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CARTEL LAND – The Review – We Are Movie Geeks

Review

CARTEL LAND – The Review

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In the Midwest, we are aware of the illegal immigrant issues. We see it and live among it and have out own opinions about it, whatever they may be. But truly, we are far removed from the drug wars that occur at the US/Mexico borders. We, like any sizable city, see the drug abuse and the lives it tears apart, but that’s the end of the line. Where it starts, where the buck stops (so to speak) is where cultures and countries collide. That’s why films such as CARTEL LAND are crucial to the rest of us not living in the middle of the source of the problem.

Produced, directed, shot and edited and may other credits go to a nearly virtual one-man filmmaking team. Matthew Heineman tossed himself into the heart of darkness to capture a sample of the essence of organized crime in Mexico and it pays off, having risked life and limb in the process. CARTEL LAND is an off the cuff, seat of your pants documentary that at times plays like an action-drama. Intense moments of live gunfights between Mexican vigilantes and drug cartels are broken up by engagingly honest interviews on location and heartfelt, emotional moments of recollection and tearful testimony.

CARTEL LAND is essentially told in two chapters, inter-cut back and forth between the US and Mexican side of the border. Roughly one third of the focus lies on the Arizona Border Recon, a paramilitary group of citizens that patrol the border and track cartel movement and activities, in the hopes of squashing as much of it as then can. The Arizona Border Recon was started by Tim “Nailor” Foley, a veteran and former drug addict whose life changed after an accident which led him end his drug use and fight the cartels, who have increasingly become more bold in crossing into US territory.

The story of Foley and his Arizona Border Recon is weak, admirable on some levels, but little happens and interviews with Foley lead us to have certain doubts about his and others’ motives. His and his groups’ actions prove to have little measurable effect as depicted on screen and he is far less an intriguing character as his Mexican counterpart. Foley’s story often feels self-serving and not so much about the cause as it is about his own personal vendetta. This arc of the film draws away from the overall consistency and quality of the film and I honestly could have done without this portion altogether. I see and I understand the bilateral nature of what Heineman was attempting, but for whatever reasons, it fails to hit its mark.

The other two-thirds of CARTEL LAND focuses on Dr. Jose Mireles, also known to his supporters as “El Doctor,” who honestly deserved to have the entire film centered on his story. Dr. Mireles saw what the drug cartels were doing to his friends, family and neighbors, and saw it eating away at the fabric of his country. He founded the Autodefensas, a paramilitary group of concerned citizens who take up arms and take back what is theirs… land, property, loved ones and control over their towns and their lives. Over time, Dr. Mireles and his Autodefensas enjoy incredible success and respect for their accomplishments. However, as we see repeatedly throughout the world, putting one’s self out there in the world eventually has its price as the underlying corruption that infects society seems always to relapse after a period of remission.

CARTEL LAND flourishes as a bittersweet drama of good deeds rewarded with bad luck brought on by evil men. Dr. Mireles is an extraordinarily fascinating individual with whom we can relate. At the risk of overstating my point, Dr. Mireles for Mexico is like their Ghandi without the penchant for non-violence. He does good work, even is his means are forceful and ride the thin line of what’s lawful, but in the absence of law he brings justice. In this sense, I suppose we could call him the Batman of rural Mexico, but all kidding aside, it’s difficult to watch this film and not feel respect for the man.

This becomes all too unbearable when the tables turn and we realize what fate ultimately has in store for Dr. Mireles, a turn of events that is sickening and all too familiar here at home as well. CARTEL LAND is as much exotic to us as it is deeply personal and relevant too all our lives, even if we don’t feel it personally from day to day. Heineman puts himself out there, on many occasions capturing the chaotic, real-time danger and uncertainty on film as he’s pulled behind a truck for cover during a gunfight or tripped up during pursuits. Remember, this is a man and a camera in the midst of the action and its real life.

CARTEL LAND depicts a side of this ongoing, seemingly never-ending war from an entirely new angle and perspective. The film is not overly graphic, but images of beheading and hanging victims are displayed, as well as shots of dead Mexican citizens caught up in the violence. I commend Heineman for not shying away from this. It is reality and people need to see the truth as it truly exists. Like the westerns of the 1950s when nobody bled gave way to controversial modern depictions such as Peckinpah’s THE WILD BUNCH, violence begets blood and blood is life, so depicting the loss of life means we’re bound to see blood.

Let’s be honest. This is a hot button, political topic. CARTEL LAND is a film that digs into the truth without succumbing to the tabloid, self-serving sensationalist documentary styles of so many contemporary films of this nature. Heineman manages to drop himself right in the middle of the action and stays there till the end, but never turns the camera on himself and somehow remains virtually invisible the entire film, but still makes a powerful statement, the way documentaries should be made.

CARTEL LAND opens in theaters on Friday, July 17th, 2015.

Overall rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

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Hopeless film enthusiast; reborn comic book geek; artist; collector; cookie connoisseur; curious to no end