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Highway Patrolman
Alex Cox’s Mexican film follows the journey of a highway patrolman whose idealism eventually gives way to inevitable corruption.
Director: Alex Cox
Overview
Highway Patrolman charts the harrowing transition from idealism to grim realism in an intense and brilliantly played character study that offers a fascinating and gritty insight into corruption and embittered disillusionment.
Graduating as a top police student from the National Highway Patrol Police Academy, Pedro Rojas (veteran Mexican actor Roberto Sosa) and his college friend Anibal (Bruno Bichir) are sent to patrol a desolate highway. After strictly enforcing the law during their arduous 24-hour shifts, their dedication soon dwindles. Pedro's wife complains about his lowly wage and pressurises him into accepting bribes and so a steady descent begins. Alex Cox’s Spanish-language film remains a high-point in an undervalued career; and it’s ahead of its time too, anticipating the wave of Mexican crime and corruption films that would follow in the 21st century.
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