Burn (2012)
Average Rating: 8/10
Reviews Counted: 14
Fresh: 14 | Rotten: 0
No consensus yet.
Average Rating: 7.5/10
Critic Reviews: 6
Fresh: 6 | Rotten: 0
No consensus yet.
liked it
Average Rating: 4.7/5
User Ratings: 521
My Rating
Movie Info
Burn is a character-driven documentary about Detroit, told through the eyes of Detroiters who are on the front lines, trying to rescue and rebuild it. -- (C) Official Site
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All Critics (14) | Top Critics (6) | Fresh (14) | Rotten (0)
An action-packed look at the men who do their best to keep Detroit from going up in flames.
Top CriticThese stories are moving, but what really distinguishes the film is the sense of an entire city giving in to self-immolation.
An emotional character study of a group of heroic, yet very human, individuals.
The film makes you thankful for members of this macho breed, who relish risking their lives to save others.
Burn captures the danger (and, yes, excitement) of putting out blazes, as well as the futility of dousing flames in a city rife with arson-and the struggles to maintain adequate funding in a wrecked economy that hits the public sector hardest.
Vividly captures a year in the life of eastside Detroit's Engine Company 50.
Burn, from directors Tom Putnam and Brenna Sanchez, is a straight-up documentary about a year in the life of the Detroit Fire Department. And what a year.
As powerful as Burn's images can be, the Detroit firefighters tell their own stories about what's important to them, their neighborhood connections, their family legacies, their pride in their fellows and in their community.
Directors Tom Putnam and Brenna Sanchez structure Burn in a brilliant way, allowing viewers not just access to life behind the fire hose but to make personal connections with these men who act against the human instinct to run away from the flames.
... the dynamic on-the-fly scenes of danger and chummy stationhouse camaraderie are slowly peeled away to reveal a fascinating and multigenerational portrait of loss, resiliency, frustration and regret.
If Black America is an internal colony, then Detroit is its epicenter. Hence, the more than coincidental ties between this powerful documentary and Pontecorvo's masterpiece.
Burn is not just a celebration of these wonderful, involving fighters of fires and so much more that threatens survival. It is also a tribute to the decent working class and firefighters everywhere who impact so many lives.
The endless scenes of burning buildings and macho posturing merely provide an action-driven context for the filmmakers to deal with more personal topics like loneliness and resiliency.
Who needs the fake fires and explosions of the"Terminator" series when you can see the real thing in this doc?
Audience Reviews for Burn
God Bless the Detroit Fire Dept. Still wondering if the Mayor and the City Council took time out to see it ????? My guess would be NO !!
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Foreign Titles
- Burn (2012) (DE)
- Burn (2012) (UK)
