

One of the more heart-pounding, morally complex documentaries of recent years, director Matthew Heineman's "Cartel Land" is a riveting look at two groups of vigilantes, one on either side of the Mexican-American border. Each sees itself as a necessary bastion against a dangerous criminal element in the face of a government that's either indifferent, corrupt or both.

In Arizona, Tim "Nailer" Foley is the leader of a quasi-military outfit called the Arizona Border Patrol. To him, the influx of undocumented Mexican immigrants is "nothing less than an invasion." A thousand miles to the south, in the state of Michoacan, Dr. Jose Mireles is the public face of the Autodefensas, an armed civilian group that has more success against the regional Templar cartel than the ostensibly legitimate law enforcement officials.

Foley and Mireles are fascinating figures. While it would be easy to stereotype "Nailer" as a right-wing cartoon, his conviction is real and his backstory is sympathetic. Mireles starts off seeming like the hero of the piece, but his feet are clay and the Autodefensas, in some ways, become victims of their own success.

Throughout these twinned portraits, Heineman puts his camera, and himself, on the front lines. Whether prowling through the scrub-covered hills of the Sonoran Desert with the ABP or smack in the middle of urban gun battles between the Autodefensas and the cartels, the immersion is total.

Heineman spent a year filming the vigilantes. It shows in the unguarded moments he captures and the ability to eschew narration or talking heads without sacrificing narrative clarity. Mireles' year, in particular, turns out to be quite eventful. Without passing moral judgments on either group, "Cartel Land" provides a vivid illustration of the dangers inherent whenever a government fails to meet its citizens' needs to the extent that they take matters into their own hands.

-- Marc Mohan for The Oregonian/OregonLive



Grade: A-

Rating: R

Running time: 98 minutes

Playing at: Opens Friday, July 10 at Regal Fox Tower

Cast and crew: Tim "Nailer" Foley, Dr. Jose Mireles; directed by Matthew Heineman.

The lowdown: This riveting, immersive documentary following two groups of vigilantes, one American and one Mexican, won prizes at the Sundance Film Festival for its direction and cinematography.