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Cartel Land

Cartel Land

2015
Documentary
1h 40m
Cartel Land is a 2015 documentary film about vigilante groups fighting Mexican drug cartels directed by Matthew Heineman. The film focuses on Tim "Nailer" Foley, the leader of Arizona Border Recon, and Dr. José Mireles, a Michoacán-based physician who leads the Autodefensas. (en.wikipedia.org)
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Cartel Land

2015
Documentary
1h 40m
Your probable score
Avg Percentile 61.7% from 320 total ratings

Ratings & Reviews

(320)
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Rated 20 Jul 2015
78
75th
The parallel between U.S. border vigilantes and the Autodefensas in Michoacan may seem appropriate on paper, but footage shows us that the struggles of the ABR far eclipse anything occurring on the border.
Rated 07 May 2016
69
58th
Really, really great access. The Arizona leader was a really interesting guy, but there wasn't too much to the "story" on that side and it seemed like a waste to spend so much time there simply in the interest of balancing the two stories. On the Mexican side, the story was interesting, but too disjointed. Its ultimate strength was that it left me very intrigued with the Autodefensas, a group I'd never heard about before.
Rated 07 Oct 2015
64
36th
Not really sure why the folks on the American side of the border are even in this. Aside from the vigilante nature of the groups, there's not much comparison between them. The Autodefensas have a charismatic surgeon turned leader, who rose up against the local cartel in a romantic crusade, while the Americans are a group of estranged survivalists, white nationalists & future Trump voters. I thought near the end the stories may converge in a genius stroke, but that was not to be. Truly pointless.
Rated 02 Feb 2016
85
82nd
How the filmmakers managed to obtain 90% of this footage is incredible in it's own right. I'm a massively intrigued by the cartels, their activities, how they operate, and how Mexico allows them to continue to exist, so this was an easy watch for me (although not EASY, because there are some heavy, heavy stories in here). Fantastically documented, well shot, my only complaint is that I would have liked to focus more on the US vigilantes than the occasional checking-in every 20 minutes we got.
Rated 07 Nov 2015
60
40th
Even though it's well made, it tries to play with the emotions of the viewer which I do not like that much in documentaries. It has strange and interesting things happening and really good editing but why are the Americans in this, I have no idea..
Rated 25 Nov 2017
76
70th
Focusing on the lives of the people affected by the Cartels and who are trying to take a stand is an interesting choice that leads to some gripping and painful moments. Fantastic insider footage that highlights the impossibility of dealing with the cartel/drug problem when it's entrenched in a corrupt system that has many ways of dealing with opposition. Goes well with the doc Narco Cultura, adding an even more nihilistic angle.
Rated 01 Sep 2016
90
77th
One of those movies where you probably won't feel very good after watching. Does a good job of making you side with some people before slowly revealing that they're pretty terrible.
Rated 26 Feb 2016
71
53rd
The story in Mexico is absolutely riveting (and horrific) but the American side is documented with such different (more simplistic) parameters that it's all a bit baffling to my young Finnish mind. Especially since the structure of the film invites you to draw unclear parallels between the two locations. The whole issue is therefore presented in weird light. Harsh complexities of the drug problem are framed exclusively to the Mexican side. Maybe it makes more sense as an American narrative.
Rated 11 Oct 2015
65
83rd
A documentary with a Shyamalan style twist ending. It's strange when you hear the graphic details about people who smash babies against rocks and behead entire villages, then when they catch the guy, he looks like a total dweeb...not a vicious serial killer.
Rated 25 Jan 2016
78
66th
One half of this story is thoroughly engrossing and almost plays out like a modern western. A good one at that. The other half, is a bunch of redneck-wannabe-John Rambos who spout non-sense. This opinion isn't based on politics, but solely on the bland U.S. aspect of the film. Still, the former, along with some spectacular editing, is good enough to make for one of the year's best documentaries.
Rated 10 Dec 2015
80
77th
Raw, surprising, versatile. Thrilling.
Rated 25 Jan 2016
7
67th
Above all, CARTEL LAND documents the frustrations shared between two wildly different organizations that, in a very roundabout way, are inextricably tied to one another. There's an obvious sense in which one struggle is more sympathetic than the other, but no matter how valid or invalid their frustrations may be, the existence of these vigilante groups is more or less a result of a shared problem. And that's something both the Mexican and US govt. have failed to recognize.
Rated 19 Dec 2015
84
92nd
High TRAFFIC.
Rated 05 Sep 2017
43
41st
very cinematic doco, shows a lot of grit (starting with the closeups of the 2 protagonists) but the true darkness remains just off-screen.
Rated 30 Oct 2015
50
77th
Could this documentary qualify as a western? Because it's scary to see that all the western clichés are still alive today.... in real life. The wild west is just a lawless as it was 150 years ago as you can see from this personal look at the hard life at the Mexican boarder where the smugglers are still making life miserably for the local folks.
Rated 25 Nov 2015
64
80th
A fascinating,fantastically made documentary.Youre left depressed at the,inevitable I suppose,deterioration of those acting as white knights so that by the end the lines are so blurred it's no longer clear who the good guys are.The Arizona parts of the film feel like an unecessary bolt on,it's essentially a different story altogether
Rated 28 Jan 2016
74
50th
Little bit of a mess structure wise.
Rated 08 Apr 2016
71
61st
Despite an amazing amount of access to the Autodefensas in Mexico, the movie also spends a lot of time on vigilantes in the U.S., though they clearly have less to offer in terms of stakes and stuggle than their Mexican counterparts.
Rated 17 Feb 2016
67
43rd
Heineman had quite amazing access to the middle of the events but the movie is shoddily constructed into a disjointed whole. Also the US redneck side of it seems a bit unnecessary as everyone but the leader seem like racist rednecks.
Rated 25 Sep 2016
80
78th
Heartbreaking.
Rated 27 Mar 2017
7
79th
Would have been a much stronger feature without the Arizona Trump patrol segments.
Rated 25 Nov 2015
68
83rd
Visceral
Rated 11 Mar 2018
80
69th
The segments about the American vigilantes seemed kind of tacked on and the movie suffered for it. The rest of the documentary was well told, had a charismatic protagonist and was incredibly well shot. Sometimes you wonder if it's even a documentary and not a feature film. The stakes are high and make for incredibly tense scenes.
Rated 24 Apr 2020
77
56th
Two problems. First: The portrayal of the US-Americans is shortsighted. Foley seems to be an interesting guy, but all we get to see is him running around in the desert. What does his life look like apart from this? I guess it all would have contributed to the bigger picture. Second: The movie runs after the events that it depicts and even though these events are interesting and shocking, it always feels like it's missing a bit. Still a good documentary though but now I'm out of characters.

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