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Socialist Review Index (1993–1996) | Socialist Review 178 Contents
From Socialist Review, No. 178, September 1994.
Copyright © Socialist Review.
Copied with thanks from the Socialist Review Archive.
Marked up by Einde O’Callaghan for ETOL.
Highway Patrolman
Dir: Alex Cox
When Pedro Rejos leaves police college he learns that motorists are always wrong and he is always right, giving him a sense of superiority over other people. He begins to patrol the highways of Mexico full of ideals and morals – such as refusing to take bribes and doing his duty.
But he finds it almost impossible to maintain these high moral standards – specially when he sees his friends driving around in new fast cars and dealing in videos.
His new responsibilities as a husband with a wife to provide for are portrayed in the film as the main reason that Pedro eventually accepts bribes. But this hides the fact that if an individual is part of an institution that can only exist and maintain itself through corruption then the individuals themselves will become at least as corrupt.
When a colleague is killed by drug smugglers Pedro seeks revenge. He gets his automatic pistol ready and attempts to smash the drug ring single handedly – and with unbelievable ease. But at the same time he takes his own slice of the cake.
When he is suspended for killing the drug smugglers he quits and joins young hopefuls on the highway patrols. He uses his drug money to rescue a local prostitute and helps her quit her drug habit.
Pedro seems to come out with flying colours, and a sense that he has beaten the system. At times during the film you will find yourself in sympathy with him, even growing to like him, as he is transformed from rookie cadet to a gritty veteran, cynical and bruised.
I left the cinema thinking it was a good film with a lot of action, excellent photography and a good soundtrack. But the good policeman in a rotten system story has been done many times before. I ended up thinking more about the reasons why people end up smuggling drugs and turning to prostitution than the plight of a highway patrolman.
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