Men With Guns (1998)

89% of critics liked it
(27 reviews)
83% of users liked it
(1,388 ratings)

For her second feature, Canadian director Kari Skogland (The Size of Watermelons) treads Tarantino turf with the violent visuals of this crime drama. Small-time hoods Eddie (Donal Logue) and Lucas (Gregory Sporleder) go to a rural area to collect a debt but instead get a dose of sexual humiliation… More For her second feature, Canadian director Kari Skogland (The Size of Watermelons) treads Tarantino turf with the violent visuals of this crime drama. Small-time hoods Eddie (Donal Logue) and Lucas (Gregory Sporleder) go to a rural area to collect a debt but instead get a dose of sexual humiliation from thugs they encounter there. With stoned Mamet (Callum Keith Rennie) accompanying them, they return to the farm, battle it out, and leave with a big cocaine stash, property of druglord Horace Burke (Paul Sorvino). Soon the trio is pursued by both criminals and cops. Skogland made TV commercials and music videos before her first feature. Her Men With Guns is not to be confused with John Sayles' Men With Guns, released the same month. Shown at the 1998 Rotterdam Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 30 min.
Directed By: John Sayles
Written By: John Sayles
Genres: Art House & International, Drama

In Theaters: Sep 5, 1997 Wide
On DVD: Sep 23, 2003
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Critic Reviews

Pete Vonder Haar, Film Threat
Quintessentially Sayles
Luke Y. Thompson, New Times
A sort of Heart of Darkness in South America
Michael Dequina, TheMovieReport.com
The themes of family, civil war, and leaving a lasting legacy resonate strongly.
James Sanford, Kalamazoo Gazette
This is actually a largely quiet, compelling chronicle of a man's discovery of the horrors going on not far from his own backyard, and Sayles has written, directed and edited the piece in his usual calm and understated style.
Walter Chaw, Film Freak Central
A Wizard of Oz construct in the same way as Apocalypse Now is a Wizard of Oz construct.

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Featured Audience Ratings

Bruce B

This was my first John Sayles film that I am aware of. It came from my list of Films from the 1997 Toronto International Film Festival and as I have said in each review of a film from that list, they have yet to show a bad film. I am told that Sayles is a Independent American… More
This was my first John Sayles film that I am aware of. It came from my list of Films from the 1997 Toronto International Film Festival and as I have said in each review of a film from that list, they have yet to show a bad film. I am told that Sayles is a Independent American Filmmaker and he proves it in this film. A film in Spanish language with English Subtitles. A story of a Doctor in a Latin American Country who goes on a search for his students that he trained years before, they are spread out in the rain forest. The students he finds out have been killed over the years by soldiers or guerrillas, bandits or thieves, all of who are Men With Guns. The cast is unheard of by most Americans, but neither the subtitles nor the cast take away from the movie. 4 1/2 stars I have to give this one.
Steve K

Powerful film. Worthwhile.
Eduardo C

To the innocent bystander, the poverty stricken populance caught in the middle of a revolution/civil war/coup d'etat, there is no difference between the dictators and the democrats, the fascists and the socialists, the military and the paramilitary, no heroes and no villains.… More
To the innocent bystander, the poverty stricken populance caught in the middle of a revolution/civil war/coup d'etat, there is no difference between the dictators and the democrats, the fascists and the socialists, the military and the paramilitary, no heroes and no villains. There are only the men with guns and themselves, and the men with guns always get what they want. This rarely shown side of armed conflict is at the heart of this brave film, which dares to empathize without preaching. The film is as simple as its title, and no less profound for it. Shot entirely in spanish (as opposed to entirely in english with the cast donning 'spanglish' accents, thank you) and taking place in a purposefully unnamed country, it is structured like a road movie whose ultimate destination is a mythical utopic town in the jungle. So rarely has a film captured the spirit or the reality of Latin America, and the fact that this one, directed by a man from Boston, managed to do both, brings hope.
Christopher B

Very interesting film from the great John Sayles. Shot mostly in Spanish this is a great character study that as you watch it you sink completely into the movies world. It was cool how Sayles added Patinkin in there to jolt you out of it for a minute, just to remind you that you… More
Very interesting film from the great John Sayles. Shot mostly in Spanish this is a great character study that as you watch it you sink completely into the movies world. It was cool how Sayles added Patinkin in there to jolt you out of it for a minute, just to remind you that you were hypnotized.