‘Desierto’ Targets Trump, Immigration

It can’t be denied that Donald Trump has single-handedly made immigration the No. 1 issue in politics.

The presidential candidate has uncovered Americans’ fears and concerns over an uncontrolled border, the refugee crisis, and crime seeping into the United States.

“Desierto” is no doubt trying to take advantage of the heated issue.

Many artists in Hollywood have made their feelings on Trump and his stern immigration stands clear.

However, a new film takes Hollywood’s war with Trump a step further. “Desierto” is set to hit screens on Oct. 14, in the heat of the election — no doubt capitalizing on presidential disagreements on border issues.

The film’s promotion and content leave no question as to whom the film thinks the antagonists of the world are — and who is leading them.

“Welcome to the land of the free,” says Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s character in the trailer. The line comes after the truck-driving, camo-patterned pants-wearing psycho shoots down a handful of potential border-crossers.

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Directed by Jonas Cuaron, “Desierto” follows Moises (Gael Garcia Bernal) as he attempts to cross the Mexican border into America to reunite with his son. Along the way, he runs into Sam (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), a man sporting a killer dog and rifle — and who doesn’t seem too fond of illegal immigration.

With Trump making immigration his primary policy issue this election, “Desierto” is no doubt trying to take advantage of the heated issue by landing only a few weeks before Election Day.

One trailer for “Desierto” even featured narration from a speech by Donald Trump.

“When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re sending people that have lots of problems. They’re bringing drugs, they’re bringing crime, they’re rapists and it’s gotta stop, and it’s gotta stop fast,” says Trump in one of his first political speeches as scenes of Morgan’s character literally killing illegal immigrants plays out.

The specific trailer, covered by everyone from The Wrap to The Hollywood Reporter, is now set to private.

The extreme stance of “Desierto,” which is to generically paint Trump and his supporters as violence-obsessed lunatics out for illegal immigrants’ heads, was discussed by the makers before the film’s premiere at the Toronto Film Festival.

“The rhetoric defines migrants as this abstract entity that comes together with ‘swarms’ or ‘hoards’, and it’s void of humanity,” producer Alfonso Cauran told THR. “I think it’s so important that the issue of immigration has to be discussed — but from the standpoint of humanity, not the standpoint of ‘the other.’ It’s very dangerous when part of the rhetoric is ‘the other.'”

Related: Trump’s Truth vs. Hillary’s Lies on Immigration

Based on the trailers for “Desierto,” the makers are not heeding their own advice.

They want to move the conversation on immigration forward, yet they’ve created a film meant to capitalize on what they perceive to be racist viewpoints, and worse — they’ve taken the other side of the argument (brought to life by Morgan’s character) and created the very “other” they so vehemently object to. With a broad brush, they’ve taken an exploitation concept, masked it as Oscar bait, and used it to deliberately attack Donald Trump and those in favor of fixing the very serious border and refugee crisis.

Imagine if “13 Hours,” the Michael Bay-directed movie from earlier in the year showing the tragic events of Benghazi in 2012, had been released in the middle of the presidential election. Imagine if Hillary Clinton’s voice had been pulled from her hearings on the events and slapped on the trailer.

While it would have been more appropriate than this film’s actions, “Hours” would have been ridiculed as pure propaganda. “Desierto,” meanwhile, is given a cushy premiere at a prestigious film festival and discussed for its potential Oscar chances.

Beyond the film’s clear bias and hypocrisy, it’s just bad writing.

“Hours,” despite being a quiet indictment of Clinton and her actions surrounding Benghazi, never included on-the-nose lines like, “Welcome to the land of the free.” It’s as though the makers of “Desierto” are scared to allow even the slightest bit of room to suggest that they are not pro-open borders and 100 percent anti-Donald Trump.

Hollywood may mask films like “Desierto” as great art with noble intentions, but it’s clear what it is — an exploitation movie with its sights zeroed on Trump and everything he stands for.