I do not have much to say in regards to Cartel Land; one of the documentaries nominated for the 2016 Academy Awards. It was released a few months ago so I am a bit late to the party. It is also a hard piece to talk about because it is a direct representation of real events and footage. What I can critique is how the film is put together and how coherent its thesis is. Keep in mind that my documentary criticism experience is rather low as I do not watch as many documentaries as I do other films, but I will do my best to tell you my quick impressions of the film.
Cartel Land explores conflicts on both sides of the United States/Mexico border involving vigilante justice against the cartels controlling the regions through intimidation, drugs, and horrific violence against innocents. This documentary presents its subjects in a very cinematic fashion that is quite effecting, especially when violence and brutality are shown. There are moments in Cartel Land that are devastating to witness, notably the sequence toward the beginning of the film where a woman's narrative about cartel violence is juxtaposed over footage of the funeral of her loved ones. These graves belong to men, women, children, and babies. It is a horribly tragic thing to see, but portrayed through some truly powerful film-making. It is a showstopping sequence and one of the most powerful examples of the power of the documentary genre that you can find.
The film explored two different vigilante groups, but I feel that not enough attention is given to the group on the American side of the border. The warfare in Mexico is definitely the most hard hitting and electrifying story to tell, but it often makes the cuts back to America feel like diversions to the more interesting footage. This is also a double edged critique because a documentary can only do so much with real events to make them interesting. While there are definitely some interesting moments with the Americans, it is not nearly as captivating as the revolution in Mexico.
The film has an incredible and thrilling pace in its first half, but the second half begins to lose steam. I did not feel as if I was gaining as much insight as I was getting in the first half and it slowed down significantly, but as I said in the last paragraph that is to be expected with a true story. The filmmakers did the best with what they had and it still adds up to be a very riveting whole.
This is definitely not an easy watch, but it is an essential documentary, especially for our somewhat self absorbed society that often have no ideas of the real world horrors that are going on outside our own personal bubbles. We often forget the luxuries that most have us have. If you are able to read this blog post, you are most likely in a somewhat decent sate of health and safety. This film depicts a real war going on today and puts the viewer down on the ground with those trying to fight to win back their health and safety. There is some amazing footage and some very daring technical work here and it deserves your attention. Just be prepared for some rather shocking imagery and dialogue that will stick with you for a long while.
Grade: B+.
Cartel Land is now playing in select theaters and streaming on many content providers, including Netflix.
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