“Dead Souls” Film Review

 

49th São Paulo International Film Festival Review

Alex Cox's Dead Souls is a revelation. It arrives from the dust like a forgotten gospel of guilt and survival, reviving the western as both myth and moral reckoning. Sparse, deliberate, and unnervingly human, it proves that restraint can be far more powerful than spectacle. 

Cox stars as Strindler, a drifter who trades in the identities of the dead, moving through a border town where the line between commerce and conscience no longer exists. His performance is weary, magnetic, and steeped in dark humor. The film's world feels suspended between the sacred and the corrupt, where every deal sounds like a prayer for redemption.

Opposite him, newcomer Levee Duplay delivers an outstanding turn as Prosecutor Vistov, the town's quiet executioner of justice. Duplay is an excellent choice for the role, bringing just the right menace and control. His calm presence tightens every scene and gives Cox's restless energy something sharp to push against. It is a performance that completes the film rather than competes with it.

Cinematography captures the land in tones of gold and ash, where the light feels almost alive. The score hums low and sorrowful, like wind through a church window. Together they create an atmosphere that is both intimate and apocalyptic.

Dead Souls feels built from instinct and memory, a handmade vision of ruin and grace. It is a film that trusts silence, movement, and the faces of its actors more than words. By the final shot, when the desert swallows the last trace of human noise, the effect is staggering.

Verdict: A masterful return from Alex Cox and a powerful debut for Levee Duplay. Tense, poetic, and unforgettable.

Mexicanos Muertos – Spanish title

Dead Mexicans – English title

Government Work – English title

Dead Souls – English title

 

A 2024 U.S.A., Spanish co-production [Exterminating Angel, Zapruder Pictures (Madrid)]

Producers: Tod Davies, Abby Harris, Amer Hilal, Stephen E. Lawrence, David Nedrow, Etienne Thomas, Merritt Crocker, Guillermo de Oliveira, R. Michael Fierro, Willem Heerbaart, Joaquin Montes Huerta, Robert Jensen, Adam Schoon, Jesse Whiteman, Kyle Curry, Jeff Hause, Jamie Jamieson, Madmartigan, Betsy Nofsinger, Adam Rutowski, Brett Taylor, Jamie Wilson-Webb, Del Zamora

Director: Alex Cox (Alexander Cox)

Story: Dead Souls by Nicolai Gogol

Screenplay: Alex Cox (Alexander Cox), Gianni Garko

Cinematography: Ignacio Aguilar, Chance Falkner [color]

Music: Dan Wool

Running time: 85 minutes

 

Story: In 1890 - the year of the US census - chaos erupts when a stranger named Strindler arrives in a small town in Arizona and requests money for providing the names of dead Mexican laborers.

 

Cast:

Strindler – Alex Cox (Alexander Cox)

Strindler’s father - Edward Tudor-Pole

Johnny Behan - Jesse Lee Pacheco

Zamora – Del Zamora

Prosecutor Samuel S. Vistov - Levee Duplay

Alcides Stanton - Felix Cetera

Rebecca Stanton – Karen Wright

Doctor Stanton – Dick Rude

Borracho - Zander Schloss

Chandler – Geoff Marslett

Rose Chandler – Amariah Dionne

Themosticles Stanton – Gus Cetera

Nuria – Maria Robles

Oso – Ted Falagan

Crocker- Merritt Crocker

Mayor Avery Senator – Eric Schumacher

Gamblers – Geoffrey Notkin, Colby Elliot

Pool player – William Horton

The Kid – Shayn Herndon

Widow - Sarah Vista (Katie Westbrook)

Juarez official/guitarist – Javier Arnal

Valdez - Pablo Kjolseth

Mexicans – Antonio Amate, Jose Corral Martinez, Miguel Morales

Sheriff Purdy – Brendan Guy Murphy

El Paso deputies – Rafael Rodriguez, Manuel Rodriguez

Undertaker – Ed Pansullo

Secretary - Selena Hurtado de Mendoza

Custom’s House Cowboy – Patrick Moroney, James Flower, Christopher Boesen

Can Can girls - Maria de los Ángeles Callejón Segura, Noelia Reina Rodríguez, Alicia

     Aguilar Ruiz

With: Melanie Browning. Jeffrey Baden

Armorer: Amos Carver

Stunt coordinator – Rob Jensen (Robert Jensen)