SSC 20: Potluck — Sicario (Villeneuve, 2015) with James Stacey

Part 2 of Blunt Month & episode 20! Tim & Tay are joined by The Grey Nato's James Stacey to talk Emily Blunt, Denis Villeneuve, Roger Deakins, and a lot more in this discussion of Sicario.

Synopsis
Sicario examines the unethical nature of actions taken in the war on drugs by following idealistic FBI agent Kate Macer as she descends into covert anti-cartel operations on US and Mexican soil.

James' Scene [31:47 - 37:54]
Returning from Juarez with a high-value prisoner, Kate, Matt, Alejandro, and a Delta Force squad are trapped in traffic at the border. A tense standoff and momentary shoot-out ensue.

Tim's Scene [40:17 - 43:35]
With Guillermo successfully (if not cleanly) transported across the border, Alejandro and Matt intend to torture him for intel on the cartel’s operations. Before waterboarding Guillermo (among, potentially, other things) Alejandro speaks to another Mexican Prosecutor, Raphael.

Tay's Scene [1:22:55 - 1:32:13]
Against their better judgment, Kate and Reggie tag along as Matt, Alejandro and Delta Force operators storm a tunnel beneath the US-Mexico border.

Links

• 4:00 - Rendezvous with Rama
• 4:30 - Blank Check with Griffin & David
• 7:00 - Villeneuve on "western powers"
• 11:40 - Sheridan's original script
• 45:00 - Edited by Joe Walker
• 52: 00 -  Johan Johansson on composing a new Jaws  theme for Sicario
• 55:50 - Cinefix's breakdown of the border crossing
• 1:07:50 - "Sicario and the Value of Depicting Rape in Abstract"
• 1:18:00 - Villeneuve on "ugly poetry"
• 1:40:30 - Abrams on not hurting Tom Cruise's nose

Recommendations

• Tim: Wind River (Sheridan, 2017) —stream on Netflix.
• Tay: Harry Brown  (Barber, 2009) — stream on Hoopla.
• James: Every Frame A Painting on Youtube (and Voir on Netflix)
• Check out The Grey Nato's Bond episode

All links are verified at the time of publication and based on availability in Canada.

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• Tim on Letterboxd