Cartel Land

2015
7.3| 1h40m| R| en| More Info
Released: 03 July 2015 Released
Producted By: Whitewater Films
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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.

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Cast

Director

Matthew Heineman

Production Companies

Whitewater Films

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Cartel Land Audience Reviews

Fluentiama Perfect cast and a good story
Platicsco Good story, Not enough for a whole film
Billie Morin This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows
Quiet Muffin This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.
invisibleunicornninja If you don't know anything about the Mexican drug cartels and want to, this is a movie to watch. Its well-shot and well put together. As an American, I learned some shocking and horrible things from this movie. Its a decent documentary, though a few scenes look a little staged. Even if they weren't, I was left scratching my head wondering how they got the shots. Its a good movie, and succeeds at what its trying to do. I'd recommend it to someone who wants to learn about this kind of thing, but otherwise probably not.
nlytnd_1 There are many reviews on here that are ridiculous and simply based in idiocrasy! There are actually people docking the documentary because it films a U.S. vigilante/border patrol guy from an observational perspective, who these reviewers disagree with, therefore they dock this documentary for it, whereas otherwise they claim to have enjoyed it. It just so happens that I disagree with the guy as well (or at the very least recognize what the dude is doing accomplishes nothing). This documentary does nothing to persuade the viewer to the vigilante border guy's view, rather it observes the guy telling his story. Then you get to see for yourself what this guy is doing based on his actual actions (no bias propaganda). Actually, every action that we watch the guy carry out is of him stopping some poor scared people trying to get over the border. At no point does it attempt to convince us that these scared people are cartel members or that he should be stopping these people. If anything one is more likely to disagree with the guy after seeing what he is doing for yourself. These people who are disgruntled over the observation of someone they disagree with genuinely have a serious mental disorder. Whether you agree or disagree with the guy, it's interesting to hear what his perspective is and watch exactly what he is doing. Rather than taking his or someone else's word for it. The guy convinces himself that he is doing something against the cartels even though there is nothing we see to support the guys claim... so why can't these nutball reviewers differentiate? It's simple, they have a mental disorder. Anyways, that wasn't the theme of the documentary, it's vigilantism. Two different kinds of vigilantism, but they both correlate in that they are people taking it upon themselves to act in areas where the government refuses too. However the story over the Mexican border is where this documentary excels. You should understand after seeing this, Government/Cartels are in bed together if not one of the same thing. This applies to everywhere in the world. A different word for it is used everywhere, in Mexico they're called cartels. So yes, I think this documentary captured a bunch of amazing stuff and tried to come up with a way to work both stories into the documentary. As a result, should I rate this doc a 6 or a 7 because both stories felt loosely tied to me, even though it captures what was and is going on in Mexico (and everywhere in the world I believe) unlike anything ever has before and both stories are very entertaining. In my opinion, this is the best reference that I have ever seen demonstrated before as to a pattern that continues to go on, over and over and over again throughout history. In Mexico you have the Cartels, In Russia you have the KGB, in the US we've had a bunch of ravenous groups over the years in which the government pretends to be against, but at the end of the day they do absolutely nothing to stop them and come to find out they are in bed together. So, surprise people the government (gov. is just a generic expression, but you could say the state, the CIA or the powers that be which control gov.), are the real manufacturers of these drugs (there are several instances over the years where this has been declassified information (particularly the CIA). Even though we see in this documentary, the newly united government are the ones out making the drugs (so whether the state/gov are the actual manufacturers, they are always at the very least the ghost manufacturers and get paid/kickbacks the same either way) and these horrendous gangs/cartels are the ones selling their product. This documentary demonstrates the Mexican government/military does nothing to stop the cartels and in fact come to the cartels aid. Then they show what happens to the liberation groups that wake up and fight back, they eventually get infiltrated/ convinced/paid off by the government to step aside and/or join forces and then you're right back to square one. Like that Papa Smurf clown. I'm curious if the guy was an infiltrator from the start or if he was bought off. One thing for certain is; he allowed some audience members running some cointelpro tactics to overpower him in a speech. In that instance, I believe they essentially had a handful or more of rehearsed and planned criticisms to bounces off one another in tandem, which can easily and effectively bring an entire audience who would otherwise be in support of the speakers cause, against the speaker and the cause. This stuff is taught in CIA/FBI training and I'm sure in many other gov organizations around the world. Another way is just through media control and what not, they convince the people through propaganda or whatever the "horrible" things that the people/liberation group are doing. In this instance, I feel certain that the crowd criticism was a planned cointelpro tactic 100% without any shadow of a doubt. Anyways, this information has been known by some people for years, but this is probably the first time that I've ever seen someone in the thick of it actually capturing it on film as it was happening… they actually captured the entire process from start to finish… It's amazing! This documentary (the Mexico part) is an essential demonstration of something that people really need to be aware of.
m-oosterheerd Editors note: Almost always people comment on films on this website in quite a good way. So I never felt the urge to write/contribute something....The film:First of all I never wrote a review on this website before. And to be honest i don't think this will count as a review. Actually it was never my intention to write a review but more so to ask a critical question... Is this still a documentary? The quality of the images, the story and of the film in general are mind blowing! It gets you thinking and shows you the good, the bad and the ugly (pun intended).The story itself and the people involved are real, but in my opinion this is a reenactment! Staged, beautifully done but staged... The subject and the way they showed it is compelling, brutal at times, and it will get you thinking but I can't lose the feeling i watched a movie/film and not a documentary... Which is either brilliant or bad... Help me out, your thoughts pls.
bison_burger This is a well-done documentary on both the Mexican drug cartels and our porous border to the south. The Autodefensas, led by a Clint Eastwood-esque commanding figure who is a Mexican surgeon and passionate about protecting the lives of his fellow countrymen from the savages who control Mexico's cartels, move from town to town disarming and eradicating the local drug lords who rule through intimidation, taxation, kidnapping, and murder. Although the intentions of the Autodefensas are good, they ultimately fall prey to their own peasant culture; once established in a town, the members revert to "flirting" with the local girls and start engaging in their own forms of corruption. The locals complain in open public forums that the Autodefensas are no better than the corrupt Mexican government. When Dr. Mireles, who was portrayed as a good family man early in the movie, eventually is overtaken by his newfound power and cultural machismo, it is clear that there is no guaranteed mode of rescue available to the Mexican people, at least none from within Mexico. This is the peasant culture that America is fighting to keep out, a culture that is so wildly different than ours, a culture which continually fails to embrace a state of descent, moral behavior, and erodes every aspect of their lives from within. It becomes clear, again, that an impermeable wall will stop the flow of drugs and corruption into America - if they can't sell it, the cartels will no longer exist. Kudos to the paramilitaries on the Arizona side who have dedicated their lives to protecting our border, language, and culture.