Walker (1987)

William Walker, an American adventurer and self-declared president of Nicaragua, rides into Granada in 1855 backed by U.S. mercenaries, Manifest Destiny, and a hunger for imperial conquest. His rise is swift and blood-soaked, but his ideals rot into tyranny. As revolution brews and alliances fracture, Walker clings to power, delusions and isolation, until history anachronistically catches up with him. Directed by Alex Cox, best known for the cult hits Repo Man (1984) and Sid and Nancy (1986), Walker is a daring mix of history, satire, and modern commentary. Shot in Nicaragua during the Contra War with full support from the leftist Sandinista government, Walker was produced in defiance of Reagan-era politics. Cox directs with an anarchic flair, blending Brechtian artifice with bursts of violence and absurdist comedy. The result is a wildly original film that indicts American empire-building through aesthetic rebellion. Despite putting an end to Cox’s then-burgeoning Hollywood career, Walker is now considered arguably his most important contribution to cinema – it is also the rare historical film that refuses the comfort of period-piece nostalgia, choosing instead to collapse time, making past and present indistinguishable, and exposing the violence that props up both.