The border between the United States and Mexico runs almost 2,000 miles (1,954 to be exact), from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean. It’s the most frequently crossed border in the world, with about 350 million legal crossing annually, plus an unknown number of illegal crossings. Despite all the hype about building a border wall (or walls, since they are not continuous) a formidable natural barrier may be more effective: the desert in which many people (about 10,000 since 1994, according to the U.S. Border Patrol) lose their lives each year.
Jonah Malak’s documentary Spare My Bones, Coyote! (11/16/2025 1:30 pm St. Louis Central Public Library) follows the efforts of Marisela and Ely Ortiz, who for 12 years have worked with the volunteer organization Las Aguilas del Desierto (The Eagles of the Desert) whose specialty is finding the bodies of those who perish in the desert and returning them to their families. They also offer water and medical assistance to migrants who are en route to the border but can’t provide any other kind of assistance without running afoul of the law.
Malak takes a very matter-of-fact approach to his subject, which is necessary because the subject is grim enough without needing added emphasis. Mostly, he observes the Aguilas family as they go about their lives, preparing food and tending to their pet birds, and as they go on rescue missions. The two overlap, of course, and we hear some heart-wrenching phone calls from people who fear a loved one has perished (and who often blame themselves for encouraging the migration in the first place, although of course they didn’t know how it would end). Ely Ortiz knows how they feel because his brother and cousin died while trying to cross the desert in 2012, and spent months trying to find their bodies.
Spare My Bones, Coyote! does not over-explain but lets us see various aspects of the work that they take part in, from a forensic pathologist who tries to identify people from bones that have been discovered to visits by Las Aguilas del Desierto members to shelters where migrants stop while making their way northward. Their goal in the latter visits is to let people know what about the kind of obstacles they will face, with the general message of “be prepared” rather “don’t go.”
Their wise words don’t always fall on receptive ears, but the Ortiz family retains their equanimity, understanding that many of the migrants have already experienced a great deal of risk and spent a great deal of money on their efforts to enter the United States. In addition, failing to go on may not be a real option for those who are migrating to escape corrupt governments, gang activity, or a lack of economic opportunity wherever they have come from. But in general Spare My Bones, Coyote! Is not interested in debating political issues: instead, they offer a window into one aspect of a complex international situation that is unlikely to be resolved any time soon. | Sarah Boslaugh
The 34th Annual Whitaker St. Louis International Film Festival runs Nov. 6-16, 2025 at various locations around St. Louis. Further information is available from the Cinema St. Louis web site.
