Sicario - The Dehumanization of War
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 4 มี.ค. 2016
- My Dissection of the 2015 film Sicario puts an emphasis on the dehumanizing effects of war. I explore this theme through looking at three characters, Kate, Alejandro, and Silvio. In addition I look at the consequences of war, and what bad things characters have to do in order to achieve a greater good.
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Sicario. Villeneuve. Lionsgate, 2015. - ภาพยนตร์และแอนิเมชัน
“You will not survive here , this is the land of the wolves and you are not a wolf”..... this line defined the movie .
Emily Blunt and Benicio Del Toro both appeared in The Wolfman (2010). At the end of this film, he tells her to move to a new town because this is now "a land of wolves" and she would not survive there.
@@pipspiperbruh. That is a solid theory. 👏. wow. And it makes sense too
The irony in Alejandros character is that the cartels killed his family in an effort to silence him. Instead, they themselves created a man that they now fear the most. He has no rules, no remorse, no laws to stop him from getting his revenge. He is the embodiment of all the anger and rage that is felt by the innocent people that have suffered because of the cartels. His character doesn't change because it was never really about his family. He won't stop until he's dead or until all the cartels are destroyed. I also think this movie does a pretty good job on explaining what the war on drugs really is. It's not about stopping the production and distribution, it's about being able to control who's in power so there's less chaos.
Until the consumers stop consuming, drugs will find a way to the consumers. So your best hope is to "manage" the situation: 1)ok to sell not ok to kill or kidnap, 2)a percentage of your business will be seized as an offer to the gods (voters in a democracy), 3)violence inside the US is a no no, outside is fine
“If you can’t stop the game, master it”
Good analysis, but it was about his family, his loss is what turned a state prosecutor into a hit man for the CIA. Have all that matters to you stripped away with a few rounds popped and you might become a monster too.
I agree with you in that it's about being able to control who's in power because we will never get rid of drugs. Humans have always consumed substances to alter their minds, and they will continue to do so.
@@krish3101 the final scene was so satisfying
The bodies found in the walls during the raid at the beginning of the film were not the ones they were looking for. Immediately after finding the bodies, Kate and Reggie are outside getting some fresh air. Reggie says, "those weren't our hostages" and Kate says, "no, that was something else"
david03w I really didn't understand that beginning part of the movie. Why would they possibly board up that many bodies in a house like that, in the desert no less! It wouldn't be a week before the bottoms of the drywall would be soaked through from body fluids and as Dennis in "It's Always Sunny" said "What about the smell?"
Because that's where they were ordered to stash those bodies. They'd been wrapped in plastic too (likely even vacuum sealed), to taper off the smell and etc. It's commonly done in stash houses and done to not arouse suspicion of authorities. Happens all the time in areas of Mexico where these groups operate.
I think it's just for visual representation, considering the most common way cartels dispose the bodies is dissolving them on gasoline, that's boring and not visually shocking.
Don't they use sodium hydroxide? How would gasoline dissolve a corpse? I've been thinking about it, and I think that maybe the whole thing was a setup to kill the FBI agents and cops with the bomb in the shed.
At the beginning the chief says two names "That's (name) and (name)" and the other agent nods...or something to that effect. I think that implied that there were two agents that had disappeared. In a way that kicks off why the task force is formed. It's one thing to kill mules and low level dealers and enemies of the cartel, it's another thing to kidnap and murder FBI agents. This plays into Matt's later comment about disproportional response after the meeting in the glass meeting room.
Having served in Iraq as a military contractor for 3 years, after working as a private security and military consultant for many years before in places such as Israel, and Bosnia, I can vouch that war dehumanizes to such a degree that you can never truly fit back into society.
which poses the question: when they leave those areas and experiences, they bring with them their wars. I was at the Seattle immigration court in 1997 as Slavs from what are now three/four separate countries were streaming into the USA. Which one was the heroin dealer? Grandmother? Which one killed? Which one had a false identity? ALL were welcomed in without much in the way of questions.
the end scene was most powerful for me , how they just accept the violence as normal
@@hoze1235 They have to. My father-in-law fought in three wars: WWII, Korean War, and did two 13-month tours in Viet Nam. He was a Master Guns' Master Guns. Yet when he came home to his family, he took off his uniform, sat down on the floor - his arms around his kids while they watched 'Bonanza', and was "Daddy". He was incredible. We knew he saw stuff he would never ever talk about. It takes a very special person to be able to do this. More medals than you could shake a stick at. Shame he died in '91 from exposure to Agent Orange.
@@jherritagebrown their bravery is mis -used by politicians for their own gain
Not to mention how little work they do to prepare you for civilian life.
If you gaze into the abyss, the abyss will also gaze back into you. And when fighting monsters, beware that you do not turn into one yourself. Alejandro gazed into the abyss for too long and became the evil he fights, but as Rust Cohle said, we need bad men, because they keep the other bad men at the door. Powerful movie, powerful message.
Great analogy!
Very well put Sir
if shit hit the fan, the fan will also hit the shit
"People sleep peacefully in their beds only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."
the end scene was most powerful for me , how they just accept the violence as normal
In other words, the film is a masterpiece.
Tomas Teran yup
Ahuevo
Oh, yes indeed!
no, only a shit film about something normal that half of the world doesnt want to change
nothin to see there
classic hollywood shit
Yup, definitely one of my favorites
"Wars are not won by good men, but by bad men with good intentions" -the old man
@@carlosvazquez5196 That’s why he says intentions and not acts.
which old man
@@carlosvazquez5196 No, acts are subjective. Intentions are determined by the person who has them.
@@carlosvazquez5196 Yes, and? That literally just proves me right lmao. Because from the perspective of the person you're stealing from your act is bad, but they can't say your intentions aren't good as if you think they are then they are. Intentions just mean what was in your head while doing an act, it has nothing to do with other people.
@@carlosvazquez5196 nice argument
"Sicario doesn't tell you how to feel" So true. I think that's one of the reasons why certain films just stick with us for so long, while others are easily forgotten or dismissible.
"To protect the sheep you gotta catch the wolf and it takes a wolf to catch a wolf"
100% Denzel said it best, this movie embodies it.
There should be no mercy for criminals, gangsters and their family members who benefited from their ill-gotten gains. Just treat them like common household pest.
@@CP-jk3tc Eventually you become the very thing you wish to destroy, power corrupts no matter who takes the lead. Point is it's not an easy answer of they are bad so lets destroy them because we are good. It's more of everyone will turn bad but which path will we take ?
“To PROTECT the SHEEP...”
...or a shepherd.
I am speaking as someone who has 'been there"- experienced real war, killed lots of people and watched my friends being killed (Vietnam, 1967-68).
spoilers-spoilers-spoilers.
I have watched this film three times and each time I came away feeling a little differently about the characters. First: The Cop being forced to do bad things. His family is not well off, the guy does not even have a driveway in front of his house. and no air conditioning. Yet, he delivers millions of dollars in drugs using his cop car. How deep is the situation he is in? Obviously, even his bosses are compromised. So, I finally decided his part is not of a personal moral conflict, but merely that he is a cog in a system in which there is very little right and wrong. He simply does what he does because that's just the way it all works. So, he is neither good or bad. He just another tree in the jungle. When Alejandro kills him, it's not even a pitiful situation.
Kate: OMG! Highly moral character, filled with a strong sense of right and wrong, but willing to see a tough job through. Very courageous, well trained, dedicated and convinced her role in things is worthy of her. But, very quickly, being highly quick minded, she catches on, this is absolutely out of all things she ever considered real or possible. We see her faith in the system she obviously respected and believed in, absolutely turned to ashes. Her response, though, was really honest to the character (I thought) she was going to grit it out and yet, somehow, try to save her career and hoped to find some feasible way of fixing things on the other side. then, she comes to realize, there is NO fixing it, because it is not actually broken. It is the necessity of things,. She is in contrast to the cop because he lived within it, grew up in it. She was suddenly dropped into it - surprise! Reality sucks.
Josh Brolin's character, Mat: This guy is a warrior deluxe, totally been in and seen it all and is willing to do what ever it takes. He has come to total grips with the world as it really is and has no feeling toward it. To him is is what it is. Necessity is what he accepts as his motivation. he is like a machinist- he simply measures, tests and acts according to the needs of the job. Using Kate meant nothing to him- jsut another tool in the box. He is the "War Lover" for it is really all he is good for. He has lived with adrenaline so long he can not imagine life without it. to hm, it is merely the Big Game with life and death as the prize.
Alejandro: Here is a guy working from the other side. If he were looking at Michelangelo's statue of the Madonna of Bruges, he would see nothing but marble. By that I mean he is a veteran who has died in his own mind- in my war we called it "finding peace"- rookies in war are scared all the time, and the mind can not function that way. Eventually a firefight becomes just another job to be done. Killing is hard for rookies, for veterans, it is nothing- absolutely nothing. But, there is a kind of "Golden place" that is beyond the veteran-where you start killing and doing it, not for joy, but simply to get on with the job...seeking the dead...making them out of the living. It's hard to explain. Only a few get to that place and it comes from experiencing just one too many deeply emotional breakdowns. It is "God like" because you no longer fear death. You feel almost invincible, above it all. Like the war exists specifically for you and you alone. That's Alejandro. His family loss was one too many breakdowns and now he is something that only used to be Alejandro. He found that his search for vengeance was the only thing that could allow him to survive that loss. But, along the way, vengeance merely became an excuse to keep going. That's why, even after the kills silvio- he stays in the game. He, more or less, become the next silvio. He easily could do to another man what Silvio had done to him. That is one highly dangerous MFer.
The movie leaves you with an empty feeling. When Alejandro shot Silvio's wife and kids, you know Alejandro was just an empty shell (emotionally). Just before he shoots Silvio the second time, he kind of inhaled, like a workman getting ready to drive in the last nail. He took no pleasure in it or had any emotion about it at all. He never smiled, he never gave a relaxation- like "Well, that's over." It was just- Job done- mission accompli and on to the next thing. Watching it, I was as empty as he was because any feeling I had for him vanished when he shot the kids and wife not even blinking. The guy was defined perfectly as a "Walking Dead" (emotionally) by that moment in the film.
The last bit, Alejandro walks in on Kate's private refuge and very calmly tells her to sign the document. Kate is almost ready to give her very life to protect the last vestiges of self respect she still held. You can almost hear her screaming in her own mind, "For What?! I would save my last little bit of honor? For what?"
When the whole world is corrupt or not even giving a shit about you, no matter how dedicated and good you were for the system,- what the Hell good is honor? She chose to live and signed the document. There was absolutely no doubt in the audience's or Kate's mind, Alejandro would put a bullet in her brain and not even think about it. That made it even more chilly. He walks away with the paper after telling her she needs to get into another line of work because she is totally out of her league. And when she tries to pull the trigger on him as he is walking across the parking lot, she can not- proving his point dramatically. Obviously, she is not totally destroyed because she cared just a tiny bit too much to commit murder and so could not.. And to go on in Alejandro's world, you have to be long past that level of caring...like him, you have to be totally destroyed inside.
In the closing scene; The contrasting soccer game with kids and moms and in the background machine gun fire just a block or two away. The moms and kids just look toward the gunfire. They don't even have expressions of fear or too much worry. More like, they are just curious. Proving, nothing has been solved. The systems are not working. It has become not a war or a thing that will one day end. It is now just a way of life- day-to-day. Like Vietnam going on for 40 years and no let up.
I always marveled at how in Vietnam we would be cleaning up after a hellacious fire fight, evacuating wounded and counting corpses, policing up weapons and high explosives and just a rice paddy away, some guy was already out there with his kids and his water buffalo plowing. Like he was just waiting for the weather to clear up a bit before going on with his chores- What the hell is that? It is life going on among the War-thing, that's all. Those farmers still had to bring in a crop- war or no war. It simply becomes their life after a while. What a hell of a way to live! That's what that closing scene meant to me.
The only films I can compare this one to are Peckinpah's "The Wild Bunch" (1969) and Coppola's "Apocalypse Now" (1979)- The sane systems had turned into violence only for the sake of violence. The world devolving into horror- Civilization is brought full circle back to the primitive. Welcome to Hell.
You are more correct about Alejandro than I was- I agree with your assessment. I discovered after my transition from a rookie warrior to a full fledged fighter a certain freedom. It came from already counting my self as dead. After so many around you are killed, you get that way. "Why them and not me? Because your turn is yet to come. but it is coming." is the thought. You simply quit feeling anything. suddenly, your fear is gone and you almost feel invincible. You really don't care anymore and you can do as you like. Killing the enemy is more like a sport. It is no longer them or me. It is just me. They do not count anymore. I think that is what happened to Alejandro. Like his comment when Silvio said, "It wasn't personal" about killing Alejandro's wife and daughter. He said, "It was to me." just as calm and quiet as if saying, "Pass the peas". His feeling was all used up. Killing Silvio was just all part of what he does. Like killing rats or roaches. Although I am sure he probably got some satisfaction out of it, he knew nothing would be solved. It just had to be done.
Thanks a lot. Your comment was deeply insightful and enlightening
I first of all can not be a nihilist because I still have hope for the future of humanity and I also deeply believe in God- but not as you would expect. The Christian or Muslim or Jewish Gods are all crap- just made up BS in my book. So, I have my own version of God that makes sense to me. Be that as it may, I do believe human kind is going down a very wrong path that was not chosen by anyone. We are all on this kind of "run away train" that is giving us a hell of a ride for now but eventually we will hit that curve at the bottom of this hill and that's where the fun ends. I think we all know it, too.
Humans have been fed a rosey dish of sweet smelling hemlock. We ate it up. We have defied nature to such a point we can never turn back and Nature does not suffer such fools without major repercussions. We constantly lie to ourselves about this life as we know it to make ourselves feel good about the fate we all sense is inevitable.
We breed worse than flies. We are supposed to be smart animals but we are as dumb as tree moss about controlling our impulses. Our greed and self indulgences are destroying our future as a species. Our self aggrandizement makes us go out into the world expressing false pity and to urge others to pay for the misery of the world's billions. Billions of feral people who will never be able to help themselves. We spend money like water, buy up every last resource, and even dump food that could feed millions into our gas tanks so we can party. Before we are done, we will (if we go on long enough) kill every living thing that presently lives wild- except the cockroaches and rats, of course. We are not God's gift to this planet. We are a planetary parasite that should never have happened.
But, here we stand like the lonely stone Moai Gods on Easter Island. We just do not get it and can't help ourselves- we destroy more than we create. That world that is shown at the end of Sicario,with soccer moms and kids playing in ear shot of machine guns and vicious murderers is going to become the world for everyone eventually. And for nothing. For getting to live in a fantasy for a little while.
I said I still believe in the future of humanity. I do. But, that future will have to be forged in fire before it can at last be realized. That's the part that gives me cold chills. I probably will not live to see it. But, this new generation will.
That's what I am, I suppose- A realist. A man who has seen and done too much in one lifetime.
Great take on that story. This film reminded me a bit of the screenplay Munich (Never saw the movie) Both stories depict modern warfare as an endless game of horrific tit for tat. To take the high road of forgiveness will surely sow the seeds of your own end and the suffering of those you love, but in retaliation you only guarantee more of the same. And yet, you cant afford not to. A vicious cycle indeed. The darkest element in both films is in their revealing just how much talent, resources, energy, and public money is spent on these games of revenge. Are there any good guys? That's the brilliance of Sicario. You are left only to ponder if Alejandro's horrific mission has any value. Brilliant storytelling.
Thanks for your comment - I really appreciate it.
The idea of "dead inside" is not that of a wanton killer. Alejandro was not insane and simply filled with bloodlust. He was mission focused. Why did he help Kate when she was being murdered? Why did he only shoot her in the armored vest instead of her head when he took Silvio?. Clearly, he had the capability. Like I said, it is more like hunting. When you are hunting elk you do not go around shooting cows who happen to be in the area. His aggression was mission focused. Also, the movie has some practical "omissions". How did Alejandro know all about the layout at Guillermo's house? How did he even know Silvio knew where Guillermo's hose was? Was Silvio the key to that? Silvio was merely a courier. That whole take down of Guillermo was kind of a "dark" spot in the plot. But typical of Villeneuve movies, in that he leaves a lot to the imagination of the audience. Apparently, Alejandro had gotten enough information from his un-shown interrogation of (can't recall the bad guys name- in the water bottle scene). That's how I excused it.
But, regardless, the maid/cook was not important to his mission.The long pause he took when she and he made eye contact was a kind of unspoken agreement- the maid had been around long enough to know not to get involved and signaled that by simply not moving. Alejandro understood that and simply let her live. He was closer to his target and a needless shot would have been risky. Besides, apparently, he figured most of the bad buys were dead. (haha- "Bad Guys" is a relative term in this movie- right?)
Anyway- that's my take on it.
This movie reminds me of a quote I heard here on youtube on a video of an occultist "It doesnt matter if you are good or bad , if you fall from a high building you will die"
I like that
yeah man that's like a basic concept of physics
well duhh
u go to hell or heaven tho
Man can you get a link for me
You have an interesting take on Kate Macy, and the film as a whole. I disagree with you about Kate being broken. She did not cross the final line, which would have been killing Alejandro. She had him in her sites, and all she had to do was squeeze that trigger. She didn't. She refused to become a cold blooded killer, like Alejandro. She, in affect, kept her humanity. IMHO.
And that's what made her broken. She had three routes to go:
A) Keep your humanity but adapt your idealism, accept your new role but not as a merciless murderer but as a shield containing evil. People are allowed to be idealistic as movie beginning Kate only because people like Alejandro did what they did, stopping evil from entering lives on US citizens en masse.
B) Snap, become a beast,kill Alejandro, commit suicide, go insane, abandom your humanity.
C) Preserve your humanity as a broken husk of a human being, struggle to keep that one last 1% intact, unable to truly cope with the truth - people like Alejandro are necessary to keep ignorant majority from becoming broken like she did, as without Alejandro everybody either has to become broken like her or compliant like Silvio...
She didnt keep her humanity. She kept her soul. If anything the killing is being human constant warfare ever since we dropped out of the trees and picked up a stick with that opposing thumb.
@@mareczek00713 The problem is, Sicario never paints the Drug War as something necessary. And only under that precondition, the existance of Alejandro can be argued to be necessary.
Additionaly, no action by the us forces shown in the movie helps, in the long run. The seeds for the next round of perpetuaded violence are planted, the next drug ring will rise and other good people will be forced to perform evil actions because of an environment they dont control. If the existence of alejandro is necessary, the existence of the corrupt cop working with the drug cartells is necessitated by the same reasons.
@@MaartensenPSLp Yeah, sure, let's zllow free import of heroine...
When I saw the movie, I never saw Del Toro's character to achieve Redemption. I always felt like his character is the tool American forces are using to stay clean in the war.
Me too; CIA is the only agency that has intel from Mexico, theoretically an ally we shouldn't be spying on; they want to kill the drug lord but can't legally; Blunt's character is the dumbest, least experienced legally sufficient FBI liaison they can find; and Del Torres has training (apparently from Columbia after leaving Mexico) and motivation to kill the drug lord). What the task force's cover story was supposed to be for sending in Del Toro's character is beyond me since assassination isn't authorized in the Northern Hemisphere - yet - but I think the overall message was the drug wars in Mexico will spill over into US border states unless US tactics employed in Afghanistan and Iraq are also employed in Mexico.
El Amirino Alejandro was doing what he was doing because HE wanted to do it, not the CIA. This is clearly explained in the film. The relationship between Alejandro and the CIA is symbiotic, Alejandro gets a shot at revenge and the CIA gets someone willing to do crazy extra-judicial shit.
I always thought Del Toro's character didn't care who he was working for. He had a specific goal and the Americans were willing to greenlight his personal war because the Americans needed a buffer between themselves and killing the cartel leader, their two goals temporarily aligned and the deal was done.
I am assuming this is the way the shadowy world of international intelligence/operations works in real life. There is a lot of grey area in between the "rules" of international engagement and not getting caught with your pants down at the wrong time has a lot to do with it. This movie highlights the crossing of T's and the dotting of I's to keep our own government looking the other direction. Using Emily Blunt's character to allow the CIA to operate within the borders of the US and using an intermediary that is not American to do their dirty work in Mexico. It is all just paperwork to keep people off their backs. It has to be annoying to try and fit these types of operations into the framework of a "civil" society. In the end this is just a movie and we have no idea what really goes on behind the scenes.
"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." - George Orwell
@@workhorsemtb7075 well I was going to say good job on the well thought out comment but then I saw that stupid ass quote
@@nemanjap8768 Nothing is ever black and white or only one way, there are always shades of grey colliding with other shades of grey. We never get everything we want but sometimes we get some of the things we want? I don't know, I thought the quote fit the situation. I feel like it's pretty true. Please explain what you thought was so "dumbassed" about it. I am willing to accept that I may be wrong but please let me know what you think.
Alejandro's last words to Kate at the end of the film sum up Kate's character and the entire movie beautifully. This movie is perfection.
This is a dark film
It is a fantastic movie.
ZXxsniperMsrXx
yuhum
It really speaks the truth on the war on drugs and the none black and white truth of drug lords, the us government and cia. Hell of war.
A dark representation of reality. Now change dark for accurate.
And I loved it. I wish i could forget the movie so i can rewatch it over and over
Awesome movie , the silence used in the movie buils great intensity just like in the movie "no country for old man"
Ben Gazzara you can draw a shit ton of comparison like the overall theme of "human life being worthless"
Must have been a difficult role for Emily Blunt. Her Kate character first seems to fit the "empowered woman" stereotype we see nowadays constantly only to get increasingly manipulated and sidelined. And it seems, that this happens because Kate is a woman and can ultimately not cope with such a vicious "war". But the movie makes clear, that Kate gets pushed to the side primarily not because she's a woman, but because she's a police officer who doesn't make up her own rules like Brolin's and Del Torro's characters do. She's just not a savage like the others.
She was tough, but moral and idealistic, which means she wasn't tough enough for that operation (and Brolin's character knew that but used her anyway)
But it is interesting how Matt immediately rejected Kate's partner who was just as highly regarded asan FBI Agent, had decorated combat experience in Iraq and had a Law Degree. I also remember hewas very confrontational with Matt when he did get a look at what he was doing.I sense Matt choose Kate because she was idealistic and would try to rationalize whatever shady stuffshe saw as being for a greater good. On the flip side, I think Matt knew that he would likely have had to kill her partner because he would refuse to sign any bogus documents and maybe threaten to goto the media with what he had seen.
2:14
or not made for the extremely violent world in places outside the USA , where cartels wipe out entire buses of students and traffic children by the 10s of 1000s. Its because of killers like Alejandro that cartels dont have total power.
Adaptability. She failed miserably to adapt to a new set of rules in a new setting. The rest are irrelevant.
Kyle "Where do we draw the line on this, Sir?
Price "You draw the line wherever you need it, Sergeant. At the end of the day someone has to make the enemy scared of the dark. We get dirty and the world stays clean."
Picking up on her shirt color was great! Love this movie so much. Great review!
Thanks Kaylee!
Probably the greatest 'narco' movie ever made.
It was brilliant.
They stop one badguy, but more will rise... which was the point of that operation. This movie is very heavily based on real life tactics used in the war on drugs.
The DEA and other agencies realized, after knocking down the most powerful drug lords (if you think the US wasn't directly involved in Escobar's fall, I've got a bridge to sell you), violence INCREASES, because it creates a power vacuum. Now what they do is pick a strong figure they can somewhat live with, and support him against others who are trying to disturb the established order.
That is what the CIA operation in the film is about. They use Alejandro just as much as they use Kate, though Alejandro is using them back. The CIA wants this drug lord dead, presumably because he is violent and challenging his place on the food chain. Alejandro also wants this man dead, but for personal reasons. He's the perfect assassin for them to use - highly motivated for personal reasons, completely deniable, and completely disposable if it comes down to it.
Frankly, the strategy has been working. Juarez isn't nearly as violent as it was 5 or 10 years ago. Drugs continue to flow, but the power struggles have quieted down quite a bit.
IMO, the writers of Sicario know a whole lot more about the dirty behind the scenes workings of the war on drugs than the vast majority of Americans ever will. I was honestly stunned to see the amount of realism on so many levels in this film. I wouldn't be surprised if there were a few quiet FBI investigations launched after this movie was released, because the odds that there were things leaked to the filmmakers that the government would rather be kept secret is pretty high, in my opinion. Then again, I'm just a schmuck with no access to that kind of info, having never worked for the government, and I managed to piece all that stuff together, so... I guess the writers could have found out the same way.
Just for the record the U.S. government has admitted that the CIA assisted with Escobar's downfall and that there were actually U.S. special forces on the ground in Colombia, with the consent of the Colombian government, when Escobar was killed.
I loved that this movie got down into the nitty gritty of the real world. The world in which there are no black or white hats. Everybody's wearing grey and they've all got an objective. The CIA didn't give a shit about Alejandro or Kate. They were both a means to an end. That being said, the CIA guys were at least patient with Kate. At the end of the first day, when that Delta trooper takes Kate up onto the roof, he is showing her the firefights between the cartel gangs to say "This is why we did what we did today. We broke some rules and people died, but Americans will sleep safer while those guys are shooting each other instead of us." Kate had a chance to hit the big leagues, but she fell apart without a rule book.
I think you are right on about keeping the "stability of a powerful drug lord in place." After the captured El Chapo and the majority of the other drugs Lords, all that created as I read recently in Rolling Stone was 60 smaller, warring factions. It made the violence worse.
"never believe anything they say if they worked for the CIA"
"Sicario" is one of the most powerful, scary, significant, relevant, frightening and real films I have EVER seen! Denis Villenevue is an amazing director that we should ALL keep our eyes on!
"Things happen to people"
That literally sums up every human existence. So much grey. That's why I love this film and others like it
I must say, both the score and general sound design were amazing. Watching the film, I felt like there was a weight of anger crushing my chest. You felt just as impotent as the characters. That's exceptional work.
This film reminds me of when I drove long haul freight.
Did a lot of runs to El Paso.
I'd go to the truck stop next to I-10 to wait for a new run.
It was on a plateau with a panoramic view of the valley, and Juarez.
And I was very happy to be on the US side of the line.
From a distance Juarez looks like any other city.
But it ain't...
Thats what people said about America when Trump was president. Irony is weird.
@@VegasRT500 smh. How ur boy Joey doing? Lmaooo
This was arguably the best movie of the 21st Century (so far).
I don't know if I would rank it that high, but I do think it is one of the best movies of 2015!
@@renatarodriguesdc Oh yeah. PTA's TWBB is the Citizen Kane of our generation!!
Not even in the top 50
I'll give it credit for being of the best movies of the 2010s
@@rajeshkurichiopalli3051 Then tell us what movie made the top 50 according to you.
The movie was amazing and scary at the same time. Its hard to believe how people can treat one another. The everyday violence. I love the movie for the action but you know this kind of stuff takes place and it's truly heartbreaking for those who live it.
The subtle things I see in so many films, like a color tint fading to grey alongside a characters mental state, are things I don't notice at first but are those things that unconsciously make you think it's a fantastic film. Even slight changes like that by directors really draw the line between amazing film and adequate film.
This is not a movie of the week , it must be watched over and be analyzed again and again . It's a jewel that is hidden in cliche ! Genius .
the main lesson is stop using DRUGS , don't be involve in DRUGS
Or to legalize them.
The main lesson is drug reform. People will never stop using drugs.
That's true, and since I only smoke a plant, marijuana, I feel pretty good right now.
I saw exactly the same message, after all and above all. Before we saw the end users as "suffering" side, there was never that much of information, public consern, governmental&charity support, BUT NOW... HELLO, really? All those terrible things are done on a regular basis just to serve you another dose, another line another puff.. Is really worth it? I know, the whole economy of Latin American poorest countries is solely based on drug markets. That will be tough, sure, but i think that it is possible to overgrow if there's no more market for your produce. This way or rather but we always manage to adapt. Or die. I see that it was enough deaths already. I mean until there's a market for the produce the production will always be ready to serve the customers. How about we work really hard on stopping ourselves and everyone we could reach being that type of a customer?
I think the main theme is legalizing them all.
Please make part 3!!!! This one hooked me, and the last one had me wanting more.
After watching it a few hours ago, it came across as a kind of Lovecraftian horror story for me, set in cold hard reality. This is a tale of a woman who volunteers because she wants something done, but the more she learns, the more she *needs* to learn, the more knowledge she must acquire. She must know how much of the life she lived before was a lie. When she is doing things at the end that she would have found morally impossible before, she simply states that "I need to know." That statement was more horrifying than a thousand jump scares, that she has sunk this low. But then, this is the real world for her now, and she can't deny what she now knows is the truth: that this world is evil, and that she has never been a force for good, for there is no such thing.
On the flip side is Alejandro. In the Lovecraftian horror setting, he would be the man who went mad long ago. Instead of drooling and slobbering on the floors, he has achieved a perfect, amoral clarity (a trait that is much scarier). He knows how the world works, and that knowledge has robbed him of any sort of joy, and even his agency. By his own admission, he is simply a tool: someone points him where to go, and he goes. The only goal he has in the film is his vengeance, and even that is simply a holdover from something that used to be real to him. At some point, vengeance might have mattered, but the knowledge of what this fallen world truly is has made him seen his own truth: that this world is evil, and that he has never been a force for good, for there is no such thing.
"Medellin? Medellin refers to a time when one group controlled every aspect of the drug trade, providing a measure of order that we could control. And until somebody finds a way to convince 20% of the population to stop snorting and smoking that shit, order's the best we can hope for. And what you saw up there, was Alejandro working toward returning that order."
Josh Brolin: Matt Graver
What's scarier, is how much truth there is in that ...
The Medellín Cartel, founded by Pablo Escobar, was once one of the biggest cocaine cartels not just in the namesake city in in Columbia, but of the country itself, and perhaps of South America too. In fact, if you happen to be using coccane during the '90s, whether in America, or even Europe, chances were pretty high (pun intended ...) that what you were on was produced, and/or at least smuggled by, the Medellín. Depending on whom you read, and veracity of their sources, the Cartel was easily making as much money as the GDP of a small, Latin American country.
Thus it is hardly surprising that, whilst the DEA, and other Federal LEO Agencies, had their handsful, trying to stem the impossible tide of drugs coming into America, the CIA, on the other hand, was more than willing participants.
That seeming bizarre twist, had a semblance of logic. By being the 800lb gorrilla, there was, indeed, a degree of control that could be exercised, especially when dealing with the more violent cartels that were around, especially in Mexico. Either through tacit, or actual support, if another cartel tried to muscle in, creating internecine warfare, either the Medellín, or, as it has been alleged, the CIA itself, would simply flatten them.
I haven't read up upon that whole mess in a long while, so I need to revisit it again, but something tells me, that point was trying to reduce the number of civilian deaths by cartels, by just having one, or two, major ones, overwhich, the CIA could try and leverage some kind of control, if not in the volume, then, at least, say, not having it cut with rat poison. Equally, and again I have to revisit it, by having a bit of leverage, that being able to have assistence with the outbreak of 'rebel' violence that contiously broke out in South America; part of which led to the infamous 'Iran-Contra Affair'.
Unfortunately, controlling that 800lb gorilla was never going to be easy ... And so when that gorilla eventually got out of control ... well ...
You deserve a hell of a lot more subscribers, man. Great stuff.
Thanks Eric!
Brilliant on so many levels: Direction - Villeneuve, Photography - Deakins and Soundtrack - Jóhannsson. Awesome!
awesome analysis. I was feeling down due to falling behind with work tendency and this analysis lifted me up. Subscribed.
I like your take. The difficulty in finding a moral center point, and the POV of at least three different players, really made this for me. I know some people that saw it and did not particularly like it, and I think it was because it does not answer all your questions. If fact, it kind of leaves you hanging--one of the strong points of the film, for me. One of my favs in a few years.
Thanks Fred!
I don't like to censor my comment section, but let's try to keep the conversation about the world within the film.
Thanks!
In war there are no rules...
You got a new subscriber. I love people who do movie analysis but most get copyright strikes. Nice to see a channel with a big archive, your very underrated.
And war... war never changes.
JAMES MOORE isis aint a problem either it's the governments of the world I'm scared of
That's just hypocritical. Films are reflexions on the world that surrounds them, specially this one. The film is there to talk about the world OUTSIDE the film.
It's an absolutely fabulous movie. A rare look into a world of characters that are usually hero worshipped, but here they are bereft of those storytelling devices.
This is one of the most underrated movies of the last period.
This film was beautifully constructed. The stories were introduced and then woven together brilliantly. In my opinion, this film is simply cinematic perfection! This is not just a story of "good guys" and "bad guys". The lines between good and bad are so blurred that one cannot completely tell just who is good and who is bad. I just finished watching the sequel and Alejandro's story only seems to be getting started....and darker. It is rare when films this good is followed up by a film that is equally good. Great review! Thumbs up!!
Great video, I watch your stuff all the time. Question/ Comment: I never got the impression that the objective of the first mission during the 1st act was to find the bodies, but rather they were found by chance. This seemed to help with Kate's arc, since she basically walked into a house of horrors without any idea of just how bad the Cartels on the border truly are. Both are interesting possibilities, but I kind of like the idea that she was a fish out of water from the opening.
I'm glad you liked it Ronnie.
I agree with your interpretation, I think she got wrapped up in a situation she wanted to avoid, but got pulled in one moment at a time, It really works to make it seem more dehumanizing.
They were looking for hostages and just happened to find the bodies. The breach team was yelling stuff like "where are the hostages?" and after Kate gets shot at someone asked why the guy shot at her if there was nothing of value there, such as hostages. Really the only thing that made no sense to me about that is the fact that people outside the house weren't able to smell those bodies. I've been around long dead bodies before, and the smell is unbelievable - let alone over 35 of them inside a house in the desert, even behind some drywall. Though I do give them huge accolades for the little touches like how the house was laid out in such a way that most people wouldn't notice the walls were extra thick (which really is something you would notice if you have spent time building houses). I absolutely love when a movie pays attention to such little details, but then the fact that the Delta guys weren't wearing their bicycle helmets in the tunnel kind of killed it for me, because that's a huge omission - those guys are infamous for wearing special helmets in tight quarters that are designed to protect their heads from banging on stuff when they're moving fast (as opposed to stopping bullets like normal soldiers wear). Just can't imagine a handful of Delta operators would willingly go into a tunnel like that (knowing the way the cartel builds those tunnels) wearing big, bulky helmets that they knew they'd have to take off once inside.
Outstanding work on this one. Thanks for putting it togeather.
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed!
my first video from this channel.
subscribed.
thanks for the awesome analysis.
3:23 - IIRC after a similar video analysis Roger Deakins said somewhere on his forum, that subtle change of Kate's shirt color was just pure coincidence. That said, intentional or not, it doesn't matter as long as it helps filmmaker's point.
I guess show, thanks for pointing it out!
My all time favorite movie. My son said, you never watch a movie twice, you’ve watched Sicario, thirty times! I did!
Saw this movie in theaters with a friend high af, the place was empty. But damn was i having goosebumps throughout the movie! The music and buildup scenes where so good.
The opening score is haunting and I love it
I totally agree with what you said near the end of the video about Villeneuve's films. I love them because they are smart, every character is tridimensional, while in movies with similar plots everything is pretty linear in their interpretation: good guys vs bad guys, good guys always win. Villeneuve's movies take you for an emotional ride and i can't wait too see Arrival and Blade Runner.
I totally agree, Arrival and the new Blade Runner cannot come fast enough.
We have to talk about the background music as well, that shit gives me anxiety lol
This is a really really good review. Great job man 👍🏿
I recently found your channel and this video and I have to say Sicario is the last film in a long time I remember seeing multiple times in the theater and at least a dozen more times on blu ray. I enjoyed prisoners but since this film I've enjoyed the work of its Director, writer, composer, and cinematographer. This movie still grips me every time I watch it. Thank you for your video.
Thank you for watching!
Another brilliant take on the endless cycle of violence, and the effect it has on us, is the BBC film "Elephant" (1989, BBC Northern Ireland). Directed by Alan Clarke; produced by Danny Boyle. It's only 39 minutes long, but it had more effect on me as a young man than anything else I've ever watched (when it comes to violence and the 'tit-for-tat' that so often results).
What a brilliant movie, amazing characters, cast and atmosphere. Would recommend 10 times.
You caught the theme spot on. This movie is brilliant.
Amazing channel with great content. You have fantastic taste my friend
Would love a video on Incendies. That film left me speechless.
The best movie of the twenty-first century, which sends the message that everything has its consequences, not who is good or who is bad, or about revenge itself
I've seen this movie over and over. Thank you for helping me understand it more.
Nice. I haven't thought about this movie for a while. Going to rewatch it now ...
Dehumanization is a very human thing.
Erik Lönnrot very hostile reaction for nothing
r/wooosh
That's a mind fuck right there.
Thanks...…………..Stupid Liberal Bullshit... @Abraham Villalobos
Abraham Villalobos Very hostile responses for small things usually come from unintelligent people
2:42 Kate was not left behind. She consciously went down the wrong tunnel.
I miss your reviews so much, i wish you would start up again.
It's hard to disagree with your interpretations of these films. Even better, I believe your work and dedication help some of us appreciate films more. Thank you.
This was a warning. A preview of things to come, everyday all day.
To be a hero requires going beyond the boundaries of what the average person is willing to do and that includes at times doing things that go against social norms of heroism or pure good or pure evil. It may be a bit Machiavellian but the fox or the lion must come out at times when it must be necessary.
This Tune in the beginning gives even my goosebumps goosebumps. Awesome movie!
Great review I did not pick up some of the things you pointed out-I just saw this movie for the first time one of the best films I’ve ever seen. I love how they make you see the movie through her eyes and you don’t totally know what’s going on just like her until you do. And I like that they don’t make her black and white or anyone for that matter and discuss that this is a gray area in the film... i’ve watched it three times now. Masterpiece.
that shirt thing is brilliant man!
What is great about this film is that this is what the world is like. In order to beat evil, you must become evil yourself.
Exactly
the tactics are the same. what matters is the intent. one can care for family without destroying other's lives.
Whilst remaining within the law!.
Amazing production!
I never noticed the detail of the color of her blouse, very interesting. Also, your video was very good, sicario is a very well done movie
Very good character analysis, in Alejandro's world, and the levels of violence, mutilations, beheadings and incredible brutalities, he may have witnessed or participated in, would have desensitised him beyond words...there are enough books and photos of this horror... His only reality would have been his family and when that was taken away from him, any shred of humanity would have evaporated..
He got his revenge but but it was a hollow one, there was no satisfaction, no redemption and no peace in his heart...
I look forward to the sequel being filmed now and whether his character does come back into the real world or remains as the Sicario for all time..
Such an underrated movie.
excellent work!
One of my favorite movies of all time. Wish they’d make a part 3
You missed the plot, it's CIA that cannot operate within our borders w/o a liaison, not the DEA. Nor can the US Army, as in Delta or SEAL operators. This film is less a/b right and wrong, and more a/b legal and illegal. Is it wrong to kill people who indiscriminately kill families to instill fear and terror to assert control? If you answer yes, better yours than mine.
frankdrebin yeah this comment is a year late but you're right. the people in the cartel who slaughter, rape, mutilate, and just destroy people don't deserve a happy ending but to feel everything taken away that they hold dear and executed like a dirty mutt
I don't think it's really about whether or not the war on drugs is right or wrong. Criminals deal with contra-band. If you make drugs legal, they will just deal with something else that is illegal, perhaps guns or literally anything else. It's really war against criminality.
if sugar, the #1 killer of humans, were made illegal, cartels would still be making money and beheading people as normal. Its all a scam to keep making money and keep populations in prison! What a disgusting world we live in.
They already deal other illegal shit.
There is a very high cost (in money) in running a large criminal organization, so I think it's more accurate to note that cartel-type situations arise in circumstances where there is a product to sell with a huge profit margin (or if gangs can almost completely control local populations and businesses at large). Criminality looks different when such high margin products are more scarce. Also, it's not really a war against criminality anyway. There isn't a good reason to believe that people in different geographic locations are different from each other in human nature, so I think criminality on this level arises more out of the interaction between human nature, human needs, and the social/economic environment. Education, job opportunities, strong families, strong communities, governmental legitimacy, some semblance of social justice and fairness, etc. all reduce crime considerably.
I hadn’t seen Sicario until after my dads death about 6 months ago.
Then I watched it 10 more times in the next day or two after I saw it that first time.
Just such a well put together film.
I just stumbled upon your channel and I'm hooked. Your content deserves way more views! Since this is a Villeneuve film I'd love to see your take on another one - Enemy.
Thanks Man! I don't have any immediate plans to cover Enemy, but I would love to in the future!
Well, there's no rush, I'm sure you have plenty of juicy stuff in the works. :)
*****
Well I appreciate your comment!
when there is light, there will also be darkness. great movie
This was a very powerful film. Well done and yes, dark.
Great video...Brilliant👏
Superb analysis. Enjoyed it.
My problem with Kate as a character is that she starts the movie very intelligent and understanding of what is going on. She immediately pegs Mat as CIA. She knows that the mission is one of revenge and subterfuge. As things progress she seems to forget what is going on. she doesn't listen when told not to do something. She acts a fool more as more as the movie goes on. Her character doesn't evolve, she devolves as time goes on. She grows weaker as a person.
TheeGoatPig I think that was the point of her character
Because she wasn't strong enough to deal with that world. That's the point. It's what Alejandro told her at the end. She's not a wolf.
And to be fair I never saw her as particularly strong or intelligent at any point in the movie. She was the perfect tool for them to use. Which they did.
Ladies and gents I believe the quote goes, "We sleep safely in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would harm us." Gonna call that Sicario in a nutshell.
Problem with with that is these cartels are a business, not terrorist. Regardless, they are not that effective anyway.
Winston Churchill...…………Quote...…….
Ustedes pero nosotros no, nosotros vivimos en constante miedo
That really doesn’t work for the film, for the sole purpose that all the actions the us team did over the sake of the film didn’t help in the long run. The people who are close to the cartels geographically are still being manipulated and killed.
Great movie, great directing and great cast!!
Great film. Actors are fantastic. The music is on point. 🐺
One of my top ten favorite movies ever. I have been to war twice and I've seen what it takes to defeat evil. It's not always as excessive at this movie protreys but to defeat evil you need a certain amount of evil yourself.
Having now seen Blade Runner 2049, i can still safely say that Sicario is Villeneuve's best film, and was overlooked in its release year.
A very good POV you elaborated there.
Excellent commentary. I hadn’t caught the nuances.
This movie is exceptionally good, valuable, brave and honest. I think that because it's not at all on par with today's 'politically correct' nonsensical standards, it gets many bad reviews and does not achieve popularity it deserves. It's very sad that lot of trash movies filled with 'war joy' and dum propaganda get's a lot more viewers.
Great point, I totally agree.
I will definitely buy the Bluray, we love watching this movie in Wakanda.
Love the video man, was very interesting to watch! You should check out Shane Bertram who also does a video on Sicario but explains his point of view of how he thinks that Kate is actually the villain in the movie, it's really cool how he breaks it down.
One of the ten best movies ever made. I hope that it continues to receive the credit it rightfully deserves.
Sicario doesn’t believe in good or bad, good or evil, just consequences.
Fun fact, the guy wrote this, Taylor Sheridan, he also played David Hale in Sons of Anarchy, and I think this was his first break as a writer.
Very good comment. I love more and more Villeneuve's movies! Thanks. Very interesting :)
Thanks Richard! I'm glad you enjoyed!