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Oscar-winner Tommy Lee Jones directs and stars in this poetic and striking modern-day Western scripted by Guillermo Arriaga (Amores Perros, 21 Grams).
Peter Perkins (Jones) is a veteran cowboy who embodies the values of the old West, living in a small Texas town bordering the U.S. and Mexico. He hires Melquiades Estrada as a ranch hand and quickly befriends the man. But when Estrada is gunned down under mysterious circumstances, Perkins takes justice into his own hands and kidnaps a trigger-happy border patrolman (Barry Pepper), forcing Perkins to unearth Estrada's body and accompany Perkins on horseback on the long and treacherous journey through the frontier mountains and back roads of Mexico to bring his friend's body home.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
42 of 44 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Superb effort from Tommy Lee Jones - this is both restrained and intense at the same time, telling a story of unexpected redemption. Fans of Jones or Westerns beware - this is no action movie or thriller - this is low key and driven by the characters. And what great characters they are, with superb performances, especially from Barry Pepper. The Texas / Mexico border atmosphere of decaying towns and morals is played unflinchingly, with a story being told amongst the minutiae of everyday life - how many movies zoom in on one of the main characters clipping their toenails while watching TV..? The alienation inherent in the small town where everyone knows everyone and yet are emotionally distant, is contrasted with the Jones character's deep friendship, if not platonic love, for his Mexican friend - to great effect.
The story has been covered in more detail elsewhere, but in a nutshell - a Mexican is shot by accident, and his friend (Jones) has promised him he would bury him in Mexico. He kidnaps the man responsible when the local police do nothing, and takes him on a journey to find the Mexican's home to bury him, and find some redemption along the way.
Barry Pepper plays the unpleasant, narcissistic and immature young border guard who goes unwillingly on a journey through which he comes of age. He plays it to perfection. Jones is the big surprise, both in his restrained performance of a man acting on deep friendship, loyalty and a sense of justice, and also in his direction of the movie. The cinematography captures the starkly beautiful scenery, and the editing cleverly tells the beginning of the story in a bravely non linear way which only adds to the strength and sense of the story.
Kudos to Jones, then, for taking thought provoking material like this and making a genuine minor classic out of it. It deservedly won the Cannes Festival best Actor and Best screenplay awards.
In short, a bleak, but ultimately uplifting movie most assuredly not for the action buffs, but for those who thrive on real characters in extraordinary circumstances. And did I mention the stunning scenery...?
The story has been covered in more detail elsewhere, but in a nutshell - a Mexican is shot by accident, and his friend (Jones) has promised him he would bury him in Mexico. He kidnaps the man responsible when the local police do nothing, and takes him on a journey to find the Mexican's home to bury him, and find some redemption along the way.
Barry Pepper plays the unpleasant, narcissistic and immature young border guard who goes unwillingly on a journey through which he comes of age. He plays it to perfection. Jones is the big surprise, both in his restrained performance of a man acting on deep friendship, loyalty and a sense of justice, and also in his direction of the movie. The cinematography captures the starkly beautiful scenery, and the editing cleverly tells the beginning of the story in a bravely non linear way which only adds to the strength and sense of the story.
Kudos to Jones, then, for taking thought provoking material like this and making a genuine minor classic out of it. It deservedly won the Cannes Festival best Actor and Best screenplay awards.
In short, a bleak, but ultimately uplifting movie most assuredly not for the action buffs, but for those who thrive on real characters in extraordinary circumstances. And did I mention the stunning scenery...?
24 of 26 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Saw Three Burials on a flight from HK back to the UK. Watched it because I couldn't find anything else that sparked my interest. Was glad I did, as it was one of the best films I have seen in a very long time. Very un-American in its construct and any feel-good factor coming from the storyline was unconventional in nature. I highly recommend this refreashing film.
19 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
The film is set on the U.S./Mexican border and initially concerns the lives of those who farm the local land or patrol the vast expanses of nothingness in a bid stop illegal immigrants crossing an invisible line. Life is desperate for the local women folk and they resort to affairs in an effort to spice things up, the men just satisfy themselves. A farmhand is killed and Tommy Lee Jone's character (a quiet man-with-no-name character) forces the killer to join him in returning the victims body to his homeland; a far away Mexican village. Three Burials echoes the simplicity of the great westerns of the Sixties, albeit with the occasionally nod to dark Lynch-ian humour. It reminded me a lot of "Stand By Me", in that not a lot actually happens, but its enough just to see the two characters develop and change as they slowly make their way through the landscape. It's kind of a buddy movie too, but with the caveat that neither of the men have anything in common and have no chance of ever ending up as buddies. Recommended.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
wonderf\ully quirky
One of the best performances by Tommy Lee Jones and a surprise cameo by Levon Helm. As good a film about the "border" as yu can find
Published 2 days ago by big burd 44
A brilliant modern Western
It's great to see that the US can still make films with guns that treat the audience as adults. This is a true classic and has real people in with real emotions. Read more
Published 1 month ago by G. Barker
Unexpected Classic
This film begs the question - has Tommy Lee Jones been in a bad film? I'm no expert, and maybe I've just seen the good ones! Read more
Published 10 months ago by G. Seabrook
The Mexican Hat Dance
I bought this DVD after reading that it was the third of a trilogy by Tommy Lee Jones. I had seen and very much enjoyed "No Country for Old Men" and "In the Electric Mist", the... Read more
Published 16 months ago by Mr. I. E. Wason
A powerful story told through a mix of genres.
I was really surprised at just how much I enjoyed this film.
Director Tommy Lee Jones cleverly tells the story through a wide mix of genres from crime drama to revenge drama,... Read more
Director Tommy Lee Jones cleverly tells the story through a wide mix of genres from crime drama to revenge drama,... Read more
Published 22 months ago by Ernie
A very good film with Tommy Lee Jones at his usual best
My Wife is a big Tommy Lee Jones fan. We watched this not quite sure what was goung to happen as the beginning looked as though it was going to leave Tommy Lee Jones usual form. Read more
Published on 26 April 2010 by E. W. A. Hobby
Slow, But Brilliant
I watched this off the back of No Country for old men. I remember TLJ from films like The Fugitive and whilst he was OK, he was nothing special. Until No Country that is. Read more
Published on 8 Oct 2009 by Frey Bentos (PSN sevenz7rkseven)
Three stars for three burials
Three Burials or 'The three Burials of Melquiades Estrada' is an engaging film in a way that a 12 course meal is engaging. Read more
Published on 7 Sep 2009 by Peter Roxburgh
good
This is good, very good and worth watching again and again as there is so much going on you almost need to watch it again to catch it all.
Published on 15 Aug 2009 by David
Reverse Buddy Movie!
This is quite an enjoyable movie but marred by the first 40 minutes or so where an attempt is made to tell the story via a series of non-sequential flashbacks. Read more
Published on 15 Aug 2009 by Northern Warrior
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