Desierto (2015)

A group of people trying to cross the border from Mexico into the United States encounter a racist man who has taken border patrol duties into his own hands.

Director:

Jonás Cuarón

Writers:

Jonás Cuarón, Mateo Garcia

Stars:

Gael García Bernal, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Alondra Hidalgo

2 wins & 21 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gael García Bernal	...	Moises
Jeffrey Dean Morgan	...	Sam
Alondra Hidalgo	...	Adela
Diego Cataño	...	Mechas
Marco Pérez	...	Lobo
David Peralta Arreola	...	Ulises
Óscar Flores Guerrero	...	Ramiro
Erik Vázquez	...	Coyote
Lew Temple	...	Border Patrol
Aquileo De Jesús Calihua	...	Migrant
Dionicio Roberto Avilés García	...	Migrant
Víctor Alfonso Zárate Mendoza	...	Migrant
Claudia Angélica Amador Castellanos	...	Migrant
Francisco Jhonnathan Toscano Usnaya	...	Migrant
Dolores Micaela Guzmán Méndez	...	Migrant

Storyline

A group of Mexican emigrants attempts to cross the Mexican-US border. 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 the group of unarmed men and women through the treacherous borderland. In the harsh, unforgiving desert terrain, the odds are stacked firmly against them as they discover there's nowhere to hide from the unrelenting, merciless killer.

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Plot Keywords:

hunt | survival | desert | running for your life | vigilante | 

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Taglines:

From the Visionary Filmmakers That Brought You GRAVITY

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Romance | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence and language

Did You Know?

Trivia

Not a single scene has been shot indoors.

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Goofs

The M1 Garand receiver has a cocking handle on the right side only. Scenes show the shooter cocking from the left side.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Adela: [reading from a book] Leaving is a form of dying.

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Connections

Featured in My Second Vote: Me-O-Mentary II (2016)

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Soundtracks

Flare Gun
(uncredited)
Written by Woodkid

User Reviews

What is the directors intention?

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.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official Site

Country:

Mexico France

Language:

Spanish English

Release Date:

13 April 2016 (France)

Also Known As:

Desierto

Filming Locations:

Baja California, Mexico

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$514,282, 16 October 2016

Gross USA:

$2,002,036

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$4,924,990

Company Credits

Production Co:

Esperanto Kino, Itaca Films, CG Cinéma

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1