Cartel Land

2015 1h 41m EN

👍

7.2

SOLID

★7.2TMDB · 380

DramaDocumentary

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

In the Mexican state of Michoacán, Dr. Jose Mireles, a small-town physician known as "El Doctor," shepherds a citizen uprising against the Knights Templar, the violent drug cartel that has wreaked havoc on the region for years. Meanwhile, in Arizona's Altar Valley—a narrow, 52-mile-long desert corridor known as Cocaine Alley—Tim "Nailer" Foley, an American veteran, heads a small paramilitary group called Arizona Border Recon, whose goal is to halt Mexico’s drug wars from seeping across our border.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Robert Hetrick
Himself
José Manuel Mireles Valverde
Himself
Tim Nailer Foley
Self (as Tim 'Nailer' Foley)
Paco Valenciano
Self - Autodefensas Comandante
Chaneque
Self - drug cartel thug
Caballo
Self - drug cartel thug
Enrique Peña Nieto
Self
Ana Valencia
Self - Manuel Mireles' wife

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Matthew Heineman
Languages: English, Spanish
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

Released 11 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Spanish.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Matthew Heineman, shot by Matthew Heineman. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by H. Scott Salinas. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Matthew Hamachek shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Robert Hetrick and José Manuel Mireles Valverde and Tim Nailer Foley carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt4126304 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Matthew Heineman directs. Matthew Heineman behind the camera. H. Scott Salinas scores. Matthew Hamachek cuts. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, Spanish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 11 years ago.
2Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Spanish.
3Directed by Matthew Heineman, shot by Matthew Heineman. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by H. Scott Salinas. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Matthew Hamachek shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Robert Hetrick and José Manuel Mireles Valverde and Tim Nailer Foley carry the top of the cast.
7IMDB entry: tt4126304 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Classified under 9 themes, including "mexico", "arizona", "cocaine", "crack".
9Released under 19 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Matthew Heineman
Original score: H. Scott Salinas
Editing: Matthew Hamachek
Runtime: 101 min · 1h 41m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Box office: $1,145,923
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Cartel Land (2015)

Awards

Sundance Special Jury Prize Documentary
Sundance U.S. Directing Award: Documentary

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Matthew Heineman

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Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

Reno2016-01-24
★ 8/10
Two men stood against on the different side of the border for the same cause. I was not sure what to expect from this film. By seeing its poster, my mind was very clear that it definitely some serious subject. I'm kind of a person who's not okay with the lions killing a zebra on the animal planet, so I was worried about the clips they might show would be too violence. You know, in the movies everything's fake, and this isn't a movie, but a documentary. That's why I simply disliked 'The Act of Killing'. The opening scene was something like 'Breaking Bad', so I thought it might told from the bad guy's perspective about how their network and business would work. But everything drastically changed after the 5-10 minutes of the film. It's where the original story commence. The two main characters were introduced who are fighting for a same cause, but separated by the international line. Across the border, under the different society and government, how these two sacrifice their lives in battle against the dangerous networks that threatens the peace is the story. In a small town on the southern border of the US, a small paramilitary team headed by Tim has taken such a measure to prevent the all kinds of trafficking. In the same line, Dr. Mireles from the Michoacan, Mexico, goes a bit bigger and stronger by forming a force with the volunteered people with arms to fight for the same mission. The film had many the phases, not like the chapters or the episodes, but like a split in the narration to cover the other side of the story. The stories of two men and their undertaking was the prime focus. That's what I thought, you know I felt it was a modern day 'The Magnificent Seven', but in the larger scale of everything. Only until a twist that surprised me, because I was not thought a tale would turn like this. "I believe what I'm doing is good. And I believe what I'm standing up against is evil." So what's the twist? I tell you, you know, one man was doing his task all by himself with the help of a few other buddies. On the other side, the man's contribution becomes the nation and international news and publicity. In such circumstance, a fame can turn the destiny of a man on whatever side. It's not like why he did what he had done, but a default human nature. I thought 'Heli' was a fictional work. After seeing this documentary I'm not sure how to judge any country by what they depict in their films. Every nation has its flaws, but I wondered why Mexican government was so blind over drug trafficking as shown in this film, if the information was correct. The absence of the federal law enforcement agencies on those disputed places is really a humiliation for the government after this film officially entered the Oscars race. I don't think taking action again them won't collapse the nation or the economy. And again, I'm not the right person here to analyse and predict the nation's fate. I've never been to Mexico and I know little about Mexico, but all this only because of the curious to know the truth, that's all. When it comes to the filmmaking, I don't know how it was made. Documentaries usually follows with the series of interviews and the recorded clips, in this it was a live shot like any entertainment film. Maybe I must look for director's Q&A for the answers. But something was sure, that production happened at the right place at the right time. This a very good documentary film, very gripping and interesting storyline with the characters. I don't watch documentaries on the regular basis and to be honest, I saw it for the Oscars nod, to know what its special. I don't think it is going to win, certainly I can't either rule out the chances as it made this far. Anything might happen, so wait and see. It had a few dull moments, lot like a pause in the narration or took a wrong diversion after the first half. But during the conclusion, brought back to the track and clarified many doubts, yet leave a few unanswered. Not for the sake of the Academy Awards nominee, you can give it a try if you feel you're interested to know why the people are taking arms in their hands to fight the evil force that corrupting our society. 8/10

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