Cartel Land (2015)

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General		Extras
Category	Documentary	Theatrical Trailer Trailer-Madman Propaganda x 4
Rating
Year Of Production	2015
Running Time	96:09
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Matthew Heineman
Studio Distributor	Madman Entertainment	Starring	Tim “Nailer” Foley Dr Jose Manuel Mireles Estanislao Beltran “Papa Smurf” Torres
Case	Amaray-Transparent
RPI	?	Music	H. Scott Salinas Jackson Greenberg

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) English Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	2.35:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	2.35:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	None	Smoking	Yes
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

     Cartel Land, by director / cinematographer / editor Matthew Heineman, has been nominated for a Best Documentary Oscar this year, a nomination which is totally justified. For Cartel Land is a compelling, unflinching and very disturbing examination of two civilian para-military vigilante groups, one in Arizona, one in Mexico, warring against the Mexican drug cartels.

     In the Altar Valley, Arizona Tim “Nailer” Foley is in charge of a group called the Arizona Border Recon. Foley was abused as a child by his father and was an alcohol and drug addict; now clean, his goal is to stop the Mexican drug wars from spilling onto US soil although the focus of the group is more on stopping illegals crossing the border. His group does have its share of racists, and in a telling interview Foley reveals that he lost his job to illegals in the recession and is distressed that they pay no taxes. The Arizona Border Recon are generally disowned by the authorities, and have been branded in some quarters as a terrorist organisation although Foley maintains that he is on the side of good and if he didn’t do what he does, no-one would.

     The situation in Arizona may be complex, but it is simple compared to that in Michoacán, Mexico. There the Knights Templar drug cartel had taken over whole cities, killing, maiming and raping entire families as a way of enforcing their authority, the corrupt Police, Army and Government unable, or unwilling, to stop them. Dr Jose Manuel Mireles saw his neighbours murdered and decided to do something about it, forming the Autodefensas, a local armed group, to fight the cartel. Initially the group received popular support; in one impressive scene when the army try to disarm them (but not the cartel) the people came out in droves to surround the army and forced them to return the Autodefensas’ weapons. As the Autodefensas attacked the cartel, taking back whole sections of the state, Mireles became a celebrity, his face in the magazines and TV. But the very success of the group made it unwieldy; it fragmented, with some sections becoming just as brutal and indiscriminate as the cartel they were fighting and Mireles was undermined, and brushed aside by other commanders such as Estanislao Beltran “Papa Smurf” Torres.

     In Cartel Land Matthew Heineman got amazing access to both vigilante groups. His camera went on patrol with the Arizona Border Recon as they stalk and catch illegals but this is minor compared to being right in the middle of the gun battles when the Autodefensas and storm cartel premises. The camera remains on to see the treatment meted out to alleged cartel members before turning away from the worst violence. There is other confronting footage too as is the victims of the cartel describe what happened to them and their families. The other side is not ignored and Matthew Heineman includes some compelling footage of men cooking methamphetamines at night in the desert and explaining themselves. They say they know what they do is wrong but maintain that their poverty gives them no choice. There are also full and frank interviews with Foley and Mireles about their intentions, aspirations and fears, revealing complex personalities and motives.

     Cartel Land gives a fascinating insight into the “war on drugs”. It does not take moral positions or preach, allowing the spectacular footage and the candid interviewees to speak for themselves. All parties believe that they are justified in what they are doing but no-one is perfect and no-one is blameless. In the end the documentary comes full circle: the remnants of the Autodefensas joined the government as the Rural Defence Forces, and Mireles was gaoled, but as the telling last sequence of Cartel Land so brilliantly shows, the line between the Rural Defence Forces and the cartel had become very blurred indeed. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Video

     Cartel Land is presented in the original aspect ratio of 2.35:1 and is 16x9 enhanced.

     For a documentary shot on the run with Canon digital cameras, Cartel Land looks wonderful. There are contrast and brightness changes, especially as the camera dives for cover during a gun battle, but most of the footage is of excellent quality. The sequence involving the meth cooks at night, with the steam rising from the tubs into the black night, or the scene showing gunmen silhouetted against a red sunset, are worthy of a feature film while the desert landscapes, the border fence and the actions in towns are nicely detailed. Interview footage is sharp and clear. Blacks and shadow detail are very good, colours throughout are natural and glossy with only a slight digital tinge of yellow under lights effecting some skin tones.

     There are no subtitles that can be selected; burnt in white English subtitles automatically translate the substantial sections of Spanish. They were error free.

    The layer change at 55:44 resulted in a slight pause during a scene change.

Video Ratings Summary

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Audio

     The audio nominally is a choice between English Dolby Digital 5.1 at 448 Kbps or English Dolby Digital 2.0 at 224 Kbps, although there are substantive sections of Spanish.

     The interviews and dialogue were clear and easy to hear. The gunshots had a nice depth and the rears and surrounds were effective adding music, engines and ambient and crowd sounds. The sub-woofer added bass to the thunder and the music.

     The score by H. Scott Salinas and Jackson Greenberg was effective, aiding the tone of the film.

     Lip synchronisation was fine.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
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Surround Channel Use
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Overall

Theatrical Trailer (1:56)

Madman Propaganda

     Trailers for Citizenfour (1:27), Korengal (1:38), Dirty Wars (2:22) and The House I Live In (2:22).

     I can find no reviews of the Region 1 US version of Cartel Land but I suspect it would be similar to the Region 2 UK DVD which includes as extras

• Cartel Land: Coming Full Circle
• Director’s commentary
• Deleted and Extended scenes
• Trailer
• VICE Talk Film: Kathryn Bigelow and Matthew Heineman on Cartel Land

     A clear win to other regions.

     I recently reviewed Sicario on this site and commented that it was an intense, sometimes brutal, always complex character driven thriller about the drug wars on the US / Mexico border that could have been lifted directly from the media headlines. Cartel Land covers some of the same territory from a somewhat different angle but the footage is even more harrowing and compelling for being real. In a way Cartel Land also shows that the motivations of people involved in the conflict are even more complex than those show in fiction, and asks questions about those who take the law into their own hands. This is a well-made, balanced and fascinating documentary that deserves to be seen.

     The DVD has very good video and audio but we miss out on the extras available elsewhere.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall