STX Entertainment has set Gael García Bernal’s immigration thriller “Desierto” for an Oct. 14 release in North America — three weeks before the U.S. presidential election.
“Desierto” is the closing film at the LA Film Festival, which ends Thursday night.
The film deals with a hot-button political issue that’s been brought to the forefront of public debate, thanks largely to the proposal by presumptive Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump to build a wall at the U.S.-Mexico border to stop illegal immigration.
The film was directed by “Gravity” screenwriter Jonás Cuarón and co-stars Jeffrey Dean Morgan (“Watchmen”). It debuted in September at the Toronto International Film Festival, where it received strong reviews for its performances and direction, and won the special presentation prize from the International Federation of Film Critics.
“‘Desierto’ operates on a level that is swift, primal and unrelenting,” wrote Justin Chang for Variety in a review at Toronto.
Producers are Jonás Cuarón, Alfonso Cuarón, Carlos Cuarón, Alex García and Charles Gillibert. The story begins as a hopeful journey to seek a better life and becomes a harrowing and primal fight for survival when a deranged, rifle-toting vigilante chases a group of unarmed men and women through the treacherous U.S.-Mexican border — where there’s nowhere to hide.
Variety reported that STX had bought the U.S. rights shortly after Toronto ended.
I look foward to seeing this flick. Gael Garcia Bernal is a fantastic actor.