El cártel

How rare is it to find something at the video store that totally exceeds your expectations?! I spend a lot of time traveling and working in Mexico, so I'm familiar with a lot of the great actors from that country, and when I saw this on the shelf at Blockbuster I decided to give it a try. It was a pleasant surprise.

This film takes a clever, original idea about writing a traditional how-to-succeed-in-business book about a ruthless drug lord and runs with it. Sure it's not a big budget picture, but the actors are all deeply committed to their roles and deliver great performances. Jose Luis Franco is a standout as Angel Santana, the kingpin, and Mauricio Islas is great as Santos, his enforcer. What I enjoyed most about this film was the backstory of these two criminals growing up together, and rising to the top.

If you want a lot of big budget explosions and car chases, watch a Michael Bay film, but if you want a fresh take on a crime thriller with fascinating characters, then rent this movie. 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").

Okay... So I saw the movie trailer on youtube and decided to put it in my Netflix queue. I'm not one to watch independent films, preferring to reserve my time for the bigger films that my kids will like. But I'm actually glad I strayed from the norm on this one.

I judge a film on how much it gets into my head. My husband and I watched this last night (not one for the kiddos me thinks) and I woke up this morning thinking about it. The film itself was pretty good. Acting was descent. Story was descent. Message and moral of the film was superb! I'm not sure if the film makes me want to chase my dreams, or be happy with the fact that I've decided to let them pass me by, but it's definitely got me thinking that I should start revisiting all the things I wanted to do when I was a kid. And if I decide to "go for it," as the movie's main character would say, I'll make sure I do a little bit better preparing than he did! haha

this movie is chula!!! the scene in the movie where they are running drugs on the fishing boats was true to life. thats how many of the cartels get their drugs up from south America to Mexico. when i saw it, i coudldn't believe that someone knew about it!!! i saw it once when i was growing up. it was just like that but in real life there are way more people and way more squid.

the movie is good especially if you speak English and Spanish because it has words in both. film quality and actors good too especially delores. she was sexxy!!!

if you grew up in a cartel town then this movie probably made you homesick!!! it did me.

An interesting story about an American journalist who uses familial connections to arrange an interview with Latin America's most successful "narcotraficante." Mistakenly thinking it's the opportunity of a lifetime, this journalist plunges – quite naively – into the belly of a gritty Mexican underworld.

While the story was intriguing, the movie's real standouts are its villains – Angel Santana and his cartel cronies. As the story unfolds, the film teaches 13 "principles" behind this infamous drug lord's success. The irony is that they also apply to all of us, providing the film's underlying "moral" – if you stick to your principles and adhere to your values, things tend to go well (although not always perfectly). And if you don't? Well, watch the movie and you'll see.

Kudos are also warranted for the film's cinematography (some of the shots are simply breathtaking). If only all low-budget indie films had this much thought and production value. -- B.T. Corbett