Interesteg What makes it different from others?

Matcollis This Movie Can Only Be Described With One Word.

AniInterview Sorry, this movie sucks

Whitech It is not only a funny movie, but it allows a great amount of joy for anyone who watches it.

eddie_baggins If anyone was ever under any doubt that the country of Mexico is one seriously messed up place then showing them Cartel Land would be a good way to prove a point as Matthew Heineman's unflinching documentary looking at the land bordering the United States is a telling piece of documentary filmmaking that offers us a glimpse of life in the war torn streets of the drug fuelled land.Nominated at this year's Oscar ceremony in the best documentary feature film category and co-produced by Oscar nominated filmmaker Kathryn Bigalow, Cartel Land offers a ride ranging look the world of cartels and corruption that runs rife through Mexico by giving us access to the cartels themselves, those trying to defend their country in the form of the well intentioned Autodefensa and also American citizens who patrol their towns borders as vigilantes trying their best to discourage the drug and people smuggling cartels from using their land as an easy access point to the land of freedom.Juggling all these different components is no easy task and director Heineman does struggle at time for fluidity in his tale that can at times jar the viewer's interest. Cartel Land also finds difficulties in giving us a centralized figure to be our lead through this violent, chaotic and confusing landscape even though Mexican local and the vigilante leader of the Autodefensa José Manuel 'El Doctor' Mireles is an intriguing and multilayered persona.Cartel Land is at its most powerful when it brings the audience into the thick of the action and chaos that inhabits the daily lives of many Mexicans caught up in the illegal activity that runs rampant around them and whether its horrific stories of cartel atrocities (the film is not for the faint of heart), real life shootouts or Breaking Bad like meth cook ups, Cartel Land isn't afraid to show it how it is and paints a horrific picture of everyday life in a country that has lost its sense of purpose.With its roots planted in the midst of terrifying situations, Cartel Land is often powerful viewing that is hampered by a clouded sense of direction. For a no holds barred look at life on the front of line of drug cartel fuelled life however, Cartel Land will make for shocking and eye opening viewing for many who would rather forget that the land so close to America is well and truly a day to day warzone.3 Papa Smurf's out of 5

westsideschl Documentary filmed on location on the US side of the border with Mexico showing the actions/views of self policing locals guarding against traffic across the border and in a separate filming the actions/views of citizens in the Mexican state of Michoacán self policing (calling themselves the Autodefensas) against cartels (mostly Templar Cartel). Very graphic depicting of violence. Also, clear presentation of the corruption/collusion within/between the government, police, Cartels and locals who benefit from all the illegal activity. The physician who organized the citizen action against the abuses of the cartels/police/government was jailed as a threat to their businesses. The cartel-government connection in Mexico parallels that of corporate-government cooperation in the US with gunmen as their emissaries and lobbyists as ours. Ironically both parallel institutions use cheap comfort/convenience opiates to keep their populations sedated/submissive/powerless.

evanston_dad A documentary about drug trafficking set on both sides of the U.S./Mexico border.In Mexico, a group of citizens unite to form a militia in order to combat the murderous drug cartels that terrorize their towns. In America, a group of "patriots" organize a vigilante platoon to patrol the desert and turn any illegal immigrants over to the proper authorities. In both cases, the motivation is the same: each group feels that it must take matters into its own hands since they can't rely on any system of organized legal procedures to do it for them. In Mexico, the law enforcement is corrupt and frequently working with the cartels; in the American wilderness, it's non-existent."Cartel Land" suffers from this split perspective after a while. It's as if the filmmakers didn't get enough footage of the American vigilante group but couldn't bring themselves to excise it altogether. As a result, it feels underdeveloped and takes away attention from what's going on in Mexico, which is gripping enough without having to share screen time. One thing the Mexican situation makes clear is that civilian militias don't work; they do for a time while everyone's intentions are noble, but sooner or later they fall prey to opportunists, in-fighting, and violence. The townspeople support the militia for a time, until the militiamen start randomly invading houses and beating up people they even slightly suspect may be involved in drug activity. This may be intended as a warning to the Americans in this film and others like them that taking the law into your own hands is the stuff of action movies, not real life. Perhaps that's why the American-set part of the film was left in even when it doesn't completely gel with the rest of the movie.Parts of this film are fascinating if depressing, but overall the effect of the film is blunted by this lack of focus on the part of the filmmakers.Grade: B

DogFilmCritic I like a good documentary specially if it has more than one points of view in the same argument. You see the U.S. civilian border patrol and the Mexicans self defense unit against a common enemy, and how both even if there non related in anyway see eye to eye in that situation. The civilian border patrol in Arizona stopping drug and human trafficking, as both these affect there situation back home. Im not particularly fond of the idea these people have on illegal Mexicans as they look at them as scum, but one has to understand the why and they are trying to change the situation for there family's. The Selfdefence unit created by civilians in Mexico out of necessity to protect themselves from the cartels because the police and the military don't help much and more than half are corrupted, leaving them no other choice. Again i do not agree with this method but when your government gives you their back a few choices are left. In the end personally i have to agree and disagree with what i think is right and to understand the people that are involved and their determination to help their own, i recommend this but have an open mind and try to place yourself in that situation.