Jonás Cuarón's Desierto has a certain abstract, conceptual power.

Give "Desierto" credit for this: There has never been a more appropriate time for a tense thriller about Mexican immigrants avoiding the murderous advances of a gun-wielding American lunatic.

A generic thriller that happens to be wrapped in political packaging. That packaging is sometimes more interesting than the thrills themselves.

Isolated terrain featuring looming rock formations and challenging stretches of desert contribute to the story's menacing elements.