thought this was going to devolve into a procedural drama with those that witnessed the original shooting going to court and a whole 'trial movie'.

As I kept watching however, it turned into a very real horror movie. Just like the innocents are chased in Texas Chain saw, only this is very original and shot in the daylight in the desert.

I would not want to be in the desert in those conditions. Was surprised that Moises leaves Adela behind, saying 'he has a son'.

Great cinematography and direction. Different scenes in desert great > rocks, desert, cactus beds, and a hunt and chase scene that is thrilling and a little reminiscent of Duel. Very good well thought out and put together film.

The shooter Sam is an extreme typical stereotype by the left, all the Minute Men in the south report such illegal immigration to authorities they don't shoot them.

Commenters were right about the M! Garand and Sam is a little improbable making long shots without a tripod and several migrants moving in different directions. For having no military training he is too good a shooter and is a fantasy.

However, avoid the voice over sound track by the director, just more political diatribe about migrants who are really illegal immigrants. How about a film about illegals who commit crimes in US, like drunk driving, fake Soc Sec cards and shootings.

Pointless story

[mrpoizun · 2/10 · 5 September 2020]

Morgan plays a right-wing desert rat disgusted with the Mexicans illegally crossing to the US. After a discouraging encounter with the Border Patrol, which has taken no action on his sighting of illegal crossings, he decides to take matters into his own hands when he spots a large group of immigrants, with the help of his vicious dog and high-powered rifle. What follows is a relentless, xenophobic fantasy of violence, gore and terror, with a very predictable ending. It's decently acted, but it has quite a few scenes that require too much suspension of disbelief, added just because they are in the script, apparently. There's just no point to this movie.

Intense and shocking

[Christianchancellor · 7/10 · 6 May 2021]

Being Mexican descent I found this movie truly hard to watch and overall so depressing. I felt so bad for every immigrant that thought they were going to have a new life and Sam ruined it. This movie could go either way especially people who do not want immigrants coming to our country, but I am sad/ glad I watched this. The character development was not good but the overall concept was great. Definitely go in with a thriller / action movie because that's what you're going to get.

Makes you miss Negan

[nickijjohnson · 2/10 · 8 March 2017]

This movie is literally about a stranger killing strangers. It begins with a group of Mexicans in a truck being smuggled into the United States. Their truck breaks down leaving them with no choice but to cross on foot. Meanwhile a hunter and his dog are out hunting rabbits. Soon he sees the immigrants crossing and begins picking them off one by one. This would have been sad if you knew anything at all about these people. There was absolutely no emotional connection to any of these characters. Watching them get killed was not emotionally gripping or even the entertainment you feel when watching shallow or cruel characters get killed off in horror films. Our villain has no backstory as to why he despises immigrants so much he decides out of the blue to murder several people. There's no flashbacks of his racist father and he doesn't have PTSD or something to let the audience in on his intentions. They don't even specify on whether or not he's done this before. It's just like well I was out walking my dog and decided to murder. Really makes you miss Negan cause he'll tell you in a heartbeat the motive behind his intentions cause he's an actual villain. Most of the movie is him chasing the ones that got away. There's a bit of character development between two of the characters but feels like too little too late at that point. In the end I felt sorriest for the dog but I won't spoil why. The whole movie I was not emotionally connected so there wasn't anybody to root for personally though I understand who I was supposed to be rooting for. I thought the end was mundane and the villain begging for his life felt so out of character for him seeing as how he hated them so much. Now on the political front too many people took this crap too seriously. It's a horror movie. You conservatives AND liberals have to see everything as just that; liberal or conservative. Let it go it's a movie.

Desperate Struggle On The Border

[virek213 · 8/10 · 24 October 2016]

The border between the United States and Mexico is approximately 1,700 miles in length, stretching from the mouth of the Rio Grande at Brownsville, Texas, all the way to the Pacific shoreline at Imperial Beach, California. And much of it goes through some of the harshest and most forbidding land in the entire world, the Colorado and Sonoran deserts in California and Arizona. Each year, thousands of Mexicans cross that border into the U. S., oftentimes illegally but for very legitimate reasons: a better life, and to escape from the violence being caused by the drug cartels in their country. The journey they make is excruciatingly dangerous; and in the last couple of decades, the danger has been upped immeasurably, not by the drug cartels, nor even the U. S. Border Patrol, but by vigilantes who tend to pass themselves off as "patriots" or "Minutemen". The latter aspect is what is given attention in director Jonas Cuaron's film DESIERTO (Spanish for "desert").

Cuaron, who with his brother Alfonso wrote the screenplay of the masterful 2013 science fiction movie Gravity, had directed a couple of short films (ANINGAAQ; THE SHOCK DOCTRINE) and one feature-length film (2007's YEAR OF THE NAIL) before DESIERTO; and in taking on the subject matter here, he steps into a topic that has both human and political dimensions. Gael Garcia Bernal and Alondra Hidalgo are among a group of immigrants fleeing northward through the harsh Sonoran Desert when the truck they are in breaks down in salt flats, and the ride stops for them. Approximately a dozen of them walk through the desert in harsh 120-degree temperatures, and make it through the barbed-wire fence that marks where the border is. The only way for them is to continue towards the north. But not long after they cross, they are set upon by a gun-toting vigilante (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) with a very racist view who is determined that no Mexicans get across the borderat least, not if he has anything to say about it. The viciousness Morgan displays is matched only by that of "Tracker", his German shepherd dog who happens to be good at tracking the immigrants. All of them fall victim either to his long-range sniper rifle or "Tracker", sometimes getting partially torn up in gruesome fashion. Only Bernal and Hidalgo manage to escape the initial gunfire; but when they try to steal Morgan's truck, they too are wounded, and have to continue to flee on foot. At one point Hidalgo is so badly wounded that Bernal must leave her under a desiccated cactus with a supply of water while he tries to evade or stop Morgan.

With most of the dialogue in Spanish (and with sub-titles on the screen) and the fact that all of the actors, save for Morgan and Lew Temple, who plays a Border Patrol agent, are Mexican, DESIERTO can sometimes be a test to watch; and certainly the violence and language are extremely harsh. Beyond those things, Cuaron, a native of Mexico himself, also seems to take an arguably very slanted view of the situation by painting the Mexican immigrants as common people who, practically by force, are forced to make so dangerous and illegal a crossing of the frontier, and by making Morgan the right-wing vigilante villain of the piece. But given how much immigration at the U. S./Mexico border, illegal and otherwise, and the issue of drug cartels creating violent havoc on either side of that border has been a hot-button issue in American politics for decades, and certainly in the ultra-toxic environment of the 2016 presidential election, it probably shouldn't be too surprising that Cuaron does indeed take the viewpoint that he does, especially given how often Mexicans have been made scapegoats in the U. S. media and by politicians, particularly by one Donald Trump. And even at that, there is no reason to believe that situations like the one depicted in DESIERTO have not happened for real on the border; they just don't make it onto the news.

DESIERTO thanks to Cuaron's direction and the desolate score by Woodkid, has a lot of similarities to the classic Sam Peckinpah and Sergio Leone westerns of the late 1960s and early 1970s in how it depicts the extreme harshness of the border country, with Bernal's and Hidalgo's performances being quite good and Morgan giving a very frightening performance in an arguably stereotypical vigilante role. While DESIERTO may not be an absolutely perfect film, or easy to watch, and could incite passions both pro and con on the issue of immigration at our southern border, in the end it is a human story about desperation and how what goes on at the border transcends political grandstanding and a perversion of human values.

Thrilling manhunt about a group of Mexican emigrants attempts to cross the Mexican-US border

[ma-cortes · 6/10 · 12 May 2023]

Nail-biting and violent manhunt with two terrific actors : Gael García Bernal and Jeffrey Dean Morgan. The film opens with a group of illegal Hispanic immigrants riding in the back seat of a truck somewhere in Mexico. They are driving towards the USA border when the truck breaks down. Then the group of people trying to cross the border from Mexico into the United States encounter a racist man , Sam (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) who has taken border patrol duties into his own hands. The group of unarmed men led by Moises (Gael García Bernal) and women run through the treacherous borderland. What follows is a cat-and-mouse game in which the two protagonists fight their own personal survival fight, with battles both physical and psychological . The odds are stacked firmly against them as they discover there's nowhere to hide from the unrelenting, merciless murderer . Both of whom clash in the hot desert .Now, it's Moises's turn to run for his life under the fierce and merciless sun. However, even though the unforgiving desert is limitless, on the other hand, so is the prey's desire to survive. Who shall live and who shall die in this deadly cat-and-mouse game? From the Visionary Filmmakers That Brought You Gravity !. A chase where only the strongest survive !.

¨Desierto¨ tells the story of two men , one American, one Mexican, concerning a strong battle of wits and physical force between two tough protagonists Gael García Bernal , Jeffrey Dean Morgan , both of them holed up in the sunny desert , as the outdoors are frankly barren or mountainous , the landscapes have been filmed in Sonoran Desert, Baja California, Mexico. What begins as a hopeful journey becomes a harrowing, bloody and primal fight for survival when a deranged, rifle-toting vigilante and his loyal Belgian Malinois dog chase . Duo starrring with two awesome heavyweights actors Gael García Bernal and Jeffrey Dean Morgan are pretty good . This is another film with a violent manhunt as main plot , such as : ¨Beyond the reach¨that faced two contenders : Michael Douglas versus Jeremy Irvine ; ¨Killing season¨that dealt with confrontation between John Travolta and Robert De Niro or ¨The Hunted¨ between Benicio del Toro and Tommy Lee Jones . And the classic ¨Hunting party¨ starred by Oliver Reed , Candice Bergen and the hunter Gene Hackman who goes after them in a restless manhunt .

It displays colorful and adequate cinematography by Damián García , with not a single scene has been filmed indoors ans shot on location in filming locations from Catavina, Baja California, Puerto Penasco, Sonora, Mexico, Pinacate and Grand Desert of Altar, Sonora, Mexico , Altar, Sonora, Mexico ; showing adequately the harsh, unforgiving desert terrain. The motion picture was well directed by Jonás Cuarón . This film was selected as the Mexican entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 89th Academy Awards but it was not nominated , and several nominations and prizes : Ariel Awards, Mexico ; Fenix Film Awards ; Cinema Journalists ; Toronto Film Festival , among others . Jonás is son of Alfonso Cuarón and often works as director assistant such as Gravity (2013). Jonás has made a few films , such as : Chupa (2023) , Desierto (2015) y Año uña (2007).

Good visuals, not much else

[christian-larson · 4/10 · 17 April 2016]

Desierto stars Gael Garcia Bernal, and Jefrey Dean Morgan, and its the story of some immigrants (including Gael Garcia Bernal) going to the U.S, but in order to go there, they need to cross the border. Then an American sees them and starts hunting them. First thing, the camera-work is pretty good. I was constantly impressed with the work of the camera man. Thats probably the only great thing about this movie. Desierto has absolutely no substance, it is just a simple cat and mouse movie. But it doesn't give you that feel of tension, because you simply don't care about the characters. The movie does not take the time to develop the characters, so we don't care about them, making the film feel bland and boring. The acting overall was alright, not awful, not excellent, just in the middle. As i previously stated, the cinematography is great, there are a lot of wide and long shots, so no problems there. The villain has absolutely no motivation, we don't know why he wants to kill them, so we don't identify with the villain. The blood and gore looked really cheap, there is rarely any logic in this film, characters do things without explanation and understanding and overall, just a boring movie with absolutely no character depth. 4.5/10