The War Boys

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The War Boys
The War Boys FilmPoster.jpeg
Directed byRonald Daniels
Written by Naomi Wallace (play and screenplay)
Bruce McLeod
Produced byCarly Hugo
Matt Parker
Gill Holland
John Hart
Jeff Sine
Starring[ clarification needed ]
Benjamin Walker
Victor Rasuk
Brian J. Smith
Greg Serano
Teresa Yenque
Cheyenne Serano
Micaela Nevárez
Peter Gallagher
CinematographyHoracio Marquínez
Edited byDavid Leonardo
Music byStephen Cullo
Production
company
Group Entertainment
Distributed bySnapping Turtle Films
Release date
  • August 7, 2009 (2009-08-07)
(United States)
Running time
92 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguagesEnglish
Spanish

The War Boys is a 2009 American independent drama film directed by Ronald Daniels and starring Peter Gallagher, Victor Rasuk, Brian J. Smith and Benjamin Walker. Its screenplay was written by Naomi Wallace and Bruce McLeod, based on the play of the same name by Naomi Wallace. [1]

Contents

Plot

David Welch has been suspended from college. He and two friends, Greg and George, spend their time along the U.S.-Mexico border, alerting the border patrol to illegal border crossings and calling themselves "The War Boys." David is angry at his father, who won't agree to him leaving school to work in the family trucking business. David devises a plan to hijack one of his father's trucks, expecting it to be carrying a shipment of black market TV's from Mexico. The boys succeed in stealing the truck and they temporarily park the locked truck in a desolate area while they look for a purchaser for the stolen goods. David's father vows revenge against whoever stole from him. David is surprised that his father is so upset instead of just seeing the stolen truck as a business loss.

While the truck sits abandoned, Greg pursues Marta, a local Mexican woman, and David and George explore their attraction for one another. David's father discovers his son's relationship with George and confronts him, expressing disapproval of George's family and economic status.

The operation goes perfectly until some unidentified men vaguely threaten Marta. She had occasionally helped immigrants to get fake documents, and the traffickers interrogate her on the whereabouts of the cargo. This makes it clear to the trio that the truck must contain something more valuable than just televisions, possibly drugs. Determined to get some profit anyway, they choose to return to the wasteland, take what they can from the truck, and then report its location to the traffickers via an anonymous call.

When they unlock the truck's storage, they discover its cargo included Mexican immigrants being smuggled into the US—and who are now dead after being locked in the truck for so long. Their rage and fear leads the situation to slip completely out of their control as David's father arrives with the police. David confronts his father at gunpoint and is shot by the police. George screams for help as David dies in his arms.

Cast

Production

The film was shot over a twenty-three-day span in Albuquerque, New Mexico. According to Daniels, the shoot was plagued by sandstorms and prop mishaps. [2]

Release and reception

The film premiered at the Birmingham Gay and Lesbian Film Festival on May 30, 2009. It went on to be screened at the Woods Hole Film Festival, held in Woods Hole, Massachusetts; the San Antonio Film Festival, held in San Antonio, Texas; and the SoCal Independent Film Festival, held in Huntington Beach, California, where it won the Best Feature Film Award. [3]

See also

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References

  1. Weiss, Hedy (July 11, 1999). "She's a Free Woman: MacArthur Grant Winner Charts Her Own Course". Chicago Sun-Times .
  2. Napoleon, Davi (December 23, 2009). "7Q4 Ron Daniels: On Directing Film, Opera, Theater". The Faster Times . Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved March 9, 2011.
  3. "2009 Winners". SoCal Independent Film Festival. Retrieved March 9, 2011.