Highway Patrolman . Nashville Scene . 10-06-97

Highway Patrolman

DIRECTED BY: Alex Cox

REVIEWED: 10-06-97

Having succumbed to exhaustion from fighting the powers that be, director Alex Cox (Repo Man, Sid & Nancy) made this modest comeback film in 1994, which plays like the metaphoric autobiography of an exiled survivor. The title character is Pedro (Roberto Sosa), a Mexican cop entrusted with upholding law and order through a set of rigid rules: Ticket quotas must be maintained, unquestioning loyalty to the force is essential, and citizens, regardless of the circumstances, "have always broken the law." Pedro, feeling more sympathy with the criminals than with the law, begins taking bribes in exchange for transportation permits and enacts a plan to take from the rich and give to the poor. The director's feat here is no less audacious: Spurning the industry clout generated by his former cult hits, the British Cox used a largely Mexican crew to make this modestly budgeted Spanish-language feature. The film's DIY ethos is captured by a road sign in the final shot that reads, "Paying Taxes is Participating." Like Pedro, Cox knows the consequences of working within the system and, commendably, he's having none of it.

--Rob Nelson

Other Films by Alex Cox
Repo Man

Film Vault Suggested Links
The Last Seduction
Laws of Gravity
American Buffalo

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