Sicario – one of my favorite movies – is more than just a thriller I want to discuss. The film does in fact come from a Hollywood studio, but it is the director Dennis Villeneuve who elevates the film beyond an action shoot-em up blockbuster. The film involves an incredible look into the war-like landscape of the border wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. The film focuses on a storyline around an operation to infiltrate a drug cartel and take out its leader, but beyond this plot the film does an excellent job at portraying the political, social, and economic issues surrounding this topic. What’s so interesting about this film is that it highlights a more silent hidden war right on the edge of the U.S. own turf. Sicario may dramatize characters and storylines, but there is no denying that the movie illustrates a realistic and intense, violent landscape around the drug war. Through its cinematography and various other cinematic elements, the film makes us look deeper into an issue we may never face ourselves in person.
Trailer link:
Art and War 