Desierto

What it's about:

What begins as a hopeful journey to seek a better life becomes a harrowing, primal fight for survival when a deranged, rifle-toting vigilante chases a group of unarmed men and women through the treacherous U.S.-Mexican border. In the harsh, unforgiving desert terrain, the odds are stacked firmly against them as they continuously discover there's nowhere to hide from the unrelenting, merciless killer.

What we thought:

With a Trump-lead America and a global refugee crisis, Desierto comes to cinemas at the right time. The harrowing look at a group of people trying to cross the border from Mexico into the United States is not an easy watch. 

The super-realism of the film and unflinching head-on approach of storytelling will leave you exhausted as the hour and 34 minutes comes to an end. 

Gael García Bernal and Jeffrey Dean Morgan deliver frightfully realistic performances that will have your stomach turning and your hands clutching to the edge of your seat. 

For me Desierto falls between the borders of cinema nouveau and action drama. The foreign language script and beautiful cinematography of the dead desert landscape brings with it an art movie feel. 

But the storyline and in-your-face action combined with blood splatter and fast-paced chase scenes leaves an action flick aftertaste in the mouth.  

Desierto isn’t a laidback, relaxed cinema experience. It’s a hard look at the realities that play off outside the limits of our comfort zones. 

It’s a gripping film that expects a lot from the viewer. But between the gore and violence there are moments of serenity that give the viewer the chance to take a deep breath and really understand what’s playing off on the big screen.

I highly recommend you put this one on your must-watch list and prepare yourself for a rough but very important cinematic experience.

Desierto is Mexico’s official Oscar entry for this year’s best foreign-language picture race.