Sicario: An Exploration of Good and Evil
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- Опубліковано 27 вер 2024
- What defines the boundaries between good and evil? A Matter of Film explores this existential question as we take a look at Denis Villeneuve's Sicario.
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What defines the boundaries between good and evil? This question has remained deeply ingrained in the human psyche since the dawn of mankind. Countless stories have been dedicated to finding a definite solution, a final answer to the question. It’s one of the most conventional themes in literature, a universal component of the human condition. Since childhood we are taught to think in binary, to create black and white solutions to our problems. Denis Villeneuve’s Sicario presents a different way to think about a big problem: The War on Drugs, indicating that the line between good and evil is blurrier than we ever thought. “Nothing will make sense to your American ears. But in the end, you will understand.”
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Let us know, what's your favorite Denis Villeneuve film?
This is decent, bit that has to go to 2049 for me
@@lostcause69420 i turned Arrival off, it was poo
@@lostcause69420 Prisoners doesn't stand out particulalryl, it's alright watch once
Blade Runner: 2049
I love every single movie of him ,but Enemy has a special place for many reasons . He is my favourite directors and I can't wait for Dune
For me, this is one of the best films to have come out of Hollywood in the last decade
emily blunt was fantastic
Yes, THANK YOU. I feel the same way and have been recommending it to so many till this day. However, my wonderful friends would rather watch John Wick (which I like as well for entertainment) lol. Films like Sicario and No country for old men are films that allow you to feel this sense of real life events. Unpredictability.
@@nolovelost3981 they are realistic action movies , with realistic outcomes for the participants
@@nolovelost3981 As entertainment I found it a bit dry. Not everything meaningful is also good for all purposes. I'm not certain I'd even say I enjoyed the experience so much. Was it rewarding though? Yes.
Got more recommendations?
That ending scene is brilliant. Conveying the entire theme of the film without saying a single word.
It works on so many levels! 1) The acceptance that violence and murder are a part of daily life. The referee's whistle taking their attention back off the violent realities that surround them and back to normality; gunfire is an accepted form of life. Someone also mentioned that the mother barely flinches and this could suggest that she also expected her husband to die. 2) The men are absent, tied up in the cartel life (or dead) and the women take their sons to soccer practice. 3) The boy's father was murdered - will this affect him the same way it affected Alejandro? The way the boy chases the ball at the end of the film with determination from the kickoff perhaps hints that he will be consumed by this in some way for the rest of his life. And finally 4) the most overt analogy that the drug war is just a game being played out without any sense of right and wrong - it's purely about winning at all costs.
@@stephenetheridge826 I agree, this is the first video I have watched on this channel. I'm so glad the comments have such insightful people in here. I love this analogy!
"The idea that there is a good distinction between good and evil is revealed in the end to be nothing more than a children's game." amazing interpretation. keep it up man!
Thanks Syed!
Good point......there really is no distinction, bcuz both good and evil use basically the same methods to win the day......it comes down to who has the most firepower, the best tactics, and who's the better shot......🤔
That’s a lie obey God’s commandments or burn in hell fire. You know the way but you don’t want to and who push drugs street or doctor order drugs are pushing evil. Obey the Ten Commandments plain and simple.
Alejandro was a big prosecutor, he played it by the book and look where that got him
"Alenjandre"?
Yeah the whole 'Good guys becoming the bad they're fighting' take is simplistic and stale. The cartels are truly evil people - they aren't simply drug dealers, they're genuinely cruel people pursuing power for its own sake - and they completely deserve being fought on the terms they themselves have chosen.
I also don't buy the take that Kate is a pure idealist. Her motives were just as much careerist (Fed Gov LEOs need to have cross agency assignments on their CVs if they hope to advance, something her character was undoubtedly aware of). Her ambitions just got her in over her head.
ETA: The idea that it's a binary either/or choice between a careerism or idealism is a bit specious. A person can definitely perceive themself as idealistic while pursuing their ambitions: a careerist, to the extent that they're conforming to a system that reinforces their perception of the ethical nature of their actions, can see themself as a high moral actor. I'd argue that this was the case with Kate, and argue that realization of this was why she gave in to Alejandro at the end.
@E The Stanford Prison Experiment has been relatively discredited based on accounts of those involved and Philip Zambardo's girlfriend at the time.
gen.medium.com/the-lifespan-of-a-lie-d869212b1f62
@@paulfrantizek102 Nah. The last scene prove she was more than a careerist and is a true idealist. If she had no ideals and just want to progress her career why did she had a problem signing the paper Alejandro asked her to sign? She could have just sign it and sing kumbaya and get on with her career with the notations of her involvement in that operation. But she refused. She only signed it when Alejandro put a gun on her head taking the choice out of her.
Also she did not ask to be involved. Brolin's character picked her.
"Yeah the whole 'Good guys becoming the bad they're fighting' take is simplistic and stale." Yeah nah... again you missed the whole point. Sure Cartels are all evil. But what about Silvio the cop who acts like a courier? He was just a family man trying to help his family survive in a Cartel ridden environment? That is a grey area. Was is morally correct to kill him too?
How about the 2 boys of the drug lord? Alejandro killed them in cold blood. Cartel did it to him so he did the same thing to them. 3 children are dead and everyone is a killer. I do not subscribe to the idea that the kids are evil too.
@@rasaecnai But the thing is that a man kills a cartel boss in front of his wife and sons those said boys inherit there fathers cartel or atleast know all about it so leaving them to flower and take him out in the future. Why play 50/50 that was the mission all along, no witnesses, no potential trail back to you
Speaking of the colour of that the characters wear, in the scene post the escort mission where kate and the CIA guy are arguing, I love how they switch to a wide angle. Kate's t-shirt resembles the sky and the man she's arguing, his shirt resembles the colour of the ground. Almost like a visual way of depicting their contrasting ideas.
Reggie Dsouza
In another excellent video essay about 'Sicario', it notes that her t-shirt starts off being a brightish blue, but, during the course of the movie, the shirts she wears becomes more and more washed out until the end where it is a almost pale grey colour. As the essay goes (and I wish I can remember whom made it ...), that shows the subtle moral shift from being the hard-nosed SSA in charge of the FBI SWAT/HRT team in the raid in the beginning, to finding herself slowly, but completely out of her depth; all semblance of the moral code she held as a LEO was slowly being diluted the deeper she found herself involved, right up to the tunnel scene, and especially the attack in her room. She, of course, may not have known at all that the intention of the tunnel raid was merely a diversion, in order to get Alejandro to his target, the boss of a low-level cartel. Nevertheless, despite her complete collapse at the end, letting herself falsely sign the document, stating the entire operation was 'by the book', even though it was at gun-point (one commentator a while back pointed out the way that Alejandro pointed Kate's gun under her chin would be exactly the same way if she ended up 'committing suicide' ...), she couldn't bring herself to shoot him, especially when he had his back to her ..
This maybe also due to the fact that, iirc, after the attack on her in her room, Alejandro mentioned that she reminded him of his daughter, the same one, as Matt described later, whom was murdered by being thrown into a bath of acid ... an unbelievably, and excruciatingly, painful way to die. She must have remembered all of that as he stood there ...
That's a cool point to bring up.
Sicario is such a great film, years later people are still analyzing it. It’s one of my favorites for sure.
One of my favourite movies of all time!!! and you have made a brilliant video on it!. thank you.
Thank you very much for the support, Madhav :)
“Moral ambiguity” preys upon or presumes the ‘need’ for so-called ‘redemptive violence’ so that normally sane people can be persuaded to participate in vile/inhuman/brutal acts.
“. . . It seems to me that a human being with the very best of intentions can do immeasurable harm, if he is immodest enough to wish to profit those whose spirit and will are concealed from him. . . .”
― Nietzsche, 1885 letter
I would like to see your look on "Heat" movie with de Niro and Pacino
Or Killing them softly
Please give us this!
Acid Trungpa Heat- Emptiness of Material De Niro’s line “you will not lose a dime… do not be a hero”
I back this too !
Heat is so boring
Excellent work guys..never saw this movie..now I have to check it out!
it largely went under the radar. did not win any awards or mention. but damn this was the bet movie i have seen in the last five years. it gave me the same feels after watching, movies like the pulp fiction, saving private ryan, or godfather. that feeling that you've experience art...something profound.
This is very helpful , good timing too thanks.
I really felt something after watching this movie for the first time. I didn’t know what it was, but, I did know this movie was special. Now I know why it felt so different from the over used war on drugs theme. Thank you Denis for this masterpiece
What I love about Denis Villeneuve is that he knows how to create great characters.
One of my favorite movies of all times.
Mine too.
I was waiting for Sicario! Kudos!
The movie itself was great, but the time and thought that went into writing & editing this review were phenomenal!
I can’t tell you how amazing that review was ...
This is a great movie to watch. Seeing all the roles the characters fulfill, seeing Kate through her journey in this movie is great.
This movie was incredible . Im so impressed on how you can view things from such a unique perspective. Excellent editing too
Brilliant Essay! Watched the movie a month ago! Perfect timing! Thank you!
5:20 "Some people find it jarring..."
Yes! I noticed that when I saw the film just last night. It almost felt like I was suddenly watching a different movie.
Throughout it had either been Kate's fish out of water perspective or an ensemble of perspectives. Then suddenly the most impactful thing in the movie happens, and we're just with Alejandro in an intense way for a relatively extended period.
But You're Right--that deviation from formal continuity is justified by the tremendous weight of the scene.
No one is on the inside the way Alejandro is. He's paid the ultimate price in what happened to his family. He's the most wounded. His reaction in the dinner scene is far and anyway the most morally daunting event in the movie.
However swiftly, he includes two complete innocents in his retribution. (I'm trying to keep this comment spoiler free. Forgive the vague abstractions.)
I could ponder forever whether I'm apalled by what Alejandro did in the climax. And in the denouement.
A man with a lesser excuse would disgust me. But Alejandro has the ultimate justification for his campaign of revenge...
Beautifully morally ambitious, creating truly uncomfortable moral ambivalence.
I wish life weren't this way--but while it is, I have infinite respect for filmmakers who can reveal that to us while we sit safely in our living rooms.
It is a deep lesson that anyone who wishes to live in reality needs to learn...
The thing is there is no good and evil, there is no black and white - there are only shades of gray 😉
This film is incredible and Emily deserved to be nominated for an Oscar for best actress for this film!
The guy from Get Out is a snitch for the cartel and every scene he's in fits this
Wait, explain this please
@@josiahconnell6655 watch the movie closely with that tidbit of information in mind
Sheridan is a master of this type storytelling. Hell of High Water forces similar ambiguity around good and evil.
"nothing will make sense to American ears,but in the end you will understand"
Pretty much a summary of the war on drugs.
Very interesting. I saw the Allejandro character as effectively the villain of the film.
There are a lot of reviews of Sicario, but this is one of the most clever and accurate
The only two movies in my collection that I have not see yet!
You guys consistently create incredible content. I have no doubt you'll reach 1M subscribers.
I watched this multiple times in theaters and I still have the original poster.
In my humble opinion the only thing that separates good and evil is the motivation for which one fights for
What if "the ends justifies the means" is the cause of every atrocity ever committed?
@@TheJeremyKentBGross interesting how you put that let’s take a step back atrocities are just that atrocities Hitler killing 6 million Jews Stalin letting 20 million people starve to death and everything else you can pretty much name that was horrible Castro‘s revolution no good came out of any of those acts
So no matter what means you can justify the ends will never be accepted
@@TheJeremyKentBGross let’s go even further with a more current event the riots that just occurred in the last two years what changed nothing Black people are still being gun down by Black people pleaser still getting shot drugs are still being dealt people are still poor the richer still taking a vantage of everybody so burning a bunch of businesses to the ground terrorizing other Americans destroying property and wreaking havoc in the streets of all the cities no good came of it
And Black Lives Matter now stands for buy large Mansions because he took all the money that they supposedly said they cared about of all the black people and their problems and took advantage of them
WHICH IS HORRIBLE
And on a sidenote violence of any kind unless justified as self-defense should never be tolerated
Again a great video from you guys! Apart from the pronounciation of Villeneuve I really enjoyed this one
fantastic video.
Sometimes you have to become the monster, to kill the monsters.
Brilliant review of a Masterpiece.
The ends justify the means. Sometimes normal people have to do bad things to make things better or to keep the common good. It’s not pretty, it’s not nice, maybe it’s not even good. But sometimes it has to be done. That’s my two cents.
"You cut the head of the snake and 2 more grow back" In drug dealing that the opposit, it's more You cut the head of the snake and another one get bigger and more aggressive, which make the situation even worst
Alejandro's methods might be effective, but we don't really see that. For all we know, the drug lord he kills is quickly replaced by another and nothing changes. Alejandro's motivation could (and IMO is) solely getting revenge. All the talk about making a difference was just his means to an end; his lie to get what he wants, along with all the other lies that Kate is told.
Alejandro is a cautionary tale. He is the man whose grief has transformed him into the thing he hates. So, the lesson from him is that you become your enemy, the thing you think is evil. But, if you do that are you really winning? You've lost the moral argument.
I suggest you spend some more time with this film; Alejandro is the actual protagonist of Sicario. Kate is a proxy. The entire film is about Alejandro. Even Kate believed that this story was all about her UNTIL Matt makes it clear to her that it isn’t. Brutal and brilliant film. With buried nuance that despite its name is also a brutal beast.
Cheers!
jesus that was amazing, please do Killing them softly
Subbed.
A top-3 movie of all time for me
You should really do a video on no country for old men
That's a great choice! We love that movie :)
Took me twice a rewatch to get what and who is it about.
Kate represents us, the viewers, seeing things unfold through her perspective.
Alejandro being the main character in the end.
Let’s not forget writer Taylor Sheridan’s contribution in creating this story
Benicio DelToro is the Puerto Rican Brad Pitt. I just finished watching Sicario again, and the similarities between them are very noticeable.
Change my mind.
I want Howard the Duck.
The CIA goals is different from Alejandro's goals, for him it's personal. Best Movie Ever! It leaves the audience some questions
I knew Matt was CIA as soon as I saw those flip flops.
You should cover Major Payne
How was the mission a success? Nothing changes when one dude at the top gets killed, somebody else just ends up filling the same role.
Thanks very much.wonderful...can u make video on Denis Villeneuve directed Enemy...plz sir
Love that movie. We'll keep it mind :)
Great movie! - Very nice video also!
As a SCOTUS justice once observed concerning obesity "I can't define evil but I know it when I see it". As a 30 year LEO vet I think you got the point of the film wrong. We will never get all the drunk drivers and we will never stop domestic violence but when faced with evil, good must try. As violent as this film was it demonstrates that when faced with a great evil you sometimes have to use tactics equal to the enemy. Most of these drug cartels operate through the use of terror. The key is to make them afraid of you.
The final scene is families at a soccer game hearing gun shots in the distance, implying that making the cartels "afraid of U.s. law enforcement" didn't really change anything. Furthermore, The U.S. managing the cartels(but acknowledging their inevitability) , through the use of a system that would certainly not be transparent to America's voters nor Mexico's, seems incredibly suspicious. You're just going to trust that when the military industrial complex puts their thumb on the scale for this or that cartel, that action wouldn't be subject to corruption or politics? You would believe that those actions would be to serve the citizens of Mexico and the United States and not for the purposes of forming a Mexico that would me more amenable to the interests of U.S. elites or to feed the military industrial complex? You may think well, "managing" it is better than doing nothing, and you'd probably be right except that I'd have to say that we could do more. We could gradually move toward legalizing all drugs. Yes, that would cause problems here in the United States, but you would have nothing like what you see in Mexico now. If we did this the carnage in the really violent parts of Mexico would actually reduce in the long term.The right decision is whatever protects the most lives, American or Mexican.
@@jaguarandi2 You make some valid points but somewhat vague on solutions. Legalization of hardcore addictive drugs is a non-starter, it would destroy society. The real problem you are hinting at is government corruption, on both sides. While we have less than most countries we have it. The corruption of our current president is obvious yet the media does nothing or actively covers it up. At the same time they spent four years hounding the previous POTUS over absolutely made up allegations. As long as voters tolerate such a media and government corruption we will continue to have both.
This movie scared the living shit out of me
I was hoping you would do an essay on Kilo Two Bravo (Released in England as Kajaki). It's one of the most intense war movies i've seen without any real combat.
Well done synopsis. Well done...
The analysis I live for
A good exploration.. bad can’t be defeated through bad ..!!
Someone once said :
“ When you dance with the devil, the devil doesn’t change. The devil changes you ! “
One of the best movies and of course the review
I truly love your work
And we truly love you, Chris. Thank you for your support.
What is the name of the classical sounding piece of music at the start of the video?
Name of the song playing at 4:27?
Epic analysis bro 👍🏼
I love when he used the work ambiguous, he uses the picture of the one scene all the fans can't decide whether a man got waterboarded or raped.
Nice video mate!
Please analyse Goodfellas if you haven't already
Someone was watching this last week on Film Four
The people who worry me are the ones that think Matt is the cool guy and this is a good idea.
Amazing movies. I liked the sequel even more. Absolutely terrifying
I see the movie as a revenge movie but seen from someone else's point of view. Look at any other revenge movie, the main characters are usually vigilantes going for the final kill. Same as Alejandro. Just now it's seen in a realistic, layered way form outside
great vid!
Make a video about the others VIlleuneve's movies like Enemy,Blade Runner etc.
Hey there :) we have a video on Blade Runner 2049 ua-cam.com/video/tJdxmthi88E/v-deo.html . Just a heads up, we had some issues with the audio. Enjoy!
This montage with the kids playing soccer and the soldado in the cars. It show how cruel their world.
Our world is.
The movie was all about Alejandro!!! It wasn’t about Kate at all. It was a revenge story told in a creative way.
Thanks so much for the video. It was again absolutely fantastic. And I'm really happy that you didn't do the second Sicario movie as in my opinion it lacks of such a compelling story like the first one. Mesmerizing scenes like the one at the boarder crossing are totally missing. I'm really missing new conceptual movies in the cinema that aren't a reboot or sequel.
great analysis, thanks for the great content… you dropped the point on the color of her (Emily Blunt's) clothes tho, you could've close it.
Thank you Matías, really appreciated! We didn't include it on purpose, it's been the main point of another essay (I don't recall who uploaded), and we wanted to make a new approach :). Have a great day!
I think you should do one on the second Sicario and what it did wrong in comparison to the first. I personally felt it did the first Sicario a disservice
Pi is fun when I saw Alejandro did the time-crisis game finger technique in the trailer. I was out. It just went from super realistic, thought provoking and scary to comically goofy.
Don't you think you should also start recommendations of similar movies along with these good videos?
I would recommend watching all of Denis Villeneuve's films :)
@@AMatterofFilm I have done that already. My most favourite is 'Incendies'.
The movie is not about good or evil.
Because everyone has a motive for doing what they think is necessary .
I feel that Matt and Alejandros methods can make those responsible for the femicide in Mexico pay
In the end of the movie, nothing changed. The assassin was able to kill the man and his family who brutally killed his wife and daughter. But boy who lost his father to assassin was playing soccer ⚽️ on the dirt field and in the background they heard the fighting…killing a drug lord does nothing because someone more evil will replace the previous king of the drug trade in that area.
Anyone know the opera/classical song in the beginning?
I was looking for the same one. I think it's something by Mozart, though later I was wondering about some of the choral pieces in the original Lion King OST too. That said, I'm out of my depth here. Did you make any headway?
Edit: Got it! ua-cam.com/video/k1-TrAvp_xs/v-deo.html
Alejandro is basically John kreese
4:03👍
alejandro wasn't a hitman for the columbian cartel, that's just what kate assumed. it's not impossible that he became one after his family was murdered, but the only thing that we know is that he really was a prosecutor.
I found this movie just good, nothing more.
What’s the opening music?
Hii man,you sound exactly like who talk at the end of movie "American History X"
Complementary dualism
How did we defeat the nasis and the Japanese. Did we do it with pleasantries.
I still support legality but the more Ive learned I dont think that would end organizations like these. Its not like they just sell heroin or coke alot of these groups are into human trafficking and organ trafficking as well both which make just as much if not more money
Pls make a video on enemy 2014
I love the Hunter X Hunter music !
I honestly didn't like this that much the first time I watched it. I felt that it was unfocused and a bit messy in its handling of themes, but maybe a rewatch is in order. If anything, the performances were still powerful as was the direction.
The truth is there are no good guys, and there are no bad guys. Anyone can think of themselves, or their LEO's/Superiors ... as good. Reality is, there is only power, and willingness to use that power.
The day someone in the US decides to use the power that is there, will be the day that the game (drugs and the drug trade) ... is changed. Not "fixed"; it cannot be fixed. But, the game can be changed. Not simplistically fixed or ended. The drug trade will never end.
But the real point of this film is to point out that a change in perspective - and willingness to use power (assets) - can change what is happening on the ground. Matt and Alejandro are the embodiment of that change in perspective; Kate is our current "law enforcement" perspective, shown to be worthless.
I LOVED Sicario, having watched it a dozen times. My only nitpick of the entire film was casting the British actor Emily Blunt in the role of the new CIA recruit. She was so totally wrong for the part on so many levels. First, let's look at her physicality. Does she look like a hardened killer to you?? If you think that, you're imagining someone else.
Secondly, both Benicio Del Toro and Josh Brolin were BORN to play these roles, both cold-blooded goverment killers to the max, entirely capable of the most heinous and brutal acts of violence imaginable. Does Blunt fit this category?? *Absolutely not.* The moment she goes on her very first secret assignment, she immediately begins to question the motives of all her superiors, when she should have been totally silent, keeping her inner doubts entirely to herself. But instead she CONSTANTLY and CONTINUALLY berates and questions all the orders of her team leaders, in the end compromising the outcome of the entire operation. I'm only surprised that neither the Del Toro or Brolin characters didn't shoot her halfway through the movie. Although Blunt is an excellent actress, the next time she should be cast as an English governess or kindergarden teacher, not a ruthless, cold blooded hit lady.
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evil is evil
lesser, greater middling
the line is blurred the definition is arbitrary
if I'm to choose to between 1 evil and another I'd rather not to choose at all