Los tres entierros de Melquiades Estrada

As a Mexican American myself and with Spanish being my first language , I hate when they portray Mexicans or any Hispanics for that matter , with phony accents that I just don't buy. Most of the times I'm irritated to the point I can't enjoy the movie. IN THIS INSTANCE HOWEVER , I was highly impressed with the whole cast, especially Tommy lee Jones's Spanish . INCREDIBLE!! I always saw him as a respectable actor , but he truly won me over with his performance in this movie . Also the plot twists thru out the whole movie are intriguing . This is a movie well worth watching !

The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada is for me the film that saved 2005. Written by Guillermo Arriaga, also writer of "Amores Perros" and "21 grams" and the first movie of Tommy Lee Jones as a director (but also lead actor), "The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada" tells the story of Ranch hand Pete Perkins (Tommy Lee Jones) who wants to fulfill the promise he made to his recently deceased Mexican friend by burying him in his hometown in Mexico. The power of this modern western and initiatic journey resides in the complexity of the characters, their depth and their controversial behavior. None of the protagonists are one dimensional; none of them are right or wrong but all of them do right and wrong things. They are not always rational, and most of the time they feel lost. In one word they all appear profoundly human. Build over a chase dynamic fueled with contrasts and paradoxes, the film opposes Wild West landscape and Modern carton built houses, 4WD tracking hunt and horse back journey, fake TV soaps and true friendship but maybe most of all Freedom and Prison. Indeed most if not all characters are trapped in their apathetic lives from which they can't or don't want to escape forcing us to ask ourselves how close is our lives to the spectacle projected in front of our eyes. Melquiades Estrada embodies this possibility of Escape and now that he has been buried 3 times he transcends this Freedom making redemption possible not only through death but also through rebirth, suggesting that nobody is beyond it.

This above average film concerns Pete Perkins , a foreman (Tommy Lee Jones) from a Texas town , nearly the Mexican border . There also lives a violent patrolman called Mike (Barry Pepper) , along with his embittered wife (J. Jones) . When his pal , Melquiades (Cedillo) , is murdered , he is rapidly buried . But Perkins pulls off the promise his best friend bringing him at his natal village , called Jimenez . Then , he decides the kidnapping of the arrogant policeman . After the second burial into a public graveyard , he claims the body that is tied to a mule and along with the patrolman start a dangerous journey to Mexico pursued by the patrol chief (Dwight Yokoam) .Nobody is beyond redemption. For justice. For loyalty. For friendship.

This enjoyable film is a touching and violent drama with elevated cinematographic values . The protagonist results to be a ¨Quixote¨ who obstinately undertakes a perilous journey whose objective looks to fulfill the promise by whatever means . The movie realizes an awesome actors ' reunion , showing the different characters and explores their apprehension , ambitions , fears and circumstances . Intelligent and thoughtful screenplay by Guillermo Arriaga (21 grams , dog loves) . The screenplay was written in Spanish by Guillermo Arriaga but was translated in to English by Tommy Lee Jones . Director/Actor Jones gave each cast member a copy of Albert Camus' "The Stranger" to read so that they would understand alienation , a big theme in both the novel and the film . Sensitive and evocative musical score by Marco Beltrani (Red eye) . The film is a nice co-production , being produced , among others , by the great producer and director French Luc Besson . Special mention for glimmer and fascinating cinematography by Chris Menges (Pledge , Michael Collins) and occasionally director (World apart , Criss cross) , he splendidly reflects impressive outdoors from Texas border and Mexico . Tommy Lee Jones won a deserved prize in Cannes , being his theatrical directing debut , his only other directing credit was the TV movie Good old boys (1995) . Tommy Lee Jones's acting and direction is magnificent . Much of the movie was shot on Tommy Lee Jones's own ranch . Remaining cast is frankly excellent with terrific performances (Pepper , Jones , Melissa Leo) . Rating : Better than average . Well worth watching , it's a must see for Tommy Lee Jones enthusiasts.

The "Three burials of Melquiades Estrada" is a multi-layered story of death, retribution, loneliness, and remembrance. Although it takes place in modern day Texas, its main character Pete Perkins, superbly played by Tommy Lee Jones, seems to be living resolutely in the past. He is determined to seek justice for his best friend's death and forces the guy responsible for to a journey across the borders in Mexico to locate the village of the deceased for a proper burial. This journey will bring forward the stark contrast between the values of two ways of life and the landscape transversed is both geographical and emotional.

Modern civilization throughout the film is mainly represented by 4WD cars, sniper rifles, dinners, shopping malls, trailers, and TV-sets incessantly showing soap operas, while the characters revelling into those manifestations are invariably emotionally numb, disaffected people, trapped to a perfunctory life from which they seem unable or unwilling to escape. Concomitantly the values of the old west, based on friendship, loyalty and commitment have ebbed, though they are still existent as embodied by the relationship of Pete with his best friend. Pete is forced to pursue his own sense of justice after being repeatedly scorned by the contemptuous behavior of the authorities towards him and his demand for rightful punishment of the culprit, a cool, violence prone and emotionally detached border-guard.

The story is masterly told in a sturdy manner that perfectly serves the complexity of the excellent screenplay by an apposite use of flashbacks and wonderfully shot sequences. All the performances are top notch in their expressive minimalism, greatly contributing to the lasting emotional impact of this outstanding film.

I just had the pleasure of seeing this wholly original modern-day American western. Just when you think you have this film's plot pigeon holed it takes you in a different direction. THREE BURIALS OF MELQUIADES ESTRADA is in part a revenge story, but it's also much more than that. There are no one dimensional characters. As much as you want to hate Barry Pepper's numbed border patrol officer, you can't help but feel sorry for him. And Tommy Lee Jones' Pete will break your heart. He and Pepper have never been better and Jones' direction is natural and subtle. My only problem with the film was sometimes it got a little too quirky for its own good. But for the most part I believed every moment and really cared for these lost characters. It's one of those films that really leaves you thinking about a lot of stuff, from mortality and loss to the very real problems of racism and inhumanity. It's never preachy or self aware and isn't out to impress, it's just telling a story. I highly recommend this movie. It's by far one of the best films I've seen recently.