El Sicario, Room 164

El Sicario, Room 164
Directed byGianfranco Rosi
Written byGianfranco Rosi and Charles Bowden
Produced bySerge Lalou and Gianfranco Rosi
Edited byJacopo Quadri
Production
companies
Robofilms
Les Films d'Ici
Distributed byIcarus Films
Release date
  • September 5, 2010 (2010-09-05) (Venice Film Festival)
Running time
84 minutes
CountriesUnited States
France
LanguageSpanish

El Sicario, Room 164 is a 2010 documentary film directed by Gianfranco Rosi and based on an article[1] by Charles Bowden.

Synopsis

The film's subject is an anonymous Ciudad Juárez sicario known to have killed hundreds. An expert in torture and kidnapping, he was employed by Mexican drug cartels and the Chihuahua State Police simultaneously.[2] In the film, he recounts his story to the camera inside the very hotel room he once used to hold and torture kidnapped victims, his face concealed by a black mesh hood. Using a marker and notepad, he illustrates his career of crime, murder, abduction, and torture. There exists a $250,000 bounty on his life.[3]

Reception

El Sicario, Room 164 has a score of 76 out of 100 on Metacritic[4] and a 92% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.[5]

References

  1. ^ "The Sicario: A Juarez Hit Man Speaks" (PDF). Harper's Magazine Foundation. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 21, 2021.
  2. ^ "'El Sicario: Room 164' a powerful gaze into a squalid abyss". El Paso Inc. Archived from the original on May 10, 2012. Retrieved November 29, 2012.
  3. ^ "The Sicario, Room 164 Press Kit" (PDF). Icarus Films. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 6, 2013. Retrieved November 29, 2012.
  4. ^ "El Sicario, Room 164". Metacritic. Retrieved November 29, 2012.
  5. ^ "El Sicario, Room 164". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved November 29, 2012.