Borrego (2022) - full transcript

Mimulus bigelovii.

Hey, just checking in on you.

Your email mentioned
a new project.

Just... Just want to know
where you're at.

I... I found something
really sweet yesterday

in her room.

It was this book of pressed
flowers you'd given her.

"Little flowers
for a little sister,"

you wrote on it.

Anyway, we... we just want you
to know that we love you

and we miss you.



I'd love to talk
when you get a chance.

Okay, we'll talk
to you soon, Elly.

Hmm.

Are you okay?
I saw your foot tracks.

I didn't know if you
broke down or something.

Oh, yeah. Yeah, I'm fine.
Thanks for checking.

There are better places
to hike out here than this.

I'm actually working.
I'm doing a plant survey.

Oh, my dad was talking
about that.

Something about a plant
that's been spreading.

Yeah,
pretty much.

Um, okay, well,
thanks again for checking.

Do you need any help
with your work?

No, no.
I'm okay.



I'm not supposed
to be out here.

Kind of skipping school.

Yeah, I've done my
fair share of that too.

Oh, you actually could help me
out, though.

I... I'm here at Eagle Head
Canyon, right?

Yeah, it's about a half a mile that
way, uh, where the big dip is.

Awesome. Thanks.

Well, I mean, you're...
you're already out here.

You can...
You can help me if you want.

Yeah, sure. Thanks.

Cool.
Just go down here.

So that...
that's it.

Mm-hmm.

Pretty ugly.

Yeah, that...
For sure.

- You see the different colors?
- Yeah.

- See?
- Oh, yeah. Mm-hmm.

- Pretty cool, right?
- Pretty cool. Yep.

You take really
good pictures.

And we'll get this
to the county.

Yeah, I know you're
doing an amazing job

with all of this.

That white shoot over there.

All right. Yeah.

Yeah, that's...

8-5-5-6.

Mm-hmm.

Yep.

What kind of flower
is that?

Oh, um...
it's a buttercup.

My mom had tattoos.

All right, well,
we should get you back

before you get
into trouble.

But we can... we can come
out here sometime,

on a weekend,
if you want.

- Cool.
- Cool.

All right, well, I'll be
a couple of hours behind you.

I still have some
work to do.

Okay.

I'll see you later.

Oh, my God. Oh, my God.

Come on. Come on!

Oh, shit.

Oh, fuck.

Hey!

Are you okay?

No, no!

No!

No!

Okay! Okay, okay, okay.

No, no!
Please, no!

No, no!

Okay, okay, okay.
Okay, okay.

What do you need?
What do you need?

Wait. Wait.

Okay.

Do you know
where you are?

Do you know what
direction you're facing?

Do you understand me?

We are hours
from the nearest road.

And the sun is down.

We're in the middle
of the desert.

You need...

Okay!

Um...

Do you have a GPS?

A GPS?

Anything you had is burned
up over there, okay?

I know where we are.
I know this desert.

I can take you wherever
you need to go. Okay?

Just tell... tell me
wherever you need to go.

Salton Sea.

The Salton Sea.

Okay, um...

That's a... that's a big area.
Do you know what part?

Here. Hold on.

North, south, east, west. Where?

Southwest?

Okay,
I can take you there!

Okay.

- Get the drugs.
- Okay.

Get the drugs! Move!

Get it. Get it!

Okay.

Okay,
that's all of it.

- More.
- No.

No, that's all
there was. There...

I mean, there might have been
more, but it's all burnt up.

Move, move.

Salton Sea.

That way.

That way.

What happens once we get
to the Salton Sea?

Look, I have...

Uh, I have two bags
in my trunk

and I think that they
will fit all of the drugs.

Uh, and I will leave you
with the drugs

once we get
to the Salton Sea,

and you can walk the...
the rest of the way with them,

and I will leave.

I won't see anyone.

I won't talk to anyone.
I won't say anything.

And you'll be gone by the
time I'm back to town.

No, I need to know or I'm
not gonna take you there!

- Wait, watch out!
- Whoa!

Stop!

Don't move.

We go. Move.
Get out.

Wait.

Wait. You wanna walk
to the Salton Sea?

That...
That's like 50 miles.

Okay, that'll take
a couple of days.

Let's... Look,
let's just try to fix the car.

Will you let me try?

The truck is stuck.

The wheels are destroyed.

I-I don't
have enough water.

And you have two bags.

Just like you say,
we'll carry on the drugs.

Load them.

Come on. Come on.

We can't... We can't do this.
We're not gonna make it.

Okay, Salton Sea.

Hi, Jim.

Hi there, Jose.
How are you?

- Oh, you know, living the dream.
- Hmm.

How's Imperial County
treating you?

Well, uh, some dirt bikers
just found a buried body

out here on the border of
Imperial and San Diego County.

- Oh, man.
- Yeah.

I think the coyotes got
to it and dug it up.

Otherwise, it was
pretty well-buried,

but it's a mess.

The body was all beaten
and bloodied.

Male, Latino, 40s.

What? You say it's
in my county or yours?

Well, that's why
I'm calling you.

The gravesite has technically
crossed the line of both counties.

I had to check the GPS.

It's in the middle
of the desert.

I don't know how
you wanna handle this.

Now, listen, I appreciate
you reaching out, Jim.

I'm personally really
short-staffed right now.

It's just me out here this week.
Ed's on vacation.

Mary's down to three days
a week in the office.

Yep.

- I could get the coroners out there...
- Mm-hmm.

...but it'd still be a half
day's drive out of San Diego.

Yeah, I know.
I get it. I get it.

We got a team in El Centro
that can come out.

I just wanna make sure
you guys have the chance

if you wanted it,
you know.

No, I appreciate it, Jim.

You bet, buddy.

You've been seeing, uh, much
drug stuff lately in your area?

Not for a long while.

It's brutal like that shit
from a few years back, though.

Well, I'll email you our report
in a few hours so you have it.

You say safe out there, Jose.

All right.
Yeah, thanks.

Thanks,
I appreciate that, Jim.

My pleasure.

I need a break.

- No.
- Please.

Please, just a few minutes.
I need some water.

Okay.

Hey!

Hey!

Hey!

No. No!

No, no, no.

No!

Oh, Jesus.

What the hell, Alex?

What are you doing without a helmet, Alex?
What did I tell you about that?

I couldn't find it.

It was on the patio.
I saw it this morning.

If you can't find it,
you ask me for a ride or someone else.

Now get off, I'll put it in the
back, We'll take you to school.

I'm two minutes from school.

I don't want you riding
5 feet without a helmet.

Now, come on. Let's go.

I'll just push it there.

Alex.

Drop by the house on my lunch
and bring it to your classroom.

What do you got?
Ms. Marlin, fourth period?

Just leave it in
the front office.

Hey.

Jose, it's Mary.

Jose, you there?

Yeah, Mary. What is it?

Where's your pretty face at?

I'm out here handing out
speeding tickets.

I'll be back in the office soon.
What's up?

Carl from the county is here,

askin' if you've seen
our new botanist, Elly?

Not today, no.

I guess she and Carl were
supposed to meet this mornin'.

He can't get a hold of her.

Drove in from San Diego for it.

I'm sure she just forgot.

Probably still
out in the field.

I told him.
He's pissed, though.

If you see her, have her
give Carl a ring, will you?

He's in a mood.

I know that mood.
Thanks, Mary.

Dad, I was in the desert
with Elly yesterday.

What do you mean?

I skipped school to ride
and I ran into her.

Jesus, Alex.

I learned a lot.
It was really cool.

- Well, did you come back with her?
- No.

She said she was gonna stay out there
a few more hours and then drive back.

Where was she exactly?

At the bottom of the Eagle
Head Canyon or something.

In the plains,
right around there.

What if her car broke down?
Maybe she needs help.

I'm sure she's probably fine.

Did he check her motel?
I'm going to go check.

No, you're gonna go to school.

No, I'm going to find Elly.

God damn it, Alex.

Real quick, and you're going
directly to school.

Open the gate.

I haven't seen her,
uh, since we checked in.

See her car come back
last night?

No. I was workin'.

Not sittin' there
starin' out the window.

We close up the office
at about 8:00.

Oh, you haven't cleaned her room
today, yeah?

What time is it?
10:16. No.

No, maids don't arrive until
after 11:00 durin' the weekdays.

Is there anything else
I can do for you?

No, we're good. Thank you.

Okay, that's good.
Dr. Phil's waiting for me.

- All right, we'll lock up. Thank you.
- Okay.

All her stuff's still here.

I don't think she came back
at all yesterday, Dad.

She didn't sleep
in that bed either.

And she doesn't know
the area at all.

All right,
I'm gonna drive out there.

I'll come with you.

Nice try.
You're goin' to class.

Look, if she turns up,
have Mary try to reach me on the radio.

- Dad.
- Alex.

Don't worry, okay?
I'm sure she's fine.

See you tonight for dinner.

Okay.

We need to get out
of the sun.

We need shade.

We're both burning up.
We need to head to those canyons.

That's not the way.

We're not gonna make it
to the Salton Sea.

It's straight desert
with no shade.

Okay, we need to get back
to Borrego Springs.

No.

If we keep walking this way,
we are gonna die.

Okay, that's the only way.

We get back to Borrego Springs,
I will find you a car,

you can call
whoever you need to call.

And we can go into town at night.
No one's gonna see you.

I don't know.
It... it will take a day,

but it will be shaded canyon
most of the way

and we can do the rest at night.

No. We stay here.

No, we'll die here!

He'll come.

Who?

Do you see anyone here?
We are alone.

No one is ever gonna
find us here, all right?

We're in the middle
of the fucking desert!

You really need to wrap your leg.
Put compression on it.

Tie it up with your jacket.

You have to tie it tight.

We're goin' to the canyon.

Everything all right?

- Speak English?
- Oh yes, yes.

What the hell is that?

Uh, an abandoned truck.
Just found it.

- No one in there, right?
- No, no.

I think
it's been there for a while.

You've seen anyone out there?

No,
there's never anyone out here.

We had a bet to see how
far from camp we could get

before one of us pussed out
from the heat.

It's hot.

Saw your truck drivin'
in the distance.

I thought maybe you were
border patrol or somethin'.

But you're the opposite of that.

Anything good left in there?

Nah.

We should
probably call this in, huh?

No!

No, no, no!

Thank you.

How did your plane crash?

Engine stopped.

No good plane.

Small plane.

No radar on the border.

- What is this stuff?
- Hmm?

This stuff, what is it?

Mmm.

I need to pee.

- Go.
- I can't do this by myself.

Go! Move.

Thanks.

We go.

Mary, you there?

I need help!
Does anyone read me?

I have an emergency.
Does anyone read this?

This is Deputy Sheriff
Jose Gomez.

I got a homicide scene with two
bodies and a third missing person.

Do you copy?

Hello?

Goddamn it!

Does anybody read me?

I need help.
I have an emergency!

Anyone?

Hello, does anybody read me?

This is San Diego County
Deputy Sheriff Jose Gomez

in need of immediate assistance.

Fuck me.

Pick up.
Pick up, pick up, pick up.

- Hi, you've reached Jose Gomez...
- Where is he?

Oh my God,
it's growing out here.

The path ends.

Where we go?

Up that, I think.

We're at the end of the slot.

We need rest.

We can climb this
in the morning.

Still light.

We can continue.

How far Borrego Springs?

I don't know.
Uh...

We have to climb to the top, and then
walk through the canyon on the other side,

and it's still a long
way back to town.

A really long time.

We climb, then rest.

Sleep, finish in morning.

Yeah, we can try.

We go.

You need to untie me.

If I fall and I die,

who's gonna carry
your drugs for you?

Dad, are you there?

Dad, it's Alex.

Come on.

Is someone there?

I'm looking
for Deputy Sheriff Gomez.

Please help.

- Whoa!
- No! No!

Tomas.

I'm Elly.

Why you were out...

on the desert?

I'm a botanist.

A plant scientist.

I'm doing a survey on that plant
we saw earlier in the canyon.

Something that isn't
supposed to be here.

Like us.

I was a teacher.

Who knows how to fly?

My father...

he was a pilot.

As kid, we fly a lot.

He taught me.

I don't like fly.

Okay, so why
do you do it?

I lost my job.

No work.

My cousin got me a job
in a fishing boat.

Moving gasoline.

I didn't know that the
gasoline was for the cartel.

My father is sick.

And the...

medicine is...

expensive.

Sometimes,
when the monster comes...

you have to say "yes."

Yours.

What is buttercup?

It's my favorite
wild flower.

Um...

That's it.

It was my nickname that my sister
gave me when she was little.

She gave me that
a few years ago.

She was younger than me.
She was my half-sister.

And she wanted to be just like me.
She...

wanted to grow up
really fast.

She...

She's not here?

No.

She was so funny
and so smart.

And I wasn't. I was...

...awkward and anxious,
and I never felt comfortable.

So I started
taking stuff...

for depression
and anxiety.

Stuff to go to sleep,
stuff to stay awake, stuff just to...

just to help me forget.

Then one morning,
she asked me to drive her to school,

and I...

I had been up
for like three days.

But I couldn't
tell her "no."

Then I ran a red light.

And I watched her die.

And after that I just...
I couldn't be in that town,

and drive down that road,
and see her room.

So I ran.

I ran from everything
and everyone.

And I have to keep running.

We can keep running.

Father of my father told him,

and he told me...

"Never run like a lamb."

"Run like a wolf."

We sleep.

Come on.

Dad!

Dad!

Dad!

Dad!

Alex? Alex?

Dad!

Alex!

Dad, where are you?

- Dad!
- Alex, be careful!

I can't see you.

It's not safe.
You gotta go now, honey.

Are you okay?

Alex, get out of here!

- Tell me you're okay.
- I'm fine, honey. Okay?

I... I'm a little banged up,
but you gotta go now.

What's going on?

I don't know.
Bad things.

I found Elly's car
and two dead bodies.

I chased a man up here
who shot at me.

Listen to me.
I need you to take my truck

and drive as fast as you can
till you get reception,

and then let 'em know
what's goin' on.

Your radio's destroyed.
Your truck's out in the desert.

Okay, listen to me. Then you just
drive back as fast as you can

and tell 'em
what's going on, okay?

Town is hours away. Then they're hours
away, even when I get back to call.

They don't care about us.
You've said that.

It's just you and me.

I need to get you out of here
and we're going to find Elly.

Listen to me. We can't! Okay?
It's dangerous here.

I don't know
if he's coming back.

I need you to get back
as fast as you can.

Try to drive
without the headlights.

I'm not going to leave you.
I'm going to get you out.

No, we can't! Listen to me!
Get out of here now!

No, I am going
to get you out!

You're the sheriff
and I'm your daughter!

It's just the two of us and you know it!
There's no one else to help!

Do you have any
rope in your truck?

Come on, come on.

Okay, this is the number for
the deputy in the next county.

As soon as your phone
starts getting reception,

call him and tell him
where I'm heading.

- What are you gonna do?
- I'm gonna follow that guy's car tracks

into the canyon
and see if I can't find Elly.

- Be safe.
- You, too.

Ride fast. Don't stop
for anything.

I love you.

Hey!

Alex?

Elly?

No!

Come on. Let's go.

Alex.

Come on.

Come on.

Hang on.

He's coming!

No!

Elly! Elly!

Come on. Come on!

Come on.

No!

No, no!

No!

No! No!

Hey!

No, no. No, no, no.

No, no, no. No, no, no.

No! No!

Elly.

Alex!