Desert Saints (2002): Cast & Plot
Desert Saints is a 2002 action thriller directed by Richard Greenberg, starring Kiefer Sutherland as Arthur Banks, Jamey Sheridan and Melora Walters. It runs 1 hour 28 minutes.
- Released
- Runtime
- 1h 28m (88 min)
- Director
- Richard Greenberg
- Original language
-
English - Studio
- Sagg Main Productions
- After the credits
- No No extra scene
What Is Desert Saints About?
The premise of Desert Saints without spoilers. The whole story is in the plot summary further down.
Banks is the top hit man for Latin‑American drug cartels, who habitually hires solitary women for a job and then murders them. While traveling the Southwest toward Mexico, he picks up Bennie, a woman fleeing an abusive marriage and bound for Paradise, Arizona. The story weaves three threads: Banks’s slow recruitment of Bennie, the elaborate hit planned at a luxury Mexican resort, and the FBI’s relentless chase, hoping to turn him against his bosses. Bennie may hide secrets, and cracks appear in Banks’s ruthless façade. Guns, money and the promise of a new life blur the lines between predator and prey.
Desert Saints Themes & Keywords
· 50 tags- penthouse
- american midwest
- suspense
- electronic music score
- 2000s
- man kills a woman
- scene during opening credits
- gas station attendant
- f word
- profanity
- american abroad
- disguise
+38 more Show fewer
- modern western
- airport
- ambiguous ending
- offscreen killing
- camera shot of feet
- suit and tie
- motel
- crime boss
- undercover agent
- gangster
- revelation
- flashback
- shot through a door
- shot to death
- shot in the back
- shot in the arm
- organized crime
- murder
- death
- drug cartel
- held at gunpoint
- escape
- deception
- betrayal
- double cross
- blood
- blood splatter
- pool of blood
- political assassination
- ambush
- following someone
- premarital sex
- revolver
- machine gun
- assassination plot
- sniper rifle
- telescopic rifle
- african american
Desert Saints Cast & Characters
Kiefer Sutherland leads the cast as Arthur Banks, with Jamey Sheridan as Agent George Scanlon and Melora Walters as Bennie Harper. Directed by Richard Greenberg; 15 actors are credited in all.
- Director Richard Greenberg
-
Kiefer Sutherland as Arthur Banks - Jamey Sheridan as Agent George Scanlon
-
Melora Walters as Bennie Harper - Leslie Stefanson as Agent Donna Marbury
Also Starring in Desert Saints
· 11 more- Beth Grant Lou
- Bill Sage Agent Davis
- Rachel Ticotin Dora
- Keith Diamond Agent Robinson
- Alan Gelfant Byron Sadowski
- Shawn Woods Larson
- Brent Roam Concierge
- Buddy Quaid Gas Station Attendant
- Zach Chapman Officer
- Christopher Bersh Thug in Black
- Aliza Rajan Agent McCoy
More from Richard Greenberg
One more film directed by Richard Greenberg: Little Monsters.
Desert Saints Plot Summary
What happens in Desert Saints from start to finish, spoilers included, with a timeline of 12 key events. The opening is below; the full summary is a 4-minute read.
Spoilers ahead
Arthur Banks, Kiefer Sutherland, is an Ivy League–educated hitman for Latin American drug cartels who targets solitary women as cover for a kill, then finishes the job. His method is chillingly efficient, marked by a tungsten-core bullet that underscores his clinical approach to life and death. Over the years, the relentless pressure of pursuit by law enforcement has made him wary of surveillance—satellites, cameras, and relentless tracking—so he tends to retreat to remote, arid stretches of the desert when he’s not working. The story follows the high-stakes cat-and-mouse game between Banks and the FBI, a chess match driven by a shared obsession with catching a man who seems to anticipate every move.
Full summary
The whole story of Desert Saints, scene by scene
Desert Saints Trailers & Videos
The trailer of Desert Saints.
How Well Do You Know Desert Saints?
10 questions about the story, each with a hint if you get stuck. Pick an answer to see whether you were right.
Question 1 of 10
- Question 1: not answered
- Question 2: not answered
- Question 3: not answered
- Question 4: not answered
- Question 5: not answered
- Question 6: not answered
- Question 7: not answered
- Question 8: not answered
- Question 9: not answered
- Question 10: not answered
What is the profession of Arthur Banks?
Cars in Desert Saints
16 cars on screen, including the 1970 Chevrolet Nova and the 1967 Pontiac Bonneville.
-
1970 Chevrolet Nova Main role -
1967 Pontiac Bonneville Main role -
1987 Chevrolet Caprice Important role -
1986 Ford Taurus Important role
Desert Saints Also Known As
12 alternative titles, including “Balas en el desierto” and “Desert Saints - In der Wüste des Todes”.
- Also known as
-
- Balas en el desierto
- Desert Saints - In der Wüste des Todes
- Wüstenheilige
- Conduta Homicida
- Sivatagi szentek
- מרדף במדבר
- Svatí z pouště
- Santi del deserto
- 终极刺客
- Шаманы пустыни
- 데저트 세인츠
- Шамани пустелі
Seen Desert Saints?
Movies Like Desert Saints
Films with a similar story, tone or audience, including Desert Pursuit, Desierto and Desert Passion.
Desert Saints FAQ: Cast, Runtime & Release Date
Runtime, release date, director, cast and post-credit scenes of Desert Saints, each answered in a sentence.
How long is Desert Saints?
Desert Saints runs 1 hour 28 minutes (88 minutes).
When was Desert Saints released?
Desert Saints was released on March 10, 2002.
Who directed Desert Saints?
Desert Saints was directed by Richard Greenberg.
More films by Richard Greenberg Who is in the cast of Desert Saints?
Desert Saints stars Kiefer Sutherland as Arthur Banks, Jamey Sheridan as Agent George Scanlon and Melora Walters as Bennie Harper, among 15 credited actors.
Does Desert Saints have a post-credit scene?
No. Desert Saints has no extra scene during or after the credits.
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