“Sicario” Fiction and reality created by director Villeneuve and genius screenwriter Taylor Sheridan, who have a divine perspective

The Sicario fiction and reality drawn by genius screenwriter Sheridan

I have mentioned the features of this film that only director Villeneuve could have done, but in fact the story was born from the life's work of screenwriter Taylor Sheridan. Sheridan, who had been active as a supporting actor, decided to become a screenwriter as he approached middle age and focused on an area that could be called "the frontier of modern America" ​​as a motif for his portrayal.

These were the three films that were born: Sicario, set along the border between Arizona and Mexico; The Last Chase (2016), which looked at the impoverished areas of Texas; and Wind River (2017), which sympathized with the plight of Native Americans who were driven to live in the frigid cold. Although there is no narrative connection between these works, they are full of power to expose the bitter reality that law and order no longer have any meaning, to make us feel uneasy in our safe zones, and to shatter the illusion of a false sense of "peace."

“Sicario” (C) 2016 Lions Gate Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.

However, Sheridan is not a documentary filmmaker. For example, the city of Ciudad Juarez that she chose as the setting for this film on the Mexican side is a border town that was dubbed "the most dangerous city in the world" due to the intensifying conflict between drug cartels. There are many masterpieces that delve into the reality of Juarez, such as the feature film " Border Town " (2007) and the documentary " The Ballad of the Massacre " (2013). In this film, Juarez appears as a symbol that aims for a more dramatic effect than in those works.

Sheridan's theme in this film is the gray area where the boundary between justice and evil has become ambiguous and expanded as the drug war intensifies. To that end, he focuses on the hidden side that is not reported in the news, such as the connection between the law enforcement authorities and the drug industry and national-level covert operations. The worldview presented in "Sicario" is that the situation has become so huge and complicated that an individual's sense of justice like Kate can no longer even scratch it.

“Sicario” (C) 2016 Lions Gate Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.

In addition, the motif that Sheridan used to depict the "conspiracy theory"-like development was the city of "Medellin" in Colombia, South America, and the "Medellin Cartel," the most notorious drug cartel in history, which is inseparably linked to the city. It is known that the cartel was run by Pablo Escobar, a real-life drug lord who was played by Benicio del Toro in " Escobar: Paradise Lost " (2014).

However, Escobar was shot dead in Medellin in 1993, and the Medellin Cartel collapsed. After that, the Cali Cartel, based in Cali, Colombia, took over, and the main battlefield of the drug war has now shifted to Mexico. In other words, the existence of "Medellin" mentioned in this film is almost entirely fictional, and is merely a dramatic reference to the existence of the most famous drug lord in history, but does not reflect the current reality.

What's interesting is that we, the audience, are overwhelmed by the cold, stern narrative and are unable to separate the entertainment value of this film from the journalistic aspect that uncovers reality. Sheridan has always had the ability to blur the line between fiction and reality, and "Sicario" is a prime example of this. In the sequel, " Sicario: Day of the Soldado, " with Alejandro as the main character, Sheridan tries to further expand this worldview by increasing the proportion of fiction.

"Sicario" trailer

By comparing Sicario and Sicario: Day of the Soldado, which are similar like twins but completely different in character, I felt that I could see a breadth and depth that I wouldn't get from watching either one alone, so I would definitely recommend checking them both out. The stories aren't directly connected, so it might be fun to watch Sicario first and then go back to Sicario.

Text: Akira Murayama

Born in 1971. Writes articles for magazines, newspapers, movie sites, etc. Representative of “ShortCuts,” a review site for distribution-based works.

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“Sicario” DVD & Blu-ray now on sale

DVD 1,200 yen (excluding tax) Blu-ray 1,800 yen (excluding tax)

Publisher/distributor: Happinet

(C) 2016 Lions Gate Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.