Delayed Reaction: Cartel Land

The Pitch: Who fights the cartels when the government won't?

If it isn't clear by now that I've gone a little documentary crazy lately, I don't know what it will take. I blame stumbling onto some Ken Burns documentaries on Netflix a few months ago. Regardless, I decided to give this one a try because it was easily available and was nominated for an Oscar. As much as I disagree with Oscar selections, it's still a useful shorthand. I like the idea behind the film: a look on both sides of the fence to see how vigilantes are fighting back against the cartels in Mexico and the US. There's a massive imbalance in how interesting the material is though. The story of Jose Mireles and the Autodefensas dominates the movie. There's some nice touches with the Arizona Border Recon stuff, but not enough to justify this documentary not being entirely about the Autodefenses. The filmmakers get incredible access. That alone makes this doc engaging to watch. The smear job at the end was a little strange. They almost go overboard in showing the fall of the Autodefenses, namely Jose Mireles. The stuff about him being a womanizer, I don't see what that has to do with anything, unless the filmmakers were worried he was looking too heroic. It did help me feel less sympathy for him when it ends with him in jail. It just felt like a bit much.

Verdict (?): Weakly Recommend