In Spain, I never heard the word 'sicario', which translates to 'hitman'. I suppose assassin rolled off the tongue more naturally, so 'asesino' or 'asesina' was more common. What I came to learn was that the word had some interesting Latin roots, and was used to describe the terrorists who killed Roman citizens, especially in the 1st century. The idea was that they used a small dagger hidden in their cloaks, known as a 'sica', to eliminate their targets. So frequent was this style of killing that the Romans named these individuals 'sicarii' and the word would eventually become mainstream.
In this 2015 film by director Denis Villeneuve, a quixotic FBI agent is called upon to aid a task force in the relentless war against drugs. After a horrific discovery while leading her unit, agent Kate Macer is determined to find those responsible and willing to accept the role that will put her as close to the action as possible.
If you're a 'Sons of Anarchy' fan, you'll be interested to know that Taylor Sheridan, who played Deputy Chief David Hale on that show, wrote the script for this film. So not only is he a hell of an actor, but a superb screenwriter too. Couple that with Villeneuve's meticulous direction and you get a masterpiece like 'Sicario'. A perfect example of the detail is in the thermal vision shots, where they used a real infrared camera to make it authentic - the result of a long single day shooting schedule with an FLIR SC8300. Also helming production was Cinematographer Roger Deakins, who had previously worked with Villeneuve on 'Blade Runner 2049' and 'Prisoners', making this quite the resume for the duo.
But the performers also brought their 'A' game to the table. Emily Blunt was so methodical in her approach she based Kate Macer on a female FBI agents she interviewed in preparation for the picture. There's even a take in the film where she unintentionally hits her head on the top of a tunnel - left in to add to the realism. And Del Toro's silent type foreigner conveys a strong presence, mostly by way of his acting chops with little help needed from the editing room.
One of the elements that lived with me long after the credits was the music. Composed by Jóhann Jóhannsson, the soundtrack is intentionally brooding with it's artful sinister tones, and although he outdid himself with his work on 2018s Mandy, I often revisit this project to remind me of how powerfully dynamic his range of work can be - and how lingering his cinematic strings can remain in my consciousness.
In this 2015 film by director Denis Villeneuve, a quixotic FBI agent is called upon to aid a task force in the relentless war against drugs. After a horrific discovery while leading her unit, agent Kate Macer is determined to find those responsible and willing to accept the role that will put her as close to the action as possible.
If you're a 'Sons of Anarchy' fan, you'll be interested to know that Taylor Sheridan, who played Deputy Chief David Hale on that show, wrote the script for this film. So not only is he a hell of an actor, but a superb screenwriter too. Couple that with Villeneuve's meticulous direction and you get a masterpiece like 'Sicario'. A perfect example of the detail is in the thermal vision shots, where they used a real infrared camera to make it authentic - the result of a long single day shooting schedule with an FLIR SC8300. Also helming production was Cinematographer Roger Deakins, who had previously worked with Villeneuve on 'Blade Runner 2049' and 'Prisoners', making this quite the resume for the duo.
But the performers also brought their 'A' game to the table. Emily Blunt was so methodical in her approach she based Kate Macer on a female FBI agents she interviewed in preparation for the picture. There's even a take in the film where she unintentionally hits her head on the top of a tunnel - left in to add to the realism. And Del Toro's silent type foreigner conveys a strong presence, mostly by way of his acting chops with little help needed from the editing room.
One of the elements that lived with me long after the credits was the music. Composed by Jóhann Jóhannsson, the soundtrack is intentionally brooding with it's artful sinister tones, and although he outdid himself with his work on 2018s Mandy, I often revisit this project to remind me of how powerfully dynamic his range of work can be - and how lingering his cinematic strings can remain in my consciousness.
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