Walker

Walker is a 1987 American-Mexican historical, hybrid/weird western film directed by Alex Cox and starring: Ed Harris, Richard Masur, René Auberjonois, Peter Boyle, Miguel Sandoval and Marlee Matlin. The film is based on the life story of William Walker, the American filibuster who invaded and made himself president of Nicaragua. It was written by Rudy Wurlitzer and scored by Joe Strummer, who has a small role as a member of Walker's army. The film is intentionally full of postmodern anachronisms, such as: helicopters, Zippo lighters, automatic rifles, Diet Coke, magazines and cars. It was filmed in Nicaragua, during the Contra War (1979-1990). Plot summary In 1853, soldier-of-fortune William Walker flees Mexico, after a failed attempt to incite an armed insurrection. He is placed on trial by US officials, but wins acquittal on breaking the Neutrality Act. Walker is a firm believer in Manifest Destiny and has plans to marry and start a newspaper until his fiancée Ellen Martin dies of cholera. Financed by American multimillionaire Cornelius Vanderbilt, Walker and 60 mercenaries embark on a mission to bring stability to Nicaragua by assisting the Democratic Party in its civil war against the Legitimists. Doing so would secure Vanderbilt's rights over an overland shipping route between the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. Despite significant losses, Walker and his corps score a bloody victory in Nicaragua, first in Rivas and then in the Conservative capital of Granada. In the midst of battle, Walker calmly strolls through the battlefield, seemingly unconcerned by the gunfire and death surrounding him. When the capital falls, Walker allows the President to stay in charge while the president's mistress, Doña Yrena, seduces Walker. After discovering that the President is attempting to rally other countries in Central America to unite and repel the Americans, Walker orders the President executed for treason and assumes the presidency for himself via a rigged election. From 1855 to 1857, his actions as president become increasingly manic and delusional, with Walker antagonizing his financial backer by revoking Vanderbilt's license to the overland trade route and seizing his ships. When one of Walker's brothers challenges his authority, Walker kills him without hesitation. Cut off from supplies and reinforcements, he decides to introduce slavery to Nicaragua in an attempt to gain support among the Southern U.S.