DESIERTO
Mexico/France, 2015 | 88 mins.
English and Spanish with English subtitles
Director: Jonás Cuarón

Rated R warning: Scenes of graphic violence.

Tuesday, February 28
7PM (Rush Only) & 9PM

The Cinematheque
1131 Howe St (btw Helmcken and Davie St)

Tickets still available for the 9pm screening!
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$12/$10 – Advance
$13/$11 – At the door

From Jonás Cuarón and Alfonso Cuarón, the acclaimed filmmakers of Gravity, comes a unique, modern vision of terror. Desierto, starring Gael García Bernal, is a visceral, heart-pounding suspense-thriller packed with tension from start to finish. A group of Mexican emigrants attempts to cross the Mexican-US border. What begins as a hopeful journey becomes a harrowing and primal fight for survival when a deranged, rifle-toting vigilante and his loyal Belgian Malinois dog chase the group of unarmed men and women through the treacherous borderland. In the harsh, unforgiving desert terrain, the odds are stacked firmly against them as they continuously discover there’s nowhere to hide from the unrelenting, merciless killer.

“Cuarón has crafted a deliciously satisfying cinematic experience. Be ready for surprises. Be prepared to bite your nails. And beware of the dog.” Cameron Bailey, TIFF

El cruce por el desierto de Sonora/Arizona de México hacia los Estados Unidos, se ha convertido en un calvario para los cientos de miles de inmigrantes que cada año intentan atravesarlo. Desierto está basada precisamente en esta zona geográfica, donde Gael García Bernal protagoniza esta cinta de sobrevivencia, en la que el hombre blanco actúa como un cazador que no perdona al intruso que pisa su tierra. El sureño gringo apunta su rifle que dispara sin piedad, y aunque el relato funciona para acercarnos a entender este vía crucis moderno, la habilidad del director convierte a Desierto, además, en una impresionante cinta de acción y persecución. Christian Sida.

ADDITIONAL CREDITS
Producers: Alfonso Cuarón, Carlos Cuarón, Alex García, Charles Gillibert
Writers: Jonás Cuarón, Mateo García
Cinematographer: Damián García
Editor: Jonás Cuarón
Principal Cast: Gael García Bernal, Jeffrey Dean Morgan

Jonás Cuarón (Mexico, 1981) studied at Vassar College. He co-wrote the screenplay for Gravity (2013) with his father, director Alfonso Cuarón. He directed the documentary short The Shock Doctrine (2007), co-written with Naomi Klein; and wrote and directed the feature films Year of the Nail and Desierto. Desierto won the International Critics’ Prize at the Toronto Film Festival in 2015.