![]() What the film lacks in character development, it makes for in colorful geographical and psychological scenery and bloodshed. “There Are No Saints” is a descent into a circle of hell where vengeance and violence are ever-repeating cycles, and there is no escape except sex and death. He and a motor-mouthed Sossamon make an amusing couple. Strong and silent Yazpik excels in the fight scenes. Sans appears to be the king of his jungle kingdom, complete with a personal dungeon. You’re not alone if you think the film’s third act resembles “Apocalypse Now” as Niente and Inez find themselves prisoners of a mad former government agent named Sr. One of the film’s motifs is the Crucifixion-evoking sight of knives piercing hands. Shot in Tijuana and Baja California, Mexico, “There Are No Saints” has a dry geographical beauty. ![]() You may be reminded of Travis Bickle, the ranting anti-hero of “Taxi Driver,” as Niente goes through his prison-honed exercise routine in motel rooms. ![]() In the lead role, Yazpik has the looks and some mannerisms of the young Robert DeNiro. His first stop is a strip joint, where he meets Collie (Karla Souza, TV’s “Home Economics”), the girlfriend of another gunrunner named Jet Rink (Scotsman Tommy Flanagan). When Vincent kills Nadia and absconds with Julio, Niente, whose nickname is “The Jesuit” because of his practice of medieval torture, goes on a bloody rampage. Niente is on friendly terms with his former lawyer and helper Carl Abrahams (Tim Roth). She is married to Vincent (Neal McDonough), a condo developer who is also a gun smuggler. Niente is released from prison in opening scenes and tracks down his ex-wife Nadia (Paz Vega, “Espectro”) and their young son Julio (Keidrich Sellati). The film was directed by Alfonso Pineda Ulloa (“Espectro”) and tells the story of Neto Niente (Jose Maria Yazpik), a very dangerous man, whose surname means “nothing” in Spanish. Written by Paul Schrader, the screenwriter-turned-director, who had a fruitful collaboration with Martin Scorsese in the 1970s and ’80s (“Taxi Driver,” “Raging Bull,” “The Last Temptation of Christ”), “There Are No Saints” aka “The Jesuit,” is another violence-drenched, religion-steeped effort from the strict Calvinist-raised auteur of “First Reformed.” In this case, however, Schrader has limited himself to the screenplay and role of executive producer.
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