Deadland

“El Paso, por favor.”

When politicians decide to crack down on unapproved immigration, migrants suffer, and so do the state agents sent to enforce it. The latter might not attract much sympathy, but Lance Larson’s genre-bending film, which screened at SXSW 2023, recognises that they are human beings. When Angel (Roberto Urbina) finds a stranger (Luis Chávez) wading into the waters of the Rio Grande, his first instinct is to warn him of the danger in the smooth-looking but fast flowing waters. The stranger doesn’t listen and when Angel pulls him out, he’s not breathing. Some time later, in the back of Angel’s car, the body bag begins to unzip.

“El Paso, por favor,” comes the stranger’s voice.

We never do find out why El Paso is so important, but that’s only one of the mysteries at work here. After dropping the stranger off with his colleagues – the quickest way to get him first aid – Angel drives home to find another apparent stranger sitting at his dining table. This time, though, the situation is a little different. As Angel’s wife Hannah (Kendal Rae) quickly explains, this man, Ignacio (Manuel Uriza), claims to be Angel’s father, and is carrying a picture of his mother as proof.

These two mysteries play out side by side in a story which keeps finding more rabbit holes to wander down. A violent incident at the border guard station leads to a cover-up and makes the arrival of two internal affairs agents, who after Ignacio. all the more unnerving. Angel isn’t even sure that he wants the old man around, and struggles with the legacy of years of estrangement, though Hannah develops a fondness for her guest straight away. Angel’s colleagues Hitchcock (McCaul Lombardi) and Salomé (Julieth Restrepo) both find themselves struggling, in different ways, with the psychological effects of guilt.

Numerous odd little details here suggest additional lines of enquiry. The stranger carries a small brass medallion emblazoned with a moon and star, often used traditionally to invoke the blessing of the Virgin Mary. There is a repeatedly referenced metaphor of the US as a branching tree and Mexico as a root system. Dreamlike interludes carry us to a vast white desert, suggesting the territory where most of the characters have some ancestral roots.

The difficulty with all this is that too many threads are left hanging, becoming distractions rather than contributing to the atmosphere. The acting is decent but not outstanding and there isn’t much of an emotional arc. The film is strong in addressing the plight of migrants and effective in making its point about how families in this region have always straddled the border. Other aspects of its narrative fail to satisfy, however, as it’s over-stuffed and unwilling to commit to anything meaningful. All in all it feels like a missed opportunity.