seveb-25179 I've just been watching "The Border" with Jack Nickolson. which is very topical given recent events in the USA in 2018.A distopian present as relevant now as it was when it was made in 1982. Jack on Mexican Border control. It does not pull it's punches when it comes to social comment, showing all facets of the strange underworld of this border society - the suffering and exploitation of the poor people, the corruption, the effect of crime and drugs on youth, while it also satirises American consumerism and even manages a somewhat happy ending, where the two main protagonists, Jack and a young Mexican mother, are not exactly better off, but no worse off, which, given what happens in between, feels like a win for them.I can also describe it as an action movie, as by 1970s standards it has as many car chases and shoot ups as an equivalent Clint Eastwood or Charles Bronson movie. Being a somewhat realistic movie, Jack is never allowed to kills anyone out right, he shoots one bad guy in the leg, who, distracted, then runs into a clothes line and accidently blows his head off with his own shotgun, and later he shoots and punctures the tire of a large earth moving machine, which evil Harvey Kietel is hiding under, and the machine slowiy subsides, crushing Kietel beneath it!So all in all a rare combination of social comment and entertainment, which is probably why it wasn't very successful at the time. Those who are passionate about the political issues may feel it trivialises them, whereas I think it performs the function of highlighting them for those like myself that would not watch a movie on this topic that did not also provide the type of entertainment I seek.

Predrag To appreciate Jack Nicholson's work in "The Border" you have to take into account the time it was made. Nicholson was just coming off "The Shining" where his performance was universally mocked by the elites as ham boned. His turn here is the polar opposite of Jack Torrance. Nicholson plays a passive border guard submissively going along with a corrupt system until events force him to take a stand for what is right. The transformation of his character is subtle with few broad gestures or demonstratives.The story-line takes place in El Paso, Texas and Juarez, Mexico, in which there is the border between the two places (the Rio Grande river, more specifically). It deals a lot with the illegal immigration problem, and other issues that occurred at that time. The immigration issue still with us after all these years, but its hard to imagine a movie dealing with that issue in as thoughtful or morally complex a way as this one does being made today.I think the striking contrast between Charlie's air-headed Mary and the desperate and needy Maria needed to be further explored. As it was played Charlie is just a good Joe doing a good deed or two when in fact we know he is much more involved than that. I think the movie would have been improved by making him choose between the two women as he had to make the moral choice between going with the Cat's corruption or going against him. You gotta see this for Jack Nicholson, one of the great actors of our time, who brings subtlety and veracity to a role that could have been ordinary, while giving us only a hint of the commanding and irreverent style that he would adopt in later years.Overall rating: 8 out of 10.

pc95 Over the last decades there have been quite a few movies about Mexican to United States Immigration and Border Patrolling. This one, entitled "The Border" is an early 80s era story directed by Tony Richardson. It focuses on a quasi corrupted border agent, played by Jack Nicholson. The direction and story is fairly linear, but not bad. Corruption is broadly painted across both sides of the border, and unfortunately it seems fairly plausible. Supporting cast members do a good job backing up Nicholson including Elpidia Carrilo, Warren Oates, and a young Harvey Keitel. I liked the grittiness of the settings and the way Nicholson's character was unhappy both at home and on the job. The movie had some fairly graphic and violent turns, even for the time. Title song seemed to fit well. Worthy of a watch. About a 7/10

Danny Blankenship 1982's "The Border" is clearly not a film classic and it certainly is not one of Jack's best, yet it's far from one of his worst films also. The theme and issue centers around illegal immigration which in 1982 this topic was being portrayed ahead of it's time, as anyone knows over the last several years the issue is a hot button topic. Again Jack Nicholson makes the film with his direct and straight performance. Nicholson is Charlie Smith a guy who's left the police force to become a border guard and in the meantime along with his gold digging and greedy wife(Valerie Perrine)Smith again reunites with a former friend a now ruthless guard(Harvey Keitel). Soon this is not what it appears to be as brought to life is the drug smuggling along the Rio Grande. Charlie must decide whether or not to cross the line as the whole department is running in a foul manner. Overall the action, suspense, and drama is good and Jack's performance made it a must see, as anything with Nicholson makes people pay attention to their screens.