Written, starring, and directed by Trevor Riley, The Ballad of a Coyote follows the dangerous journey of a poor rancher who must pay off his gambling debts by smuggling a woman across the U.S.-Mexico border. Arizona Meyer (Riley) is a regular working-class dude from the state of Arizona. The down-on-his-luck ranger hustles to pay his gambling debts. “I’m not above anything,” the unemployed cowboy desperately begs his friend. “I’m not coming in here on my high horse.”
Finally, Arizona gets the chance to make some extra cash. To his shock, it is a very dirty job: being a coyote, aka transporting a woman across the border. The titular animal is a powerful psychological symbol throughout the film. Literally, it means “a smuggler,” but figuratively, it represents aggression, predation, brutality, and bloodlust. The very darkest depths of human nature are explored here.
Over the film’s duration, we see Arizona develop a genuine friendship with Martina (Marisa Echeverria), the woman he’s smuggling. He gains more and more insight into her past. She’s a widowed lawyer who was chased out of Mexico by a vengeful drug cartel. Together, Arizona and his new female friend must avoid violent gangsters as they sneak across the border.

“…Arizona and his new female friend must avoid violent gangsters as they sneak across the border.”
The Ballad of a Coyote adopts a Wild West aesthetic: the arid southern climate, the cattle ranches, and Spanish guitar music. The movie is beautifully shot. Its gloomy, desaturated scenes elegantly express the psychology of these characters. The storytelling is executed well. The exposition feels very natural and realistic. The acting is top-notch.
Through creative storytelling, Riley elegantly takes on one of America’s hottest political debates: the border wall. We see the culture clash between white and Hispanic, man and woman, citizen and criminal. The filmmaker handles it in a very delicate and insightful manner.
Few major problems exist, though the pacing is a bit slow. However, the proceedings are regularly energized by subtle revelations the two leads make to each other. The short hour-and-a-half runtime does atone for this minor defect. The Ballad of a Coyote is a solid film, well worth a watch.