Watch El Sicario: Room 164

El Sicario: Room 164 is a 2010 documentary film that offers an unsettling glimpse into the world of "sicario," the Mexican term for a professional hitman who works for the drug cartels. Directed by Gianfranco Rosi, the film tells the story of a former sicario who agreed to be interviewed by Rosi under the condition of anonymity. The entire film is shot in a single room (Room 164), where the sicario sits at a table and recounts his experiences in the drug trade for over an hour and a half. The film also features abstract animations and footage shot in Juarez, Mexico, where the sicario says he committed numerous murders.

The sicario begins by describing how he became involved in the drug trade. He was from a poor family and had few prospects for a decent life. He says he was recruited as a teenager to work for a small drug cartel in his home state of Sinaloa. At first, he was just a low-level drug mule, but he quickly rose up the ranks to become a hitman.

The sicario explains that the cartel he worked for was eventually absorbed into the much larger Sinaloa Cartel, which is led by the notorious drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman. He describes how he was trained to use a variety of weapons and tactics to kill his targets, including strangling them with wire, drowning them, and shooting them with guns equipped with silencers. He says he often made use of torture to extract information from his victims before killing them.

One of the most disturbing aspects of the sicario's story is how he describes the way he and his fellow cartel members would dehumanize their victims. He says they would refer to them as "monkeys" or "dogs" to make it easier to kill them. He also talks about how he was given drugs to numb his emotions so that he could carry out his killings without feeling remorse.

The sicario goes into detail about some of the murders he committed, describing his victims and the circumstances of their deaths. He says that many of his targets were rival drug traffickers, but he also killed police officers, government officials, and innocent civilians who got in the way. He recounts a particularly gruesome scene where he and his colleagues tied up a group of migrants who were passing through Mexico on their way to the United States and killed them all.

Throughout the interview, the sicario is matter-of-fact and emotionless as he describes his crimes. He shows no remorse or regret for the people he killed, even when asked directly by Rosi. This detachment makes his stories all the more chilling and serves as a reminder of the brutal violence that takes place in the drug trade.

In addition to the interview with the sicario, the film also includes footage shot on the streets of Juarez, which is considered one of the most dangerous cities in the world due to its high levels of drug-related violence. The footage shows abandoned buildings, empty streets, and heavily armed police officers patrolling the area. The use of abstract animations in the film also adds to its unsettling atmosphere.

Overall, El Sicario: Room 164 is a haunting and disturbing film that offers a rare insight into the mind of a professional hitman. The film provides a sobering reminder of the brutal violence that takes place in the Mexican drug trade and raises important questions about the nature of evil and human nature itself. The anonymity of the sicario, and the fact that he is never shown on camera, adds to the film's sense of unease and makes it all the more powerful.

El Sicario: Room 164 is a 2011 documentary with a runtime of 1 hour and 20 minutes. It has received mostly positive reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 7.1 and a MetaScore of 76.