Get the Gringo
Also titled How I Spent My Summer Vacation, this 2012 prison-set action thriller film sees Mel Gibson returning to the style of his earlier works, such as Mad Max.
Gibson plays a nameless man credited only as "Driver", who has stolen a lot of money but gets caught with it as he attempts to cross the border into Mexico. Thrown into the slum-like prison village "El Pueblito", he needs to try and survive and get his money back, since its owners are keen on stopping him. Things get more complicated when his machinations are uncovered by an alert ten year old who appears to have some sort of connection to the prisoner who truly runs the place, Javi.
Released directly to video-on-demand services in the US, it was theatrically released elsewhere (such as the UK).
- Big Bad: Javi.
- Bigger Bad: Frank doesn't get much screentime, but is still established to be this.
- Black Comedy: Though the movie has lots of serious elements, a lot of the comedic tone is this.
- Infant Immortality: Double-subverted by the Kid, who attempts to kill himself but fails and is saved.
- The Nameless: None of the three protagonists are actually named. The Driver gives several names, none of which appear to be real. Seldom is he actually believed when he does this, but no one who calls him on it is able to figure out the truth.
- Wretched Hive: El Pueblito is a gigantic slum/prison hybrid, akin to the refugee camp at Bexhill in Children of Men.