Don't forget, the original screenplay made it clear Alejandro is the main protagonist, including his voiceover, but Del Toro and Villeneuve agreed to strip 90% of his dialogue to make Alejandro more enigmatic. I get the feeling if Taylor Sheridan's original script had been untouched, this movie wouldn't have been the masterpiece it became.
Could NOT agree more. Taylor is spotty. He's written (and produced) some amazing content and definitely has a knack for storytelling and filmmaking, but he's also spread himself too thin. He seems to be going quantity over quality these days (granted this was 2015 though). But Villeneuve's insight and direction in this film were superb. I remember seeing the X-Ray trivia on Prime Video that mentioned what you said about Villeneuve and Del Toro cutting out most of his lines. It made it almost an entirely different film. It's crazy to imagine it the way it was originally written. Toro did such an amazing job that I can't help but think the original would have been far inferior. The way they ended up doing it seems like the ONLY way it would have worked. Also Villeneuve and Deakins CRUSHED the cinematography in this film. So many memorable shots. My favorite I think is at dusk when they're heading to the tunnel and their silhouettes slowly recede below the horizon until we just see desert and nightfall. Gorgeous.
@@jinks908 Yup. The scene of the shadows disappearing beneath the sunset was the ultimate symbolism of the descent into darkness that was the remainder of the film.
I disagree, seeing what happened to his other projects, Taylor's original script would have been awesome to see. I found sicario very boring, like a linear story pretending to be a whodunit, it felt out of place and like something was missing all the time. i hated it
@@jinks908Too true. I think Josh Brolin spoke for all of us, when he saw Sicario for the first time, not really expecting much, he simply said "Holy Shit".
It be like that the Cartel world has no regards to women and children they could kill the father who was affiliated and still come after your family just because. @@Peyote1312
@BlyGuy Thank you for that comment! I thought I was the only one with that opinion. After I've watched Sicario, I told everyone that from now on I will categorize "horror movies" as "entertainment", because THAT movie depicts the real horror.
When I was watching it, it felt like I was being managed like a CIA asset where you only get told the lies that make you do/think what you are expected to do/think. That was the point of telling the story this way. I loved it.
This is spot on. Kate's character served as the 'fish out of water' protagonist that the audience essentially sees the film through. This is why Sicario 2 didn't work - the perspective is from Brolin/Del Toro's characters, and they lose any and all mystery or aura around them.
Alejandro wears a light jacket over a dark shirt and tie throughout the film. He is a wolf in sheep's clothing. 11:00 By the end, he sheds his guise and shows his true nature.
Sicario: One of the great scripts and castings that I’ve seen. The sense of authenticity is utterly breathtaking. Thanks for paying homage to a truly intelligent script.
I thought 2 was just as good, if not better. I can see why general audiences dont like it quite as much, but if youre a huge fan of the 1st, 2 is more of the same, with enough changes to the plot to make it just as interesting. Gotta have closed captioning for the 2nd half of 2 tho, unless you speak Spanish, or youll miss out.
One detail that I also love about Sicario is Kate's shirt. In the beginning it's light blue, but as the film goes along it gets paler and paler until the end when it's a washed-out dull white. This mirrors her gradual loss of moral certainty. Brilliantly subtle.
@JustinTaylormade I've never seen Enemy, but, I've read the premise, and I have looked out for it on the streaming services, and, it'd be a fascinating movie to watch, and I think I'd enjoy it because most of Villeneuve's movies are exceptional.
@jmz2144 Blade Runner is in my top 10 favourite films, but, I was underwhelmed with Blade Runner 2049. I think I need to watch it again, and, I'm hoping i will appreciate it more second time around.
The musical score is INCREDIBLE. I remember watching this in the cinema and the world that was presented on the screen sounded like it was about to break open and swallow its inhabitants. I own the soundtrack on compact disc. It's a masterpiece.
It's one of those films that you can watch over and over again. And that background sound track is everywhere at all times and it puts you on edge; it gives you a feeling of apprehension and dread.
Great movie and great performances. When Benicio Del Toro read the script, he demanded LESS dialogue for his character. Because he wanted to be a mysterious, brooding presence in the background of the earlier scenes.
Yeah, he knows the principle of less is more. He's done this before. Way of the Gun he wanted much less dialogue, and of course Usual Suspects he wanted to play it the way it is in the film, where his character is almost incomprehensible. Everyone thought it was a crazy idea at the time, but after release admitted that whenever he was on screen, he stole it. Clever bloke that Benicio.
@@knowtheplan472 February 2018 unfortunately... According to toxicologists it was a mix of cocaine and flu medication. Incredibly talented person, such a shame.
He was originally going to do the score for Blade Runner 2049 in 2017 but Hans Zimmer wound up getting the job. I loved Zimmer's work but will always wonder what Johansson's version would sound like.
@RCAvhstape Actually, he worked on it, but I believe he couldn't nail what Denis wanted, so they parted ways. Denis has an interview before his passing explaining the switch and that he'd love to work with Johan again. Truly sad situation.
Kate's other role in the film was really to be a moral compass, she was there to constantly remind viewers that lot of what the "good" guys were doing was actually morally wrong. She also showed the flaws on how hard it is to achieve anything productive when you faithfully play by all the rules against an adversary who breaks them constantly. But more to the point because she sets the moral scale for the viewers when Alejandro finally does get his revenge on Alarcon, the viewers aren't left cheering or any sort of real catharsis. We literally see Alejandro gun down Alarcon's wife and kids in cold blood right in front of the man and wait just a few seconds long enough for Alarcon to feel the pain and horror of such a sudden violent loss as he had made Alejandro feel in the past, before Alejandro finally shoots him and settles the score. I did appreciate the unflinching brutality of the act of revenge in the film, its painted in a far more grim and numb light then what we often get from revenge stories where the act is portrayed as triumph worthy of applause. The fact that when he had finally achieve his goal, Alejandro just seemed indifferent to it, almost as if the mental and emotional price he had to pay to make to that point was so high he had nothing else to give when it was done. Sicario is an overlooked and sadly misunderstood gem, but I am glad that I'm not the only 1 out there who appreciates it.
I have a few questions and statement to challenge this idea of morally wrong. Please note, I am not calling you wrong or anything derogatory, simply challenging the notion that the US was in the wrong in this movie, for some fun back and forth. In this movie, it starts by showing a drug house with dead bodies hiding in the walls. These people are suppling drugs to the local community for profit, which destroys families, these Cartel members were so evil, they were comfortable with dead bodies rotting in the walls only meters from them. Moving further into the movie, we're shown suicide bombers entering a supermarket and killing innocent people. At this time, is it now not the government's role to step in and protect the innocent? The Cartel have shown to kill, sell drugs and smuggle desperate innocent people for money, they're shown continuously playing by zero rules. At this point, is it not morally wrong to keep the gloves on, potentially killing our soldiers, when taking the gloves off and showing no mercy to those who showed the innocent none is the right thing to do & more importantly the solum duty of those who claim to protect us. Shuffling forward again, when we see Alejandro confront Alaron, I would comfortably claim (without further information provided to the viewer to state otherwise) in that scene there was only two innocent people, being the children. The wife has benefited from the Cartels evils, without so much challenging the leader to stop (that we know of), this scene hits hard due to Alejandro taking the children's lives, however sad reality we live in, leaving them alive would've bred two men with a simple goal of revenge by any means. To fight evil, one must be willing to cross lines and tarnish themselves for the benefit of the those they protect, if you're not willing to do that, you need to step aside for those with the courage to do it. If not, countless more innocents will die at the hands of leaders who do not take the enemy seriously.
I thought hte point is t hat even a well meaning agent is still basically a blind stormtrooper and the cops are literally teh same as the criminals t hey just start with the resources/power
Actually, you are wrong about this, what she complains about in the movie is stuff she should already know. Like when they are in Mexico waiting to cross and she gets upset they move on the cartel members. The agents do not just open fire, they wait until they are moved upon before firing. This is morally correct, but Kate is whining like a soccer mom in the SUV when she, as an FBI agent, should be understanding about whats going on. Kate if a whiny character that the film could have been better without.
Kate's perspective was like us watching the movie. Trying to understand what is going and why. The movie spoon feeds you a little bit each time as the movie progresses. This is to keep us intrigued throughout. I can't say if it fools the public since the movie is called Sicario for a reason and the movie does finally focus on Alejandro during the cop drive to the Alarcon hit. I'll just say it is a 2nd party perspective rather than be fooled.
More like drip feeds the audience the underlying story. “Spoon feed” means that everything is made easily consumable for the audience, like how a baby is spoon fed. “Drip feed” means that the underlying story is slowly revealed to the audience so that the audience never quite gets all of the story until the end.
One small correction: Kate knows what cartel do. She saw bodies in the beginning of the film, and the explosion. She knows what evil she is fighting, but does not know or understand the goals and methods of Matt and Alejandro
Seeing the beast's destruction is not the same thing as facing the beast. Cate sees the monster's destruction, but not really the monster itself. Not seeing the monster directly makes it more terrifying.
I see what you're saying, but its more the fact that she has seen them and knows its there but hasn't ever truly experienced it. It's like watching the news and seeing that crimes have been committed and then having an opinion on the horrors of the real world.
That’s not a quote, no one said “your”, they said *you’re. It is two words, you are. “Your” cannot make sense in that sentence. The words cannot be used interchangeably. Your car or you’re asking about my car.
@@teeanahera8949 YOU'RE a buzzkill teeanahera8949. You clearly knew what the original poster meant when they commented the quote from the movie. Not to mention "your" and "you're" sound exactly the same when SPOKEN like in the MOVIE. I hope YOUR pillow is hot on both sides tonight.
Have watched that film a number of times. Never appreciated the perspective subtleties, until I saw this presentation you put together. Thanks. Enjoyed your work.
Don't forget Kate's inspiration was revenge too. Her team took a big hit at the very beginning of the movie during their so called "raid". The backyard explosion was a booby trapped tunnel door. Intertwined and motivated to seek the source. You've picked one of the best movies ever made to show the results of a great screen play. A new mold was cut with this movie in the arena of realness. Jack Reacher series also does a great effort in the area of realness. Real men skilled and aware of their real task in life are the scariest beings on earth. Why? They can emotionally shut down to focus on their focused obligation without the side affect of fear or intimidation. You won't ever change them. You can only kill them, be killed by them or get out of their way altogether.
Realism??? It's incredibly stylized and far from realistic. There are an incredible number of reasons why every given scene couldn;t happen in real life and each scene is filled with inaccuracies.
@@WeWasKingz3rdReich where every movie has CGI and over the top action scenes, Sicario has realistic scenes. If you want to argue semantics about what could or couldn’t happen fine, but the movie was great and part of that is because how it’s shot and directed.
I think this movie did a great job of saying that real life is not a movie and that there really are no clear cut good guys and bad guys. It's so easy at the start of the movie to start sympathizing with Alejandro and almost cheer him on as he seeks justice for his slain wife and daughter. Then he murders an entire family just so the man who killed his family understands what he's going through. You then realize that you have been justifying Alejandro's actions up until that point, torture and murder. He quite literally has become the same type of person who slaughtered his family. This film and its sequel are cinematic masterpieces imo and Antonio and Josh nailed their rolls. When you stare into the abyss long enough it changes you.
Man. Watching this video essay makes me want to watch Sicario I and II again. A video essay, made by this channel, for Sicario II would be excellent. Well done 👍
The end scene with Alejandro is the coldest thing I’ve ever seen in an action movie. And I love the teaser they give you about what he went through when he’s on the jet to Juarez with Kate and Matt and he’s asleep, then out of nowhere he jumps up from a bad dream and goes to stab someone but nobody is there. The minute I saw that I knew he was a straight killer.
@@teslasharkwhat’s got you so upset? You just clicked on a video to leave 3 negative comments about a movie you don’t like? I don’t like a lot of movies, I don’t watch videos about them. Get help.
An important theme throughout the film is that people are being used to push selfish or personal gains. Kate is LITERALLY being used by the narrative framing to tell Alejandro's story, just like Kate is being used to legalize the raids their doing in Juarez
Kate wasn’t being used to legalize raids in Juarez, she was the liaison that allowed the CIA to conduct operations on U.S. soil. They cannot legally do so without a U.S. liaison.
Alejandro is also being used. The state has realised playing by the book will never solve the drug problem, so a dirty war, never officially condoned, outside of the law, is being waged against the cartels. Alejandro thinks he's serving his own interest, his quest for revenge, but is being used to do what the law never could.
I noticed that in both 1 & 2, Alejandro always tells the truth. Whereas, Matt Graver tries to tell the truth except when hes asked directly, he will lie.
Saw complaints about Kate being useless and powerelss and im like.... yeh... that was the whole point. Criticisms against emily blunts acting I wont stand for though, she was awesome
People wanted a power fantasy movie, like so many other action films. Part of this is how do you market a film like Sicario? It's closer to horror than action but based off the marketing you'd think it was some sort of covert ops action film, which it kind of is but also definitely is not.
The problem is she plays an FBI agent that looses his cool at the tiniest things being exceptional bad at her job. She constantly makes bad decisions even falling for a cartel guy flirting with her, or throwing temper tantrums at superiors even attacking them. Blunt way overacts her character like it's a soap opera . It takes away from the realism. It's not about her needing to be a power fantasy at all but what she completely lacks in acting is when to tone it down acting sublime. If you watch this movie with law enforcement they really enjoy it but Blunt is always the laughing stock simply because no one acts like that super dramatic.
@@listrahtes Idk. As someone who doesn't know much about how all that stuff works (like most people) it's perfectly fine. But I can see how it would annoy you. From what I could tell, she is constantly left in the dark, so that's why she's confused and maybe not acting so smart. And the overreacting is...idk... i would act the same lol if not worse. But yeh if you're used to that scene I can understand it being strange, but they gotta make it accessible. I'm big into historical accuracy with firearms so it takes me out of the imersion when I see historical errors or the guns being used in dumb ways, but i'm learning to just let it slide because most people don't notice and it can stop you from enjoying otherwise good movies
The narrative twist addressed here is just one of it's handles. The shocking violence, made so credible, is another distraction from the focus, the protagonist and intelligence hiding in the depths, driving the plan. Your analysis is very good. Clever storytelling, very clever. The sequel was just as good. Thank you
It's a piece of art that I enjoy watching over and over again, it's tense, it's scary, it's confusing, it's violent, it's unforgiven, like los carteles.
Wow! So, Kate is the "Samuel L Jackson" in Sicario - and she really did an amazing good job glue-ing the audience until the dinner scene. Now I see it, dang bro. Emily Blunt and Del Toro are actors I've always respected but also this story structural analysis is gold and shows the brilliant minds behind the camera - so bless you for making videos like this!
I think Sicario is one of the best movies I've ever seen. I kept being uncertain but when Alehandro does the taxi driver at the end I figured it out. Absolutely stunning.
In the grand scheme of all movies Hollywood has clunked out over the past decade Sicario is one of the very few films that was really good like movies used to be back in the 80s and 90s
@@DPMusicStudio Tom Morrisey wrote the book on which the film "Wind River" is based, not the director Sheridan (though I agree his film adaptation is good). The book was also well written. Not to be that dude, but it's a pet peeve of mine when a film is based on a book and no one gives credit to the original. In this case, the film was a pretty decent adaptation of the source material, too. So, when you give praise to the scriptwriter, maybe also give a nod to Morrisey.
@@andrewneedham3281 I didn't know that it was based on a book, so instead of writing a wall of text about your personal pet peeves and lecturing me about it, maybe next time just tell your therapist and leave a short comment that says: "Heads up... this is actually based on a book! So while Sheridan made a great screenplay, the story was written by Bob Smith" or whatever." 🙄
@@DPMusicStudio A paragraph isn't a "wall of text," my dude, nor was I trying to "lecture" you, but apologies nonetheless. Guess I expected more from a channel that purports itself to be artsy, such as properly providing credit to those who are due it.
Taylor Sheridan script, Villeneuve as a director, Deakins as a DOP + A list casting. Hard to assemble a better cocktail for making one of the best modern western.
@@jumu446 Deakins, Villeneuve and Johansson were fucking magic together. The directing, the cinematography and the soundtrack were so fucking tight. I love this movie.
stumbled across this video, and I had never seen Sicario, even though i remembered wanting to see it. After watching the first 30s of the video, I stopped, watched the film, & came back to finish & very glad I didn't spoil anything for myself by watching this prior. Excellent film & very good breakdown.
I've seen this flick around 15 times, and will watch it again. It's a masterpiece. I first saw it in Mexico City, and went back to the cinema the following night to see it again. the sound design and score is off the scale.
This is an awesome essay and didn’t ever think of it from this perspective. Kinda sad this is over 3 years old and no other essays have been done on this channel.
Only when I watched the movie a second time did I appreciate that the film was Alejandro's story, which was ultimately a story about evil, pain, suffering, anguish, and finally revenge. I highly recommend watching Sicario a second and third time. It is so well done that each time you will feel like you are watching a different movie, all of them great.
You missed out on the ending where after Alejandro has accused Kate of not being a wolf, she confronts him from her balcony with her pistol ready to shoot, and his simple stare and look back is enough to make that little flame of a wolf vanish. Incredible movie, I love it.
Agree (“another great movie”) Usual Suspects... one of the first movies utterly hated by film critics. Literally “we hate being fooled”... which I don’t understand: by half suspicion of who this Keyser Soze really was were there, “in narrative” he he. Since then Critics were political ideologues
@@RebeccaCampbell1969 "The Usual Suspects" got a 76 on Metacritic, which is literally an aggregator of scores of professional movie critics. A 76 is a very good score: many of your favorites probably score worse, unless you're into auteur films. So, no, the film was very much liked by critics.
Shout out to Screenwriter Taylor Sheridan for an outstanding job on this (and the sequel) The man is a BEAST! That said, I *did* enjoy Soldado, not as much as this. The difference I think is down to being between a great script in the hands of a bona fide genius like Denis, versus a solid (but unremarkable one) like Stefano Sollima. Not a slight to Stefano, but there's only one Denis ... as evidenced by his masterpiece of BR2049 and now Dune. He is currently without peer, except perhaps for Chris Nolan.
10:08 To ACHIEVE true good??? Coming to terms with the depth of this world being pure evil, is coming to terms with "all have sinned." Man being CAPABLE of good and evil doesn't ERASE the evil man has done. 10:40 Innocence or inexperience of Kate? But for Alejandro, whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster themself. Fighting fire with fire? You can get it over with much quicker with water and/or less oxygen. THIS is an EXCELLENT video. Keep it up.
You fight small fires with water and fire extinguishers. You fight massive forest fires with actual fire, using controlled burning to prevent the fire from spreading further . What alejandro here was fought a forest fire. With the kids dead, the cycle of revenge is gone, and the succession to the cartel is dead. Like a Hydra, more will take its place, but ultimately what he did here while self serving, did infinitely more good than any other possible action. To fight monsters, sometimes you have to be a monster, To fight fires, sometimes you need to use fires.
Very interesting. I’ve always loved Sicario but thought it didn’t have much of a story. Seeing it from this perspective makes sense … it just wasn’t HER story. I would argue that maybe she’s the antagonist. His goal is to get revenge and help take the cartel down and she’s the one to potentially stand in his way with her allegiance to the rules.
Maybe but it didn't explain much about the dudes former life. Like was he involved in some way beforehand? Probably, so I don't really care. But I guess a dead cartel is a dead cartel. Also the CIA dude is all about evil it seems like lol
I disagree, actually. In my opinion, it is Alajandro who is the surprise antagonist. A very common moral in storytelling is that, when it comes to fighting evil in the world, the means is as important as the ends, and that doing evil for good purpose does little to separate one from the very evils that started it all. At the end of the day, where what's-her-nuts is working hard to make a change in the world, dude's just doing what fed boi glowies always do, scummy shit to get their own ends, rather than what they were enacted to do as a public service, by the people, for the people. It may not be the _intended_ message of the movie, but what I got out of it as the moral was: Bad people run the world and they aren't always on most wanted lists.
I have to say I disagree. Sicario doesn't have much story, but this isn't a weakness. Theoretically if the film had focused on Alejandro it would have had a lot of story, but it would have been a fairly silly, cliche story and been as quickly forgotten as hundreds of other crime revenge film. What is clever about Sicario is that it doesn't tell the story of Alejandro, aside from the conclusion the events of that story happen off-screen. Instead Sicario tells the story of a character witnessing that story play out, and places it in the context of the greater fight against the drug gangs. This not only gives us a feeling of hopelessness as Kate struggles to impact the events of the film, it also shows the pointlessness of those events in the context of the greater war. What in a lesser film would have been a triumphant moment of revenge, was instead just another murder that won't change anything. Building a film around a main character with no agency is very difficult, but is necessary in a film telling a story about helplessness in the scale of a problem as big as the cartels. Its a testament to how rare such an achievement is that we end up video essays like this one that can't even understand what Villeneuve actually achieved.
One of my fave movies….. great cast and many twists & turns. I traveled once into Juarez for an overnight on way to west coast. I arrived just after sundown and knew of Juarez’ rep. I got lost….scary but the people I had contact with helped me without reservations. A highlight of my trip
Absolutely love your review of the movie and your explantation of the unfolding of the story! Truly enlightening and enjoyable! Bravo Mr. Film Thought Project !
The score "The Beast" reminds me of the score from Jaws. This low, slow, rhythmic bass that does a great job of making you imagine something terrible hidden just out of sight.
I'm floored. I could see something but didn't pay attention enough to understand what I was seeing. Really appreciate this film like few others. Thanks for the excellent content that I didn't even know I needed. LOL, and I just noticed this is 3 years old. The Internet and YT are surreal.
Great job sorting out the perspectives. Of the dozens of films I have seen over the years, Sicario makes the select list of the films I would watch over and over again. A sample from my list includes The Godfather, Apocalypse Now, Jeremiah Johnson, Bullitt, Runaway Train, The Hunt for Red October, etc. No slight intended for works not listed.
I love Kate's character and how she's used as a foil in Sicario. It gives the audience a sense of familiarity, as many who have never experienced these horrors, or horrors like it, would be able to handle it any differently than she did intuitively.
Well done. It wouldn’t be a Villeneuve film if it wasn't about somebody (or something) other than what you're led to think it is: "Incendies", "Prisoners" and "Enemy" (before "Sicario"), then "Arrival", "Bladerunner 2049"... and now "Dune".
The soundtrack in this movie is superb. The way the music is edited and sound used took my breath away. I went to see this movie a few times in cinema with full Dolby Surround.
This analysis is brilliant. I own the movie and have watched it several times, but this video changed, or I should say focused my understanding of it. The film's architecture, as explained in this video, is brilliant. I wish this channel was making many more videos like this.
Dear Hollywood, Please ignore Plissken. Sicario2, though good, was already a step down from the original. I know that if more money is to be made, you have no bones about making a cash grab and squeezing every dollar from the wallets of every franchise's fans. Example: Godfather3, among many others. Tell Plissken to buy a homeless person a meal with the money he would have wasted on a Sicario3 disappointment. I do however happen to have a script...
I watched this movie again last night and I loved it had you questioning things. I love Benecio's and Josh's characters, I hope there is a third one once Dune wraps up to pick up on the ending of the the last film.
One of the greatest films I’ve ever seen. The confusion throughout the whole movie but at the same time so intense and intriguing, that glues you to the creen, to give you the craziest plot twist ever and on top of that the shocking horrifying ending. No words from me to describe when I first watched this movie.
No ads. At least not for me. Excellent treatment doing justice to the movie. A simple thanks for watching. Excellent editing. I liked, commented, and subscribed automatically. This is what @UA-cam don't understand who feel the need to babysit us adults.
This movie got me to play Ghost Recon Wildlands.. The final boss, although not in the game for like 99% of the time, his presence is all over the world the game is set in. Underrated movie (series).
@@Derpartment It is an okay game. To be honests it is really shallow and repetitive. The AI isn't good at all, and just relies on the standard typical bullet sponge, aimbots, to create a sense of difficulty. The game is visually pretty, and has a lot character customizations so you can roleplay looking like a tactically badass or a rugged mountain man in a flannel and jeans or dress in everyday clothes to semi blend in, despite the fact that you have 2 guns hanging off your back at any given moment. The cutscenes and exposition briefing tapes are really well produced. But overall beyond that AI behavior is extremely basic, no better than GTA3 or GTA4, where they just mindlessly walk around / drive cars. If any enemies spots you and you start having a shootout then they just keep swarming you like the police / gangs in GTA till you leave the area. Guns generally all feel the same, and behave unrealistically. Though there is a lot of them, and a lot of customizations for them. But they're locked behind just a boring game play loop of just essentially getting a helicopter or car, drive to an area on the map, take out like 5-6 enemies. Then pick up the item. Rinse and repeat like 400 times. Stealth mechanics are the typical just stay in the shadows and walk behind an enemy while they have their back turn. You can shoot enemies straight up without somehow alerting the entire base / garrison as long as you take them out within like 3 seconds.
@@Gave-rf1hr Personally I think it overhyped and had a lot of miss opportunities... but if someone like GTA then they will probably like it. Since its basically GTA with Bolivia skin, and slightly better gunplay and stealth mechanic.
I’d like to add, on Kate being the moral judge, and her inevitably being removed from the story, and being outright gone in the second film, could be argued to symbolize that Alejandro and the Contractors in their war against the cartel has lost its moral fight, removing the mask of justice and showing the brutalities of both, and that this isn’t a good vs evil story, but that it’s ones interests vs others interests at all costs
Fantastic video breakdown of the essence of Sicario. I never understood exactly why Sicario tore me to pieces at such a deep level until I watched this video... Kate was not center of this story... She was US... The audience... All of us innocents... All of us introduced to realty of seeing and facing true evil and being emotionally frozen by it.
Great analysis. I often watch films that seem very similar to other films where the first one works and the second falters and ask myself why. You did a really good job illuminating the central device that separates this from other dramatic action films and I really appreciate it. Subscribed!
I see where you're coming with the argument, but it is totally possible to have more than one protagonist and to have one that's passive at that. It's a writing convention that says the audience needs to have an active - not a passive - protagonist. However, Kate brings the audience along on a trip into the heart of darkness, in a manner of speaking, into the land of wolves when she is not one. Indeed, Kate never truly "vanquishes" the "monster" or "bad guy" in this story, but her story is quite compelling regardless. If we were just left with Matt and Alejandro fighting the "bad guys", then the story would lose complexity; it would lose what's compelling about a character not well suited to abject cruelty and brutality finding herself in a place awash with both. So...I think this is really a story about both Kate and Alejandro, and it simply puts weight on Kate and not Alejandro.
@@happydogg312 Maybe this is true, Dogg, but it has nothing to do with the argument Peach was making. Whether Kate possesses the mentality of a warrior has nothing to do with her role as the personification of the viewer. While Alejandro may be the main protagonist in terms of story arc, I agree with Peach that Kate plays an integral role to the film, giving her character almost an equal weight to the main protagonist. By being able to follow her story, which is really the viewer's story, we as viewers have a much better connection with the movie and what it's trying to do. The things being done to Kate are thus being done to us, making the impact of the film more visceral and personal. It gives us a deeper connection to what happens on-screen. Without Kate, the movie would have been a straight, by-the-numbers, boring action flick. So yeah, while she's not the "main protagonist," I still feel she's as equally important to the film. Not that any of this exchange takes away from the main point of the video itself: Alejandro is the movie, of course. I just disagree with the video that this "twist" was so well hidden, after the fact. While I do believe the movie was well constructed to hide this tidbit for much of its runtime, you should be clued into the main character by at least the middle of the second act. If you got through the movie and still thought it was about Kate.... On a different note, Benicio Del Toro killed it in that role, like he kills in every role he does. I've appreciated him as an actor since his role as Fenster in "Usual Suspects."
@@andrewneedham3281 asking "who is the protagonist?" is not the same thing as asking "who's story is this?" because they can be two different person. it is as much kate's story as it is alejandro's story. if the audience is seeing the story from kate's perspective, then it is kate's story we are watching, not alejandro's.
-@@joegame4576 I guess you didn't actually read my full comment, as I literally said, "While Alejandro may be the main protagonist in terms of story arc, I agree with Peach that Kate plays an integral role to the film, giving her character almost an equal weight to the main protagonist.... So yeah, while she's not the "main protagonist," I still feel she's as equally important to the film." So, while you're trying to contradict me, you're actually making the same point as me. It probably doesn't help that my response was to a comment that got deleted, which may have confused you as to the point of my own longwinded drivel.
@@andrewneedham3281 while i agree that kate had an important role, that wasn't my point. my point is that it's kate's story because it's being told from kate's point of view. it has nothing to do with her playing an "integral role". the video's point, if i understand correctly, is that audience thinks it's kate's story when it's really alejandro's story and that's the twist which i think you agree with. i think the video incorrectly implies that because alejandro is the protagonist, it is alejandro's story. the entire movie is kate's story regardless of who the protagonist is. to phrase it another way, it is kate's story ABOUT alejandro.
A brilliant breakdown. And Taylor Sherrdan is a pretty damn good writer. As we have all found out with the behemoth that is Yellowstone and all the spin offs. Thank you for the video.
I hate movie break-downs but the title drew me in. This turned out to be really well done and it's probably because it's not really a break-down but rather an insightful look into how the writers avoided the classic revenge film cliche.
I was given the impression, when I first watched the movie, that it was a gem but could never nail down why. You feel fully engrossed in the film and its characters. You are right there with them, not just spectating. This essay explains exactly as to why.
Nicely done. Another thought to ponder though, a different channel posited that Kate is the antagonist of the story. The reasoning is interesting in that she's the only thing that gets in the way of the protagonist continually (meaning if you removed Kate from the story, he succeeds without any real challenges). BUT she's not the villain, that's the cartel. Thinking of it from this perspective is yields makes it pretty interesting from a writers perspective in terms of lessons to take. The movie is overall brilliantly done on all fronts, with my one critique being the fact that Kate is even in the story (from a movie / storytelling perspective it's great, but logically when you think about it, it doesn't make sense). Brolin's character says in the film they needed an FBI liaison to create a joint task force to allow the CIA to work on US soil. And since that is the only reason they picked Kate, why did they pick someone so obviously against what they're doing (I'm sure there are FBI agents that would have had zero issue with what they were doing)?? The whole thing is a black op in that the CIA is helping a non-US citizen assassinate the head of the cartel they want gone, so why do they even care about satisfying this rule so the CIA can work on US soil (especially since the target is in Mexico)? Kate's character was useless other than to provide a perspective for the audience, so she could be removed entirely and the mission would've succeeded regardless and nobody would know it was the CIA helping a foreign assassin. It was the fact that they even brought Kate into the fold that would expose them. I think they could've solved this by simply make Kate a piece of the puzzle in a more meaningful way, that she had some knowledge or expertise that was required in order to succeed, and she gives it reluctantly (or through cohersion like signing the paper in the end). But overall this is a minor quibble as the movie is so good you don't really think about this while watching it.
i think because sicario is morally ambiguous, you could potentially see kate as the antagonist; but i don’t think that she is, she is the stand in for the audience and foil for alejandro (and by extension, we the audience are as well, as a normal person can’t help but feel uncomfortable about how alejandro operates) but the antagonist is still the cartel that killed his family, and actively trying to kill him as well.
Kate is essential because the CIA team can't operate on US soil without her being present. That's her reason for having there, in the film; she just doesn't know it until she's directly told.
@@rippera45 Yes, that part I understand. My comment was more about the fact they're already doing a highly illegal operation already, so why are they going out of their way to satisfy this law?
@@theelmagoo Her presence in the US makes the later part of the operation legal on paper, which is what the politicians want. The ability to say, if asked under oath, "The operation in question was carried out legally, with support of a domestic agency, as per the rules." As far as employing an assassin, I'm betting that part was left out of the report. And going after an enemy of the US (the cartel) in a foreign nation is a gray area; technically, the CIA can do it, they just need cooperation of the host country (usually). We see Mexican police working with the team in parts, so there's some attempt at doing it "by the book," but only enough so that it satisfies someone higher up. As far as Kate goes, her team was attacked by the cartel on US soil; this gave the US team a form of legal justification to retaliate. They had her tag along after it happened in case they needed to step back over the border, and they knew she'd want payback for the loss of her officers.
@@rippera45 Yes this I understood as to the reasons the movie gives as to why they had her on the team. My suggestion is when doing something so off-the-books illegal this reasoning is pretty weak. The US has done plenty of black op operations that go unreported and unquestioned, why in this case is this so necessary? Also given the nature of Brolin's character that he clearly does not care about rules and focuses on results, it feels even less likely that he would risk any part of this kind of operation on someone that isn't fully on-board with his methods. Hence the suggestion to give Kate a stronger reason to have to be there, such as some expertise or information or access that she has to opt-into giving, making the conflict have more steaks between Brolin and Kate. Also this would make the ending scene of Alejandro's character forcing Kate to sign off be even more impactful and play into the grey morality that the director was wanting to explore.
Interesting perspective. Alejandro’s shooting the cartel boss as simply revenge rather limits the character of Alejandro; while he’s also a beast, having crossed lines, there’s far more to his character. His judgment about others is also interesting. Moreover, the story does have more to do with Kate than being a plot device or a way of creating fear and awe in the audience. She has her own arc, and that arc does not permit her to go further than she does; she’s locked out of that world, and it’s depressing and heartbreaking for her, but it’s also the truth: her morality and unwillingness to cross the lines that Alejandro and Matt have gone far past sort of keeps her from being able to really get in the fight. It’s an ugly, brutal world in which they live - and it exists, and Kate cannot stop it simply because she won’t go there or by moralizing. As much as we might like to say that’s wrong, what they do, we cannot stop it from existing. We cannot scold it out of existence. Those horrors reside and abide. We are impotent to stop it on either side. Some might say as Nicholson does in A Few Good Men, “you want me on that line.” All of that said, a great deal of the causes of oppression & suffering & monster creation caused by the US - and other world powers - gets left out of the film. On this side, the monster does not get his due.
This is a great video analysis. Thanks for posting this. That said, I'd like to disagree with you here. I do believe this is Kate's story, but the story is attempting to illuminate a larger principle - (1) be careful what you ask for and (2) if you're going to do something, do it with conviction. Kate did suffer a loss in the beginning of the film. She lost members of her team during the drug raid when the tool shed blew up. She's also suffered losses by not being able to keep up with the drug trade no matter what her team tried. Even the apparent success by doubling drug related arrests hasn't really changed anything. Act 2: She was given the opportunity to try to turn the tides of the drug war and she took it. The issue is she lacked conviction and she allowed a clouded sense of morality to affect her performance and ability to see the truth. Thus, the story switched and was overtaken by the character with clear conviction - Alejandro. Both Kate and Alejandro got what they wanted - death of the drug cartel leader, but because Kate lacked conviction, she blinked, hesitated, and got checked and beat down all throughout the film. She wanted to win the drug war and make a difference, but she wasn't willing to bend or change to do so. This movie shows parallel story arcs between two characters - Kate and Alejandro, neither one of which know exactly what's going on at every turn, but one character is ready when the opportunity presents itself and the other is hesitant and conflicted. Sicario shows the difference between conviction and cloudiness and how two characters handled adversity in a world of uncertainty. NOTE: The proof that Alejandro never really knew what was happening and wasn't in control was demonstrated in Sicario 2 where he became expendable by doing the same exact thing Kate did in Sicario. He hesistated and fell into a moral dilemma, which put his life in danger in the same way Kate's was in Sicario. Sicario 2 showed that Kate and Alejandro really aren't that different.
She's a vehicle to give perspective to the audience. She is someone we can identify with and to give emotional reaction to the situations we would be in if the audience was there. I agree Alejandro is really the main character and it's his story of revenge.
Don't forget, the original screenplay made it clear Alejandro is the main protagonist, including his voiceover, but Del Toro and Villeneuve agreed to strip 90% of his dialogue to make Alejandro more enigmatic. I get the feeling if Taylor Sheridan's original script had been untouched, this movie wouldn't have been the masterpiece it became.
Could NOT agree more. Taylor is spotty. He's written (and produced) some amazing content and definitely has a knack for storytelling and filmmaking, but he's also spread himself too thin. He seems to be going quantity over quality these days (granted this was 2015 though). But Villeneuve's insight and direction in this film were superb. I remember seeing the X-Ray trivia on Prime Video that mentioned what you said about Villeneuve and Del Toro cutting out most of his lines. It made it almost an entirely different film. It's crazy to imagine it the way it was originally written. Toro did such an amazing job that I can't help but think the original would have been far inferior. The way they ended up doing it seems like the ONLY way it would have worked. Also Villeneuve and Deakins CRUSHED the cinematography in this film. So many memorable shots. My favorite I think is at dusk when they're heading to the tunnel and their silhouettes slowly recede below the horizon until we just see desert and nightfall. Gorgeous.
@@jinks908 Yup. The scene of the shadows disappearing beneath the sunset was the ultimate symbolism of the descent into darkness that was the remainder of the film.
I disagree, seeing what happened to his other projects, Taylor's original script would have been awesome to see. I found sicario very boring, like a linear story pretending to be a whodunit, it felt out of place and like something was missing all the time. i hated it
@@jinks908Too true. I think Josh Brolin spoke for all of us, when he saw Sicario for the first time, not really expecting much, he simply said "Holy Shit".
Kate is the audience
Definitely a low key horror movie. The fact that it's everything seen in the movie happens in real life, it makes it all the more terrifying
i like the part when Benecio smokes that fool and his whole family at the dinner table. savage af
It be like that the Cartel world has no regards to women and children they could kill the father who was affiliated and still come after your family just because. @@Peyote1312
@@Peyote1312 Kids Are So annoying Atleast He Do the right thing
@BlyGuy Thank you for that comment! I thought I was the only one with that opinion. After I've watched Sicario, I told everyone that from now on I will categorize "horror movies" as "entertainment", because THAT movie depicts the real horror.
@@Peyote1312”not in front of my boys”
Del Toro said bet😂😂😂
When I was watching it, it felt like I was being managed like a CIA asset where you only get told the lies that make you do/think what you are expected to do/think. That was the point of telling the story this way. I loved it.
This is spot on. Kate's character served as the 'fish out of water' protagonist that the audience essentially sees the film through. This is why Sicario 2 didn't work - the perspective is from Brolin/Del Toro's characters, and they lose any and all mystery or aura around them.
It's so good. Like Jaws. The sequel was a Gremlins 2 treatment but less entertaining.
Exactly!
The villain is the stupid girl
Know what the hest part is? None of its lies at all. Maybe not a whole truth but nowhere near a lie
Alejandro wears a light jacket over a dark shirt and tie throughout the film.
He is a wolf in sheep's clothing.
11:00 By the end, he sheds his guise and shows his true nature.
🤯
The layers to this movie... pun not intended.
That's so great! I'll never stop being amazed by suttle reveals in movies.
Sicario: One of the great scripts and castings that I’ve seen. The sense of authenticity is utterly breathtaking. Thanks for paying homage to a truly intelligent script.
I like the second one too. Most casual frag in any movie ever.
I thought 2 was just as good, if not better. I can see why general audiences dont like it quite as much, but if youre a huge fan of the 1st, 2 is more of the same, with enough changes to the plot to make it just as interesting. Gotta have closed captioning for the 2nd half of 2 tho, unless you speak Spanish, or youll miss out.
The sign language scene was my favorite scene. Not sure why@@Scorch428
One detail that I also love about Sicario is Kate's shirt. In the beginning it's light blue, but as the film goes along it gets paler and paler until the end when it's a washed-out dull white. This mirrors her gradual loss of moral certainty. Brilliantly subtle.
I never noticed that! Thank you for adding this to my knowledge
Came here to say this, incredible movie.
or it's just a coincidence
Too much bleach in her washing powder....Fact 😂
@@kustomkure Garbage take from a film amateur.
Denis Villeneuve is an exceptional filmmaker.
Prisoners, Sicario and Arrival are amongst my favourite movies from the last decade.
Yes and did you see/enjoy Enemy?
@JustinTaylormade I've never seen Enemy, but, I've read the premise, and I have looked out for it on the streaming services, and, it'd be a fascinating movie to watch, and I think I'd enjoy it because most of Villeneuve's movies are exceptional.
Truer words have rarely been spoken
Blade Runner 2049 is his magnum opus
@jmz2144 Blade Runner is in my top 10 favourite films, but, I was underwhelmed with Blade Runner 2049. I think I need to watch it again, and, I'm hoping i will appreciate it more second time around.
The musical score is INCREDIBLE. I remember watching this in the cinema and the world that was presented on the screen sounded like it was about to break open and swallow its inhabitants. I own the soundtrack on compact disc. It's a masterpiece.
The composer died. R.I.P 🙏
But he did elevated all the movies that he composed for.
@@amberturdcoloringbook1733 I remember reading that. Is Sicario - Day of the Soldado dedicated to him?
The trip to Ciudad Juárez (the beast) is simply a masterpiece. The music is spot on in the entire movie.
@@jeffcarlin5866 I don't know. I will have to re-watch it and see.
Yes it really sets the tone, especially in the beginning
The cinematography in this film is criminally underrated, one of my favorite films of all time.
You mean the very obvious use of the Mexican filter? Deakins is always amazing, but this is one of the worst ones for me, because of that.
It's one of those films that you can watch over and over again. And that background sound track is everywhere at all times and it puts you on edge; it gives you a feeling of apprehension and dread.
Great movie and great performances. When Benicio Del Toro read the script, he demanded LESS dialogue for his character. Because he wanted to be a mysterious, brooding presence in the background of the earlier scenes.
dnd ranger
Yeah, he knows the principle of less is more. He's done this before. Way of the Gun he wanted much less dialogue, and of course Usual Suspects he wanted to play it the way it is in the film, where his character is almost incomprehensible. Everyone thought it was a crazy idea at the time, but after release admitted that whenever he was on screen, he stole it.
Clever bloke that Benicio.
They shoulda done the same for creeper in tax collector. He goes from cholo back to white guy in a second
benicio should have been the mandalorian instead of pedro pascal. wrong mexican, i say.
@@VoornoekBenicio is Puertorican and Pedro is Chilean. Not everything that speaks spanish is mexican my friend
RIP Johan Johansson, his score for this film is absolutely incredible. Great essay!
He died?????? When???
@@knowtheplan472 February 2018 unfortunately... According to toxicologists it was a mix of cocaine and flu medication. Incredibly talented person, such a shame.
He was originally going to do the score for Blade Runner 2049 in 2017 but Hans Zimmer wound up getting the job. I loved Zimmer's work but will always wonder what Johansson's version would sound like.
@RCAvhstape Actually, he worked on it, but I believe he couldn't nail what Denis wanted, so they parted ways. Denis has an interview before his passing explaining the switch and that he'd love to work with Johan again. Truly sad situation.
The songs in this video weree good too
Kate's other role in the film was really to be a moral compass, she was there to constantly remind viewers that lot of what the "good" guys were doing was actually morally wrong. She also showed the flaws on how hard it is to achieve anything productive when you faithfully play by all the rules against an adversary who breaks them constantly. But more to the point because she sets the moral scale for the viewers when Alejandro finally does get his revenge on Alarcon, the viewers aren't left cheering or any sort of real catharsis. We literally see Alejandro gun down Alarcon's wife and kids in cold blood right in front of the man and wait just a few seconds long enough for Alarcon to feel the pain and horror of such a sudden violent loss as he had made Alejandro feel in the past, before Alejandro finally shoots him and settles the score. I did appreciate the unflinching brutality of the act of revenge in the film, its painted in a far more grim and numb light then what we often get from revenge stories where the act is portrayed as triumph worthy of applause. The fact that when he had finally achieve his goal, Alejandro just seemed indifferent to it, almost as if the mental and emotional price he had to pay to make to that point was so high he had nothing else to give when it was done. Sicario is an overlooked and sadly misunderstood gem, but I am glad that I'm not the only 1 out there who appreciates it.
1000000%
I have a few questions and statement to challenge this idea of morally wrong. Please note, I am not calling you wrong or anything derogatory, simply challenging the notion that the US was in the wrong in this movie, for some fun back and forth.
In this movie, it starts by showing a drug house with dead bodies hiding in the walls. These people are suppling drugs to the local community for profit, which destroys families, these Cartel members were so evil, they were comfortable with dead bodies rotting in the walls only meters from them. Moving further into the movie, we're shown suicide bombers entering a supermarket and killing innocent people.
At this time, is it now not the government's role to step in and protect the innocent? The Cartel have shown to kill, sell drugs and smuggle desperate innocent people for money, they're shown continuously playing by zero rules. At this point, is it not morally wrong to keep the gloves on, potentially killing our soldiers, when taking the gloves off and showing no mercy to those who showed the innocent none is the right thing to do & more importantly the solum duty of those who claim to protect us.
Shuffling forward again, when we see Alejandro confront Alaron, I would comfortably claim (without further information provided to the viewer to state otherwise) in that scene there was only two innocent people, being the children. The wife has benefited from the Cartels evils, without so much challenging the leader to stop (that we know of), this scene hits hard due to Alejandro taking the children's lives, however sad reality we live in, leaving them alive would've bred two men with a simple goal of revenge by any means.
To fight evil, one must be willing to cross lines and tarnish themselves for the benefit of the those they protect, if you're not willing to do that, you need to step aside for those with the courage to do it. If not, countless more innocents will die at the hands of leaders who do not take the enemy seriously.
I thought hte point is t hat even a well meaning agent is still basically a blind stormtrooper and the cops are literally teh same as the criminals t hey just start with the resources/power
Actually, you are wrong about this, what she complains about in the movie is stuff she should already know. Like when they are in Mexico waiting to cross and she gets upset they move on the cartel members. The agents do not just open fire, they wait until they are moved upon before firing. This is morally correct, but Kate is whining like a soccer mom in the SUV when she, as an FBI agent, should be understanding about whats going on. Kate if a whiny character that the film could have been better without.
Yes.
This is like the 5th Sicario film analysis i've watched and every time they bring up something interesting again. Well done.
Its an underrated series. True cinema. Lots of work and thought put into it.
Kate's perspective was like us watching the movie. Trying to understand what is going and why. The movie spoon feeds you a little bit each time as the movie progresses. This is to keep us intrigued throughout. I can't say if it fools the public since the movie is called Sicario for a reason and the movie does finally focus on Alejandro during the cop drive to the Alarcon hit. I'll just say it is a 2nd party perspective rather than be fooled.
More like drip feeds the audience the underlying story. “Spoon feed” means that everything is made easily consumable for the audience, like how a baby is spoon fed. “Drip feed” means that the underlying story is slowly revealed to the audience so that the audience never quite gets all of the story until the end.
Kate's use as "the audience" is brilliant in a unique way, and I don't think I've ever seen a movie do it this way.
It's not really that uncommon. Memento is another good movie that the main character is also the audience.
It's actually very common.
the most common actually
Most pornos use this method
You haven't watched many movies OR you aren't observant in this sense. But there's a lot of movies like this.
One small correction: Kate knows what cartel do. She saw bodies in the beginning of the film, and the explosion. She knows what evil she is fighting, but does not know or understand the goals and methods of Matt and Alejandro
Seeing the beast's destruction is not the same thing as facing the beast. Cate sees the monster's destruction, but not really the monster itself. Not seeing the monster directly makes it more terrifying.
great nuance!@@tyrrollins
I see what you're saying, but its more the fact that she has seen them and knows its there but hasn't ever truly experienced it. It's like watching the news and seeing that crimes have been committed and then having an opinion on the horrors of the real world.
Kate is the woke society; critiquing those who actually protect society from the monsters and keeps the world operating
@@KK-pm7ud”Woke” doesn’t mean what you think it means…
Best quote ever. "ahhh your asking me how a watch works." For now let's just keep an eye on the time. 🥶
That’s not a quote, no one said “your”, they said *you’re. It is two words, you are. “Your” cannot make sense in that sentence. The words cannot be used interchangeably. Your car or you’re asking about my car.
@@teeanahera8949 shut up dude no one cares
O no, a Grammer nazi
@@teeanahera8949 YOU'RE a buzzkill teeanahera8949. You clearly knew what the original poster meant when they commented the quote from the movie. Not to mention "your" and "you're" sound exactly the same when SPOKEN like in the MOVIE. I hope YOUR pillow is hot on both sides tonight.
@@teeanahera8949 pissant
Have watched that film a number of times. Never appreciated the perspective subtleties, until I saw this presentation you put together. Thanks. Enjoyed your work.
Don't forget Kate's inspiration was revenge too. Her team took a big hit at the very beginning of the movie during their so called "raid". The backyard explosion was a booby trapped tunnel door. Intertwined and motivated to seek the source.
You've picked one of the best movies ever made to show the results of a great screen play. A new mold was cut with this movie in the arena of realness.
Jack Reacher series also does a great effort in the area of realness.
Real men skilled and aware of their real task in life are the scariest beings on earth. Why? They can emotionally shut down to focus on their focused obligation without the side affect of fear or intimidation. You won't ever change them. You can only kill them, be killed by them or get out of their way altogether.
This is a criminally underappreciated video essay.
Well said.
Hey essay!
No it isn't, plenty of people appreciate the video in the comments and thousands of people took the time to watch it.
@@JulioBoodge for a video of this nature I feel like it received a fair amount of appreciation.
better start arresting folks
the rug really tied the room together
And this guy peed on it.
Donny, please.
Fuckin' A
Lotta ins, lotta outs, lotta what have yous.
8 year olds dude
One of my favorite movies ever, from the story, to the cast, to the incredible realism. It's a masterpiece!
Realism??? It's incredibly stylized and far from realistic. There are an incredible number of reasons why every given scene couldn;t happen in real life and each scene is filled with inaccuracies.
Realism 😂😂😂😂😂😂
@@WeWasKingz3rdReich where every movie has CGI and over the top action scenes, Sicario has realistic scenes. If you want to argue semantics about what could or couldn’t happen fine, but the movie was great and part of that is because how it’s shot and directed.
Having worked the border, its more real than most people would care to know about.
I agree!
I think this movie did a great job of saying that real life is not a movie and that there really are no clear cut good guys and bad guys. It's so easy at the start of the movie to start sympathizing with Alejandro and almost cheer him on as he seeks justice for his slain wife and daughter. Then he murders an entire family just so the man who killed his family understands what he's going through. You then realize that you have been justifying Alejandro's actions up until that point, torture and murder. He quite literally has become the same type of person who slaughtered his family. This film and its sequel are cinematic masterpieces imo and Antonio and Josh nailed their rolls. When you stare into the abyss long enough it changes you.
Great point!
Man. Watching this video essay makes me want to watch Sicario I and II again.
A video essay, made by this channel, for Sicario II would be excellent. Well done 👍
The end scene with Alejandro is the coldest thing I’ve ever seen in an action movie. And I love the teaser they give you about what he went through when he’s on the jet to Juarez with Kate and Matt and he’s asleep, then out of nowhere he jumps up from a bad dream and goes to stab someone but nobody is there. The minute I saw that I knew he was a straight killer.
Nah, it's a superhero movie from the perspective of schmucks nominally aligned with the Punisher.
I was shocked af. One of the reasons it became my favorite movie. They truly didn't fuck around. "Time to meet God"
@@teslashark You're a clown.
@@teslasharkwhat’s got you so upset? You just clicked on a video to leave 3 negative comments about a movie you don’t like? I don’t like a lot of movies, I don’t watch videos about them. Get help.
@@DoughBoyDopeBoy Surprised? Why
An important theme throughout the film is that people are being used to push selfish or personal gains. Kate is LITERALLY being used by the narrative framing to tell Alejandro's story, just like Kate is being used to legalize the raids their doing in Juarez
Kate wasn’t being used to legalize raids in Juarez, she was the liaison that allowed the CIA to conduct operations on U.S. soil. They cannot legally do so without a U.S. liaison.
Alejandro is also being used. The state has realised playing by the book will never solve the drug problem, so a dirty war, never officially condoned, outside of the law, is being waged against the cartels. Alejandro thinks he's serving his own interest, his quest for revenge, but is being used to do what the law never could.
@@cthoadmin7458 I think that Alejandro completely understands everything, for him this was a kind of mutual benefit
A game of pawns.
I noticed that in both 1 & 2, Alejandro always tells the truth. Whereas, Matt Graver tries to tell the truth except when hes asked directly, he will lie.
Saw complaints about Kate being useless and powerelss and im like.... yeh... that was the whole point. Criticisms against emily blunts acting I wont stand for though, she was awesome
@@tmb1065 haha my thoughts exactly
People wanted a power fantasy movie, like so many other action films. Part of this is how do you market a film like Sicario? It's closer to horror than action but based off the marketing you'd think it was some sort of covert ops action film, which it kind of is but also definitely is not.
The problem is she plays an FBI agent that looses his cool at the tiniest things being exceptional bad at her job. She constantly makes bad decisions even falling for a cartel guy flirting with her, or throwing temper tantrums at superiors even attacking them. Blunt way overacts her character like it's a soap opera . It takes away from the realism. It's not about her needing to be a power fantasy at all but what she completely lacks in acting is when to tone it down acting sublime.
If you watch this movie with law enforcement they really enjoy it but Blunt is always the laughing stock simply because no one acts like that super dramatic.
@@listrahtes Idk. As someone who doesn't know much about how all that stuff works (like most people) it's perfectly fine. But I can see how it would annoy you.
From what I could tell, she is constantly left in the dark, so that's why she's confused and maybe not acting so smart. And the overreacting is...idk... i would act the same lol if not worse.
But yeh if you're used to that scene I can understand it being strange, but they gotta make it accessible. I'm big into historical accuracy with firearms so it takes me out of the imersion when I see historical errors or the guns being used in dumb ways, but i'm learning to just let it slide because most people don't notice and it can stop you from enjoying otherwise good movies
@@nathanr6381 if you enjoy it great . I don't want to make the movie bad or attack her. Happy for everyone enjoying her performance
I never understood why I found this movie so addicting and engaging. You framed it perfectly - thanks!
I still think this movie has one of the best and most tense opening sequence to date
The narrative twist addressed here is just one of it's handles. The shocking violence, made so credible, is another distraction from the focus, the protagonist and intelligence hiding in the depths, driving the plan. Your analysis is very good. Clever storytelling, very clever. The sequel was just as good. Thank you
Clever girl
The violence does not distract from the intelligence. You're just saying words.
This is why the second one is just an action movie. Sort of the difference between Alien and Aliens.
Yeah I guess it's impossible to flip the perspective again once this third act began. I really enjoyed the second one too
I've skipped the sequel so far but I might have to give it a watch. Just won't expect the same sort of experience as the first.
#2 should never been made tbh...
#2 is a super enjoyable movie. Just like aliens is fantastic.
The difference between the two movies is like playing Half-Life and then playing Half-Life: Opposing Force.
It's a piece of art that I enjoy watching over and over again, it's tense, it's scary, it's confusing, it's violent, it's unforgiven, like los carteles.
Great Analysis. I worked on the set and appear briefly in the film, This feeling was always present. Thank you
Thank You for your work Mr. Evans. Nice picture with the Pyramid. Regards.
Wow! So, Kate is the "Samuel L Jackson" in Sicario - and she really did an amazing good job glue-ing the audience until the dinner scene. Now I see it, dang bro. Emily Blunt and Del Toro are actors I've always respected but also this story structural analysis is gold and shows the brilliant minds behind the camera - so bless you for making videos like this!
I think Sicario is one of the best movies I've ever seen. I kept being uncertain but when Alehandro does the taxi driver at the end I figured it out. Absolutely stunning.
In the grand scheme of all movies Hollywood has clunked out over the past decade Sicario is one of the very few films that was really good like movies used to be back in the 80s and 90s
You need to check out every other film that Taylor Sheridan has written. I think you’ll really love them… Especially wind river.
@@DPMusicStudio Tom Morrisey wrote the book on which the film "Wind River" is based, not the director Sheridan (though I agree his film adaptation is good). The book was also well written. Not to be that dude, but it's a pet peeve of mine when a film is based on a book and no one gives credit to the original. In this case, the film was a pretty decent adaptation of the source material, too. So, when you give praise to the scriptwriter, maybe also give a nod to Morrisey.
@@andrewneedham3281 I didn't know that it was based on a book, so instead of writing a wall of text about your personal pet peeves and lecturing me about it, maybe next time just tell your therapist and leave a short comment that says:
"Heads up... this is actually based on a book! So while Sheridan made a great screenplay, the story was written by Bob Smith" or whatever."
🙄
@@DPMusicStudio A paragraph isn't a "wall of text," my dude, nor was I trying to "lecture" you, but apologies nonetheless. Guess I expected more from a channel that purports itself to be artsy, such as properly providing credit to those who are due it.
Taylor Sheridan script, Villeneuve as a director, Deakins as a DOP + A list casting. Hard to assemble a better cocktail for making one of the best modern western.
I completely forgot that Deakins made this with Villeneuve. Deakins is also exceptional.
@@jumu446 Deakins, Villeneuve and Johansson were fucking magic together. The directing, the cinematography and the soundtrack were so fucking tight. I love this movie.
stumbled across this video, and I had never seen Sicario, even though i remembered wanting to see it. After watching the first 30s of the video, I stopped, watched the film, & came back to finish & very glad I didn't spoil anything for myself by watching this prior. Excellent film & very good breakdown.
Same!
haha same. I just finished watching it
I've seen this flick around 15 times, and will watch it again. It's a masterpiece. I first saw it in Mexico City, and went back to the cinema the following night to see it again. the sound design and score is off the scale.
can we all take a moment to appreciate this narration?
This is an awesome essay and didn’t ever think of it from this perspective. Kinda sad this is over 3 years old and no other essays have been done on this channel.
And we're all just seeing this video in our recommendations now. The algorithm works in mysterious ways
The dude may have died bro. People die all the time. He had a good streak going with lots of views and then…nothing.
Just sayin may have passed away.
I've seen Sicario a bunch of times, and it's found it's way into my top ten. It has everything I want in a movie. Great video by FTP.
Top 10 for sure!
The extradition process, and especially the attack. Even the pre-meeting involving the agents was memorable.
Have you seen Reptile with BDT, the movie has some of that Sicario vibe, check it out
Wish you hadn’t given up making videos. This was one of the better film essays I’d ever seen on UA-cam
His last video is a breakout video. Tragic
Only when I watched the movie a second time did I appreciate that the film was Alejandro's story, which was ultimately a story about evil, pain, suffering, anguish, and finally revenge.
I highly recommend watching Sicario a second and third time. It is so well done that each time you will feel like you are watching a different movie, all of them great.
You missed out on the ending where after Alejandro has accused Kate of not being a wolf, she confronts him from her balcony with her pistol ready to shoot, and his simple stare and look back is enough to make that little flame of a wolf vanish. Incredible movie, I love it.
replace the word 'wolf' with murderer and that is basically how i saw it. If she shot him, she would become him
Could you please make a video on The Usual Suspects? It’s a great example on how a movie fools it’s viewers.
Another great movie! It’s definitely worth some analyzing. Possibly in a future video!
Agree (“another great movie”)
Usual Suspects... one of the first movies utterly hated by film critics.
Literally “we hate being fooled”... which I don’t understand: by half suspicion of who this Keyser Soze really was were there, “in narrative” he he.
Since then Critics were political ideologues
@@RebeccaCampbell1969 "The Usual Suspects" got a 76 on Metacritic, which is literally an aggregator of scores of professional movie critics. A 76 is a very good score: many of your favorites probably score worse, unless you're into auteur films. So, no, the film was very much liked by critics.
@@filmthoughtproject5699I'd add Se7en to that request.
I was thinking of Scream
Shout out to Screenwriter Taylor Sheridan for an outstanding job on this (and the sequel) The man is a BEAST! That said, I *did* enjoy Soldado, not as much as this. The difference I think is down to being between a great script in the hands of a bona fide genius like Denis, versus a solid (but unremarkable one) like Stefano Sollima. Not a slight to Stefano, but there's only one Denis ... as evidenced by his masterpiece of BR2049 and now Dune. He is currently without peer, except perhaps for Chris Nolan.
Hes 50/50 imo
@@playedout148😂 true. sicario 2 was BS. the constant here is Villeneuve
You liked dune?? Thats surprising
@@bruderschweigen6889 Din e'87 ? No Dune Denis. ? Yes. Not super great, but a serviceable.
@@bruderschweigen6889it’s a masterpiece.
I absolutely love this film
The way they keep the audience and Kate in the dark so overtly adds a great sense of authenticity.
In the end Alejandro is both the protagonist and the antagonist and i LOVE it!
10:08 To ACHIEVE true good??? Coming to terms with the depth of this world being pure evil, is coming to terms with "all have sinned." Man being CAPABLE of good and evil doesn't ERASE the evil man has done. 10:40 Innocence or inexperience of Kate? But for Alejandro, whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster themself. Fighting fire with fire? You can get it over with much quicker with water and/or less oxygen.
THIS is an EXCELLENT video. Keep it up.
You fight small fires with water and fire extinguishers. You fight massive forest fires with actual fire, using controlled burning to prevent the fire from spreading further . What alejandro here was fought a forest fire. With the kids dead, the cycle of revenge is gone, and the succession to the cartel is dead. Like a Hydra, more will take its place, but ultimately what he did here while self serving, did infinitely more good than any other possible action.
To fight monsters, sometimes you have to be a monster,
To fight fires, sometimes you need to use fires.
It’s sad this channel doesn’t have more content.. so well made and insightful.
Very interesting. I’ve always loved Sicario but thought it didn’t have much of a story. Seeing it from this perspective makes sense … it just wasn’t HER story. I would argue that maybe she’s the antagonist. His goal is to get revenge and help take the cartel down and she’s the one to potentially stand in his way with her allegiance to the rules.
Maybe but it didn't explain much about the dudes former life. Like was he involved in some way beforehand? Probably, so I don't really care. But I guess a dead cartel is a dead cartel. Also the CIA dude is all about evil it seems like lol
JoshHarrisPhotography,
Rules are fine when you're winning.
Not when you want to win.
☆
@@fjb4932Anarchy
I disagree, actually.
In my opinion, it is Alajandro who is the surprise antagonist. A very common moral in storytelling is that, when it comes to fighting evil in the world, the means is as important as the ends, and that doing evil for good purpose does little to separate one from the very evils that started it all.
At the end of the day, where what's-her-nuts is working hard to make a change in the world, dude's just doing what fed boi glowies always do, scummy shit to get their own ends, rather than what they were enacted to do as a public service, by the people, for the people.
It may not be the _intended_ message of the movie, but what I got out of it as the moral was: Bad people run the world and they aren't always on most wanted lists.
I have to say I disagree. Sicario doesn't have much story, but this isn't a weakness. Theoretically if the film had focused on Alejandro it would have had a lot of story, but it would have been a fairly silly, cliche story and been as quickly forgotten as hundreds of other crime revenge film. What is clever about Sicario is that it doesn't tell the story of Alejandro, aside from the conclusion the events of that story happen off-screen. Instead Sicario tells the story of a character witnessing that story play out, and places it in the context of the greater fight against the drug gangs. This not only gives us a feeling of hopelessness as Kate struggles to impact the events of the film, it also shows the pointlessness of those events in the context of the greater war. What in a lesser film would have been a triumphant moment of revenge, was instead just another murder that won't change anything.
Building a film around a main character with no agency is very difficult, but is necessary in a film telling a story about helplessness in the scale of a problem as big as the cartels. Its a testament to how rare such an achievement is that we end up video essays like this one that can't even understand what Villeneuve actually achieved.
One of my fave movies….. great cast and many twists & turns. I traveled once into Juarez for an overnight on way to west coast. I arrived just after sundown and knew of Juarez’ rep. I got lost….scary but the people I had contact with helped me without reservations. A highlight of my trip
Fascinating
One of my favorite movies
I really appreciate the back story
Thanks for posting
Have a wonderful day today
Absolutely love your review of the movie and your explantation of the unfolding of the story! Truly enlightening and enjoyable! Bravo Mr. Film Thought Project !
The score "The Beast" reminds me of the score from Jaws. This low, slow, rhythmic bass that does a great job of making you imagine something terrible hidden just out of sight.
The sound track is what gave this movie it’s ominous feel, especially the border crossing.
It's more like the soundtrack to 'The Thing' (Kurt Russel version) - another underrated movie.
@@philipdawes2661Thanks.The music is basically the same.
I'm floored. I could see something but didn't pay attention enough to understand what I was seeing. Really appreciate this film like few others. Thanks for the excellent content that I didn't even know I needed. LOL, and I just noticed this is 3 years old. The Internet and YT are surreal.
Great job sorting out the perspectives. Of the dozens of films I have seen over the years, Sicario makes the select list of the films I would watch over and over again. A sample from my list includes The Godfather, Apocalypse Now, Jeremiah Johnson, Bullitt, Runaway Train, The Hunt for Red October, etc. No slight intended for works not listed.
Apocalypse Now, yes! Doctor Strangelove I'd put on that list too.
Breaker Morant…
whew, i needed that... i had no idea... i knew something was up but couldn't see it. Thank you!
I love Kate's character and how she's used as a foil in Sicario. It gives the audience a sense of familiarity, as many who have never experienced these horrors, or horrors like it, would be able to handle it any differently than she did intuitively.
Benicio Del Toro is easily one of the best actors ever to appear on screen, he's like King Midas, everything that he touch turns to gold.
But you should never trust him to make a bet for you.
@@BiscuitMcgriddleson Franky fourfingers?
Franky F@ckin Four-Fingers.
Well done. It wouldn’t be a Villeneuve film if it wasn't about somebody (or something) other than what you're led to think it is: "Incendies", "Prisoners" and "Enemy" (before "Sicario"), then "Arrival", "Bladerunner 2049"... and now "Dune".
Don’t put dune or blade runner 2049 in the same class as this movie…that’s insulting to sicario
I adore this series to be honest. The first one is sooooo immersive. I feel there, Blunt Brolin and Del Toro are masters.
The soundtrack in this movie is superb. The way the music is edited and sound used took my breath away. I went to see this movie a few times in cinema with full Dolby Surround.
This analysis is brilliant. I own the movie and have watched it several times, but this video changed, or I should say focused my understanding of it. The film's architecture, as explained in this video, is brilliant.
I wish this channel was making many more videos like this.
Dear Hollywood, Please make a Part 3 to this phenomenal series!
Dear Hollywood, Please ignore Plissken. Sicario2, though good, was already a step down from the original. I know that if more money is to be made, you have no bones about making a cash grab and squeezing every dollar from the wallets of every franchise's fans. Example: Godfather3, among many others. Tell Plissken to buy a homeless person a meal with the money he would have wasted on a Sicario3 disappointment. I do however happen to have a script...
Wow. You must be a blast at parties.
@@plissken2156 lol
@@plissken2156 What? Difficulty with reality, do you?
I'm not sure of the point you're trying to make. Could you please rephrase your question? And this time, don't ask it like Yoda would. Thank you.
This video deserves more attention than its getting.
Please keep making videos! Your content was great, especially for such a small channel.
The Big Lebowski reference easily warrants a sub. Okay, the awesome analysis in tune with the mood of the movie as well! ;-)
This was the best breakdown of this great film by far! I hope you return to breakdown the sequel.
I watched this movie again last night and I loved it had you questioning things. I love Benecio's and Josh's characters, I hope there is a third one once Dune wraps up to pick up on the ending of the the last film.
Villeneuve didn't make the much weaker second film. He would be very unlikely to return for a third film.
Well done video essay my friend, looking forward to more! I gotta go back and watch Sicario now lol!
A GREAT analysis of this great movie! I wish I had written it. Bravo.
One of the greatest films I’ve ever seen. The confusion throughout the whole movie but at the same time so intense and intriguing, that glues you to the creen, to give you the craziest plot twist ever and on top of that the shocking horrifying ending. No words from me to describe when I first watched this movie.
No ads. At least not for me. Excellent treatment doing justice to the movie. A simple thanks for watching. Excellent editing. I liked, commented, and subscribed automatically. This is what @UA-cam don't understand who feel the need to babysit us adults.
Do one drive(2011). The cinematography, editing, music and directing are some of the best I have ever seen for any movie.
Maybe in a future video! Thanks for the suggestion. Stay tuned!
This movie got me to play Ghost Recon Wildlands.. The final boss, although not in the game for like 99% of the time, his presence is all over the world the game is set in.
Underrated movie (series).
Did you enjoy Ghost recon? What would you recommend about it?
@@Derpartment It is an okay game. To be honests it is really shallow and repetitive. The AI isn't good at all, and just relies on the standard typical bullet sponge, aimbots, to create a sense of difficulty.
The game is visually pretty, and has a lot character customizations so you can roleplay looking like a tactically badass or a rugged mountain man in a flannel and jeans or dress in everyday clothes to semi blend in, despite the fact that you have 2 guns hanging off your back at any given moment.
The cutscenes and exposition briefing tapes are really well produced. But overall beyond that AI behavior is extremely basic, no better than GTA3 or GTA4, where they just mindlessly walk around / drive cars. If any enemies spots you and you start having a shootout then they just keep swarming you like the police / gangs in GTA till you leave the area. Guns generally all feel the same, and behave unrealistically. Though there is a lot of them, and a lot of customizations for them. But they're locked behind just a boring game play loop of just essentially getting a helicopter or car, drive to an area on the map, take out like 5-6 enemies. Then pick up the item. Rinse and repeat like 400 times.
Stealth mechanics are the typical just stay in the shadows and walk behind an enemy while they have their back turn. You can shoot enemies straight up without somehow alerting the entire base / garrison as long as you take them out within like 3 seconds.
So basically a bad game lool @@armybear2
@@Gave-rf1hr Personally I think it overhyped and had a lot of miss opportunities... but if someone like GTA then they will probably like it. Since its basically GTA with Bolivia skin, and slightly better gunplay and stealth mechanic.
@@armybear2good description of the game
I’d like to add, on Kate being the moral judge, and her inevitably being removed from the story, and being outright gone in the second film, could be argued to symbolize that Alejandro and the Contractors in their war against the cartel has lost its moral fight, removing the mask of justice and showing the brutalities of both, and that this isn’t a good vs evil story, but that it’s ones interests vs others interests at all costs
Fantastic video breakdown of the essence of Sicario. I never understood exactly why Sicario tore me to pieces at such a deep level until I watched this video... Kate was not center of this story... She was US... The audience... All of us innocents... All of us introduced to realty of seeing and facing true evil and being emotionally frozen by it.
Great analysis. I often watch films that seem very similar to other films where the first one works and the second falters and ask myself why. You did a really good job illuminating the central device that separates this from other dramatic action films and I really appreciate it. Subscribed!
I see where you're coming with the argument, but it is totally possible to have more than one protagonist and to have one that's passive at that. It's a writing convention that says the audience needs to have an active - not a passive - protagonist. However, Kate brings the audience along on a trip into the heart of darkness, in a manner of speaking, into the land of wolves when she is not one. Indeed, Kate never truly "vanquishes" the "monster" or "bad guy" in this story, but her story is quite compelling regardless. If we were just left with Matt and Alejandro fighting the "bad guys", then the story would lose complexity; it would lose what's compelling about a character not well suited to abject cruelty and brutality finding herself in a place awash with both. So...I think this is really a story about both Kate and Alejandro, and it simply puts weight on Kate and not Alejandro.
@@happydogg312 Maybe this is true, Dogg, but it has nothing to do with the argument Peach was making. Whether Kate possesses the mentality of a warrior has nothing to do with her role as the personification of the viewer. While Alejandro may be the main protagonist in terms of story arc, I agree with Peach that Kate plays an integral role to the film, giving her character almost an equal weight to the main protagonist. By being able to follow her story, which is really the viewer's story, we as viewers have a much better connection with the movie and what it's trying to do. The things being done to Kate are thus being done to us, making the impact of the film more visceral and personal. It gives us a deeper connection to what happens on-screen. Without Kate, the movie would have been a straight, by-the-numbers, boring action flick. So yeah, while she's not the "main protagonist," I still feel she's as equally important to the film.
Not that any of this exchange takes away from the main point of the video itself: Alejandro is the movie, of course. I just disagree with the video that this "twist" was so well hidden, after the fact. While I do believe the movie was well constructed to hide this tidbit for much of its runtime, you should be clued into the main character by at least the middle of the second act. If you got through the movie and still thought it was about Kate....
On a different note, Benicio Del Toro killed it in that role, like he kills in every role he does. I've appreciated him as an actor since his role as Fenster in "Usual Suspects."
@@andrewneedham3281 asking "who is the protagonist?" is not the same thing as asking "who's story is this?" because they can be two different person. it is as much kate's story as it is alejandro's story. if the audience is seeing the story from kate's perspective, then it is kate's story we are watching, not alejandro's.
-@@joegame4576 I guess you didn't actually read my full comment, as I literally said, "While Alejandro may be the main protagonist in terms of story arc, I agree with Peach that Kate plays an integral role to the film, giving her character almost an equal weight to the main protagonist.... So yeah, while she's not the "main protagonist," I still feel she's as equally important to the film." So, while you're trying to contradict me, you're actually making the same point as me. It probably doesn't help that my response was to a comment that got deleted, which may have confused you as to the point of my own longwinded drivel.
@@andrewneedham3281 while i agree that kate had an important role, that wasn't my point. my point is that it's kate's story because it's being told from kate's point of view. it has nothing to do with her playing an "integral role".
the video's point, if i understand correctly, is that audience thinks it's kate's story when it's really alejandro's story and that's the twist which i think you agree with. i think the video incorrectly implies that because alejandro is the protagonist, it is alejandro's story. the entire movie is kate's story regardless of who the protagonist is. to phrase it another way, it is kate's story ABOUT alejandro.
A brilliant breakdown. And Taylor Sherrdan is a pretty damn good writer. As we have all found out with the behemoth that is Yellowstone and all the spin offs. Thank you for the video.
Tom Morrisey wrote the book on which the film is based, not the director (though I agree his film adaptation is good). The book was also well written.
taylor sheridan is great. sicario, wind river and hell or high water constitutes a trilogy (revenge-redemption).
Dude how do you not have more subscribers?
I hate movie break-downs but the title drew me in.
This turned out to be really well done and it's probably because it's not really a break-down but rather an insightful look into how the writers avoided the classic revenge film cliche.
The unconventional storytelling is what made the movie so interesting. I enjoyed your recap, thanks.
Brilliant video. I never considered this until the second movie came out and Kate wasn’t in it. Looking forward to more of your work. 🥃
I was given the impression, when I first watched the movie, that it was a gem but could never nail down why. You feel fully engrossed in the film and its characters. You are right there with them, not just spectating. This essay explains exactly as to why.
Amazing breakdown! Loved the movie before, and this made me want to rewatch it. You should do more of these videos!
I have re-watched the bridge scene more than three four dozen times. One of the best tension-building scenes in any movie I've ever seen.
Protagonist - The leading or main character.
Since we follow mainly Kate around by definition she's the protagonist.
It's an under rated movie in my opinion. The story telling is outstanding. Villeneuve is fantastic. Excellent video my friend.
Outstanding story analysis! Keep ‘em coming!
Nicely done. Another thought to ponder though, a different channel posited that Kate is the antagonist of the story. The reasoning is interesting in that she's the only thing that gets in the way of the protagonist continually (meaning if you removed Kate from the story, he succeeds without any real challenges). BUT she's not the villain, that's the cartel. Thinking of it from this perspective is yields makes it pretty interesting from a writers perspective in terms of lessons to take.
The movie is overall brilliantly done on all fronts, with my one critique being the fact that Kate is even in the story (from a movie / storytelling perspective it's great, but logically when you think about it, it doesn't make sense). Brolin's character says in the film they needed an FBI liaison to create a joint task force to allow the CIA to work on US soil. And since that is the only reason they picked Kate, why did they pick someone so obviously against what they're doing (I'm sure there are FBI agents that would have had zero issue with what they were doing)?? The whole thing is a black op in that the CIA is helping a non-US citizen assassinate the head of the cartel they want gone, so why do they even care about satisfying this rule so the CIA can work on US soil (especially since the target is in Mexico)? Kate's character was useless other than to provide a perspective for the audience, so she could be removed entirely and the mission would've succeeded regardless and nobody would know it was the CIA helping a foreign assassin. It was the fact that they even brought Kate into the fold that would expose them.
I think they could've solved this by simply make Kate a piece of the puzzle in a more meaningful way, that she had some knowledge or expertise that was required in order to succeed, and she gives it reluctantly (or through cohersion like signing the paper in the end). But overall this is a minor quibble as the movie is so good you don't really think about this while watching it.
i think because sicario is morally ambiguous, you could potentially see kate as the antagonist; but i don’t think that she is, she is the stand in for the audience and foil for alejandro (and by extension, we the audience are as well, as a normal person can’t help but feel uncomfortable about how alejandro operates) but the antagonist is still the cartel that killed his family, and actively trying to kill him as well.
Kate is essential because the CIA team can't operate on US soil without her being present. That's her reason for having there, in the film; she just doesn't know it until she's directly told.
@@rippera45 Yes, that part I understand. My comment was more about the fact they're already doing a highly illegal operation already, so why are they going out of their way to satisfy this law?
@@theelmagoo Her presence in the US makes the later part of the operation legal on paper, which is what the politicians want. The ability to say, if asked under oath, "The operation in question was carried out legally, with support of a domestic agency, as per the rules."
As far as employing an assassin, I'm betting that part was left out of the report. And going after an enemy of the US (the cartel) in a foreign nation is a gray area; technically, the CIA can do it, they just need cooperation of the host country (usually). We see Mexican police working with the team in parts, so there's some attempt at doing it "by the book," but only enough so that it satisfies someone higher up.
As far as Kate goes, her team was attacked by the cartel on US soil; this gave the US team a form of legal justification to retaliate. They had her tag along after it happened in case they needed to step back over the border, and they knew she'd want payback for the loss of her officers.
@@rippera45 Yes this I understood as to the reasons the movie gives as to why they had her on the team. My suggestion is when doing something so off-the-books illegal this reasoning is pretty weak. The US has done plenty of black op operations that go unreported and unquestioned, why in this case is this so necessary? Also given the nature of Brolin's character that he clearly does not care about rules and focuses on results, it feels even less likely that he would risk any part of this kind of operation on someone that isn't fully on-board with his methods. Hence the suggestion to give Kate a stronger reason to have to be there, such as some expertise or information or access that she has to opt-into giving, making the conflict have more steaks between Brolin and Kate. Also this would make the ending scene of Alejandro's character forcing Kate to sign off be even more impactful and play into the grey morality that the director was wanting to explore.
Shocking, prophetic, distressing, powerful. Loved it
One of the best film reviews and breakdown ! Thank you for that quote , I found your channel im subscribed now
this analysis only makes sense if you don't speak Spanish... the NAME of the MOVIE is 'Assassin' .....
Yes, the underlying question thru most of the movie is “who is the assassin?”
Interesting perspective. Alejandro’s shooting the cartel boss as simply revenge rather limits the character of Alejandro; while he’s also a beast, having crossed lines, there’s far more to his character. His judgment about others is also interesting.
Moreover, the story does have more to do with Kate than being a plot device or a way of creating fear and awe in the audience. She has her own arc, and that arc does not permit her to go further than she does; she’s locked out of that world, and it’s depressing and heartbreaking for her, but it’s also the truth: her morality and unwillingness to cross the lines that Alejandro and Matt have gone far past sort of keeps her from being able to really get in the fight. It’s an ugly, brutal world in which they live - and it exists, and Kate cannot stop it simply because she won’t go there or by moralizing. As much as we might like to say that’s wrong, what they do, we cannot stop it from existing. We cannot scold it out of existence. Those horrors reside and abide. We are impotent to stop it on either side. Some might say as Nicholson does in A Few Good Men, “you want me on that line.”
All of that said, a great deal of the causes of oppression & suffering & monster creation caused by the US - and other world powers - gets left out of the film. On this side, the monster does not get his due.
That last line was 🔥
This is a great video analysis. Thanks for posting this. That said, I'd like to disagree with you here. I do believe this is Kate's story, but the story is attempting to illuminate a larger principle - (1) be careful what you ask for and (2) if you're going to do something, do it with conviction. Kate did suffer a loss in the beginning of the film. She lost members of her team during the drug raid when the tool shed blew up. She's also suffered losses by not being able to keep up with the drug trade no matter what her team tried. Even the apparent success by doubling drug related arrests hasn't really changed anything. Act 2: She was given the opportunity to try to turn the tides of the drug war and she took it. The issue is she lacked conviction and she allowed a clouded sense of morality to affect her performance and ability to see the truth. Thus, the story switched and was overtaken by the character with clear conviction - Alejandro. Both Kate and Alejandro got what they wanted - death of the drug cartel leader, but because Kate lacked conviction, she blinked, hesitated, and got checked and beat down all throughout the film. She wanted to win the drug war and make a difference, but she wasn't willing to bend or change to do so. This movie shows parallel story arcs between two characters - Kate and Alejandro, neither one of which know exactly what's going on at every turn, but one character is ready when the opportunity presents itself and the other is hesitant and conflicted. Sicario shows the difference between conviction and cloudiness and how two characters handled adversity in a world of uncertainty. NOTE: The proof that Alejandro never really knew what was happening and wasn't in control was demonstrated in Sicario 2 where he became expendable by doing the same exact thing Kate did in Sicario. He hesistated and fell into a moral dilemma, which put his life in danger in the same way Kate's was in Sicario. Sicario 2 showed that Kate and Alejandro really aren't that different.
That ia a really well written perspective of the film, I like your perspective!
@@felixm.8910 Thank you!
This is an excellent analysis. Conveys the message without any spoilers for those who haven't seen the movie, that's very hard to do.
She's a vehicle to give perspective to the audience. She is someone we can identify with and to give emotional reaction to the situations we would be in if the audience was there.
I agree Alejandro is really the main character and it's his story of revenge.