Burning Sands

Burning Sands is a movie about this group of young college freshmen who want to get into this fraternity and have to go through one week of humiliation by its members.

It's a nicely-shot film, but the whole thing just isn't memorable enough, especially the characters. The only one you actually kinda care about is the lead. The rest, you will barely remember. Also, I just couldn't connect to the whole story. It's horrible and very tough to watch and I know that these things happen, but I couldn't help but wonder why would anyone let others do this to them? Where is your dignity? What's the point of it? Sorry, but I just don't get it. The performances were pretty good and the whole feel and atmosphere isn't bad either. But it just lacks the emotion and the gut-punch. Aside from the events happening in these scenes, there isn't much to it. It's not memorable. In the end I just felt annoyed.

It's not a bad movie and I understand the point it was trying to make, but I just couldn't connect to it.

This film tells the story of a number of college freshmen who is in the week of pledging to their fraternity house. The humiliation and violence gradually increase to an unacceptable level, and they have to decide whether to continue their so called friendship and brotherhood.

"Burning Sands" tells a disturbing story, in which young men are abused in return for a distant, unrealised dream. The moment I see scorching, I already think it is going too far, but it goes way further than I can imagine. The abuse, manipulation and exploitation are unacceptable, in my opinion. I don't understand how this pledging culture can be allowed to continue. I can only be glad that I did not study in the United States.

The world of fraternities is a closed, alien one to people like me - a Brit who has never lived in the USA, and never really liked the whole old boy networks that run so many things in the world. Hazing - ritualised bullying and abuse - only makes it seem more distant, and that's the subject of this film which tells the story of a Hell Week which spins out of control. It's distinguished by some good performances and some subtle direction; I'm not a great deal clearer on how these rituals have got to this place, though the film wants to make a case that driving them underground has made them worse. That's a valid view, but this is a film that wants to show rather than discuss. It shows well - uncomfortably, unnervingly, chillingly and powerfully. But it falls short of what it could be, and what this subject matter needs.

This movie is a real eye opener to what happens in the Greek life. When i was in college, I would hear stories about students dying from hazing. I wish we could just know what happened in the end

Other than a strong cast of Black actors, Burning Sands brings nothing new to this over-trodden tale of hazing brutality and frat stupidity. Missing are any drivers that would make young men want to be part of such a moronic society.

The acting is strong, the faces memorable and the brutality is palpable, but it just wasn't enough.

The film ends with the central character making a cell phone call and mumbling something into the phone that is frustratingly unintelligible. I watched a screener of this, and replayed the final seconds several times, but couldn't make it out. What an incredible oversight.