This film is currently unavailable
Desierto
Gael García Bernal stars in Jonás Cuarón's edge-of-the-seat thriller set on the Mexican/American border.
Director: Jonás Cuarón
Overview
Whilst attempting to cross the border from Mexico into the United States, a group of illegal immigrants find themselves stranded when their truck breaks down, leaving them no choice but to make the rest of the journey by foot. But upon entering US territory, the gang become the unsuspecting target of a gun toting racist who has taken the concept of border control into his own hands, and is determined to pick them off one by one.
To describe Jonás Cuarón’s stunning sophomore feature as tense would be something of an understatement. This is a work of such nail-biting suspense as to be almost unbearable at times, with Cuarón (son of Gravity director Alfonso Cuarón and that film’s co-writer) demonstrating a masterful understanding of rhythm and pacing. But while Desierto is a wild and relentlessly enjoyable ride, a political conscience also lies beneath the shoot-outs and chase sequences, lending proceedings a genuine sense of sadness and hopeless tragedy. The ever compelling Gael García Bernal gives an impressively physical performance as the resourceful hero, while Jeffrey Dean Morgan is a truly chilling villain, driven by racism and a misplaced idea of patriotism – perhaps the most terrifyingly single-minded killer since Javier Bardem’s hitman took to the Texan deserts in No Country For Old Men.
Related
Palestine 36 Palestine 36
Period drama 2025 120 mins Director: Annemarie Jacir
Acclaimed Palestinian director Annemarie Jacir’s most ambitious work is a powerful exploration of the events leading up to the Arab Revolt of 1936.
Plainclothes Plainclothes
Drama 2025 97 mins Director: Carmen Emmi
Tom Blyth and Russell Tovey lead a Sundance-prize winning ensemble in this knockout cruising drama from debut director Carmen Emmi.
Young Hearts Young Hearts
Drama 2024 99 mins Director: Anthony Schatteman
A gentle and sincere story of queer love between two young teenage boys, told with warmth and humour.
Solo Solo
Drama 2025 102 mins Director: Sophie Dupuis
Emerging drag queen Simon begins a passionate, yet destructive relationship with an alluring new man, as his mother re-enters his life after 15 years
Christy Christy
Drama 2025 95 mins Director: Brendan Canty
Deeply moving portrait of a young man thrown out of his foster home, trying for a new start after moving in with his estranged brother in Cork.
A Night Like This A Night Like This
Drama 2025 101 mins Director: Liam Calvert
Two seemingly mismatched men form an unexpected connection over the course of one cold London night, in this warm-hearted debut from Liam Calvert.
Neruda Neruda
Biopic 2016 110 mins Director: Pablo Larraín
Pablo Larraín's bold, inventive detective thriller offers an electrifying contemplation of the Chilean poet's life on the run in the late 1940s.
Bad Education Bad Education
Drama 2004 101 mins Director: Pedro Almodóvar
Film director Enrique (Fele Martínez) is visited by a man claiming to be Ignacio (Gael García Bernal), his first love.
Blindness Blindness
Thriller 2008 121 mins Director: Fernando Meirelles
Fernando Meirelles (City of God) presents a haunting dystopian allegory about a sudden epidemic of blindness affecting humanity.
The Ceremony The Ceremony
Thriller 2024 92 mins Director: Jack King
When night falls, two Bradford car wash workers are dragged into an escalating moral crisis.
Palestine 36 Palestine 36
Period drama 2025 120 mins Director: Annemarie Jacir
Acclaimed Palestinian director Annemarie Jacir’s most ambitious work is a powerful exploration of the events leading up to the Arab Revolt of 1936.
Ghost Trail Ghost Trail
Thriller 2024 106 mins Director: Jonathan Millet
Tense, morally complex political thriller about a man hunting down fugitive war criminals from the Assad regime in Syria, inspired by true events.
Plainclothes Plainclothes
Drama 2025 97 mins Director: Carmen Emmi
Tom Blyth and Russell Tovey lead a Sundance-prize winning ensemble in this knockout cruising drama from debut director Carmen Emmi.
What Have You Done Today Mervyn Day? What Have You Done Today Mervyn Day?
Documentary 2005 45 mins Director: Paul Kelly
Paul Kelly’s second collaboration with pop band Saint Etienne traces the hidden history of East London’s Lower Lea Valley before its Olympic makeover.
Young Hearts Young Hearts
Drama 2024 99 mins Director: Anthony Schatteman
A gentle and sincere story of queer love between two young teenage boys, told with warmth and humour.