El cártel (2009)

Director:

Brian J. Bagley

Writer:

Brian J. Bagley (story)

Release Date:

12 May 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

In Mexico, nothing goes as planned.

Plot:

Mexico's most notorious drug lord schools a naïve journalist as to the principles behind The Cartel's success.

Plot Keywords:

Drugs | Mexico | Business | Journalist | Border

Cast

José Luis Franco	...	Angel Santana
Freddy Douglas	...	Jules Land
Mauricio Islas	...	Santos
Tania Arredondo	...	Dolores Santana
Howard Gibson	...	Vern
Miguel Rodarte	...	Pancho
Gustavo Sanchez-Parra	...	Rojas
Gustavo Sánchez Parra	...	Rojas
Rafael Oliveira	...	Ned Constantine
Alejandro de la Madrid	...	Officer Solana
Khotan	...	Caronte
José Sefami	...	Don Amilkar
Hector Kotsifakis	...	Young Angel Santana
Humberto Elizondo	...	Pedro Santana
Tom Martino	...	Tom Donaldson

Also Known As:

El cartel (USA) (alternative spelling)
Want of Opportunity (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

USA:90 min | USA:87 min

Country:

USA | Mexico

Language:

Spanish | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Filming Locations:

Boulder, Colorado, USA

Trivia:

While on location in San Carlos, Mexico, the cast and crew were constantly attacked by bees. Although faced with a constant barrage of painful stings (even while the cameras were rolling), cast and crew alike pushed on, completing the necessary shots on schedule.

Cool Movie, Two Thumbs Up.

EL CARTEL REVIEW by SAMPSON 411 While not perfect, El Cartel makes up for its flaws with ambition and quality. In short, "Cool Movie! Two thumbs up." 8.0/10 stars.

The story follows Jules Land, a mediocre journalist who follows a "once in a lifetime" story into the cartel-infested deserts of Mexico. Once across the border, he meets with Angel Santana, presumably Mexico's most notorious drug lord (and the antithesis of the swaggering, high-rolling, high-profile drug lords the likes of Pablo Escobar) and learns the inner workings of Santana's empire.

The Mexican actors definitely out-shine their gringo counterparts. The Hispanic actors, especially Santana (played by Jose Luis Franco) and Santos (Mauricio Islas), give great performances. The performance from the film's heroes, Jules (Freddy Douglas) and Vern (Howard Gibson), are less than commanding and both seem a bit "outgunned" by their Mexican co-stars. Fortunately, the mismatch in acting lends to the overall arch of the story (that of the bad guys completely being in control as they "school" the gringos about how the cartel does business).

The visual feel of the movie is clear and bright when necessary, but dark and gritty when called for. The locations and scenery are so impressive that, at moments, they seem to be part of the cast. The crew (particularly the location scouts, directors of photography, and lighting) gets accolades for coming through big time with the film's "look." A stellar grade is also awarded to the film's composer for his/her original score. It's not unheard of for a low budget independent to have GOOD original music, but it's rare (hint – please make a soundtrack).

El Cartel has it's own stylistic feel, and does something no other film has done. Each "chapter" of the film has a mini-lesson that is presented to the viewer as being one of Santana's rules of business. These rules are what has led Santana to his success in dominating the Latin American drug trade. The movie is "paced" by a countdown of these 13 business lessons, bringing the film to a head upon its conclusion as the "first" principle is finally understood by our hero, Jules. The idea works and is definitely cool (for example, some of Santana's business rules include, "Follow your passion" or "There's no such thing as a once in a lifetime opportunity").