February 4, 2006

The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada.

The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada "There are elements in The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada that I tend to distrust when they crop up in other movies," writes Jonathan Rosenbaum in the Chicago Reader. "There's the theme of redemption, which can all too easily lead to a Hollywood cop-out, even (or maybe especially) when it's tied to some notion of religious transcendence. There's the taken-for-granted dysfunctional social context, and there's the visceral macho unpleasantness, which feels dishonest in movies such as Henri-Georges Clouzot's The Wages of Fear (1953) and Peckinpah's The Wild Bunch (1969) and Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974). I have to admit I still like those three films a lot, and I suspect that what I appreciate most in this movie is the nuance Jones gives these and other shopworn notions."

Susan Gerhard in the San Francisco Bay Guardian: "Set in the gorgeous, thirsty landscapes of West Texas-Chihuahua, a story that should be something of a race against time turns into a patiently morbid meditation on place."

"[Tommy Lee] Jones directs with all the grit that's associated with his onscreen persona," writes the AV Club's Scott Tobias, "but Peckinpah would never allow this degree of sentimentality to slip into one of his Westerns."

The LA Weekly's Scott Foundas heads out to Florida to meet Tommy Lee Jones, who tells him, "I never use the term Western... Call it pornography - it's got a naked woman in it. Call it a travelogue. Call it horror - I've got a dead body, after all."

Call it what you like, Roger Ebert gives it four stars.



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Posted by dwhudson at February 4, 2006 3:01 PM

Comments

Cuidado con las promesas que le haces a un buen amigo....

As ever, Dave, thanks for gathering up reviews on "Three Burials." I felt lucky to see an advance screening of the film Thursday evening at the Embarcadero. I had been anticipating the film, which I believe opened in San Francisco on Friday.

Arriaga expresses a writer's delight in twisting a tale. And this one is, by turns, morbidly funny at moments, as well as whimsically sad.
Tommy Lee Jones delivers one of his most compassionate performances ever, noble in stature like Cooper in "High Noon" or Peck in
"To Kill A Mockingbird."

And Barry Pepper, who has always given me the creeps, continues to do so in this movie, though his character arc allows him to do some of the
funniest bits I've ever seen him do. Further, Dwight Yokum, whose character is admittedly one-dimensional in this piece, nonetheless
exudes such a presence on-screen. He's a natural.

I truly enjoyed this film and understand completely why Jones and Arriaga were honored at Cannes. Although I can understand why some folks might be put off by the "corpse violation" in the movie (Mick LaSalle), I'm hoping folks will understand a longstanding Mexican tradition of poking fun at death and understand the humor in context.

Thanks again for the pointers to other reviews.

Posted by: Maya at February 6, 2006 4:04 PM

Thank you, Maya. And I'm in 100 percent agreement with you re: Barry Pepper, though I haven't seen this particular film. I can't decide whether I'd like to see him break through to bigger yet lesser movies or carry on right where he is now.

Posted by: David Hudson at February 7, 2006 4:10 PM