Borderland Beat Posted by DD republished in part from Mexico Daily Review
I almost cried when I saw this. I know it will not get him out of prison, but to know he is not being forgotten and that his name and story is being kept in the public eye is heartwarming. This kind of exposure keeps the pressure on the Mexican government to release him from the trumped up charges for which he was imprisoned. With Castillo gone from Michoacan, I believe he will be released in the not too distant future. I hope his health will permit him to be the leader and hero that the people of Mexico so desperately need.
YEAR 2015
SECTION U.S. Documentary Competition
COUNTRY U.S.A./Mexico
RUN TIME 100 min
LANGUAGE English/Spanish
SUBTITLES Yes with English subtitles
When your government cannot provide basic safety from murderous organized criminals, is it acceptable to take the law into your own hands to protect your family, your land, and your country? That is the question at the heart of Cartel Land, a powerfully visceral journey of two modern-day vigilante movements.
In the Mexican state of Michoacán, Dr. Jose Mireles, a small-town physician known as "El Doctor," shepherds a citizen uprising against the Knights Templar, the violent drug cartel that has wreaked havoc on the region for years. Meanwhile, in Arizona's Altar Valley—a narrow, 52-mile-long desert corridor known as Cocaine Alley—Tim "Nailer" Foley, an American veteran, heads a small paramilitary group called Arizona Border Recon, whose goal is to halt Mexico’s drug wars from seeping across our border.
Intrepid filmmaker Matthew Heineman (Escape Fire) embeds himself in the heart of darkness as Nailer, El Doctor, and the cartel each vie to bring their own brand of justice to a society where institutions have failed. Brilliant, dangerous, and provocative, Cartel Land is a chilling meditation on the breakdown of order and the borderline where life trumps law.
There is more about the documentary and other video clips on the Face Book page "Cartel Land".