Reviews & Ratings for
Desierto More at IMDbPro »

Under rated

Author: monindy from Toronto
14 March 2016

Saw this film at the Toronto Film Festival. Surprised at the average ratings this film has received. An edge of the seat film, that tackles illegal immigration across the U.S Mexican border.

A simple, yet powerful story that made me re think illegal immigration, long after I had finished watching the movie.

The actors and dogs did a great job playing their part and the setting of the movie was ideal. Watching this movie in surround sound, made the suspense more intense. This movie could not have been released at a better time, due to its subtle message on illegal Mexican immigration. I would thoroughly recommend watching this movie and look forward to its release on DVD.

10 out of 20 people found the following review useful:

TIFF 2015 -- Desierto: Running in the desert while being chased by a racist with a sniper

Author: Brap-2 from Toronto, Canada
20 September 2015

Gael García Bernal is one of many migrants who tries to cross into the United States in 'Desierto'. While he and many other migrants attempt to enter the United States via badlands and flat desert, the majority of them are picked off by a crazy, racist sniper. Bernal and a few others attempt to flee the crazy racist before they're left to rot in the desert.

This film pretty much had no script. What ever little dialogue it had wasn't terribly important, and the villain of the piece talked either to himself or his dog about getting out of the Hell that he lived in while near the border. This was confusing, considering how much he was defending his land from migrants, yet he wanted to leave the Hell that he was living in.

Also, when one watches a film in a packed theatre and people are laughing at important scenes, then either something was lost in translation, or the movie is a farce, and this movie wasn't lost in translation by any means. The villain was plain terrible.

At the Toronto International Film Festival, it won the the FIPRESCI Prize for Special Presentations. Feel like I need an explanation about this.

While it was shot in a decent way, one hopes that Jonás Cuarón pieces together a better script in the future.

8 out of 34 people found the following review useful:

Gritty, on the edge

Author: lopamudrax
13 December 2015

Desierto Griity, at the edge. human and inhumane nature of the species called homo sapiens. Given the refugee scenario all across the world this movie has a lot of significance.

Instead of a maniac killing the illegal immigrants creeping across the border its the political and government that's murdering the journey of the refugees.

The environment is harsh and yes they are ironically called the bad lands. True that but humanity is not bad right? We are not born with prejudice. That is instilled in us with our surroundings.

Can we not as a race merge the borders and stop the racism, sexism and all other isms and just enjoy how the earth meant us to?

On the movie, the acting and the bare knuckle direction gripped till the end. It rattled just like the snakes and made sure we were alert at all steps.

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