Illegal immigrants crossing into
America get more than they bargained for in first-time director Jonás Cuarón’s
low-budget exploitation thriller ‘Desierto.’
Co-produced by his famous director father Alfonso (‘Y Tu Mama Tambien,’ ‘Children
of Men,’ ‘Gravity’), its hot-button topic of Mexicans pouring across our
borders is not only timely and relevant but will undoubtedly provoke debate as
we approach the end of another election year.
Trump may already have lost, but at least his supporters can indulge a
bit in this cinematic fantasy in pure homicidal excess. Note: I'm not one of them.
When a group of migrant workers
seeking to realize the "American Dream" of making a living outside of Home Depots in Los Estados Unidos
becomes stranded after their truck broke down in the middle of the Arizona
badlands, they find themselves terrorized and hunted by a text-book card-carrying,
rifle-toting NRA redneck named (Uncle?) Sam (played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and his ferocious hunting dog. As they are systematically picked off one by
one, auto mechanic Moises (Gael Garcia Bernal) must draw upon every ounce of his
reserves to survive and reunite with his familia. Can he do it, or will he become the latest
victim of El Gringo?
Lean, primal and visceral,
‘Desierto’ is gripping in its tension and tightly wound suspense even if its
plot is simplistic and its characterizations are thin. Morgan and Bernal are both believable in
their roles as the hunter and the hunted, and the film managed to keep us on
edge throughout its 90-minute or so running time. Make no mistake, ‘Desierto’ is a shameless
and exploitative B-movie taking advantage of a divisive political issue, but it
certainly isn’t alone in that regard.
Grade: B+
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