The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (2006)
Average Rating: 7.5/10
Reviews Counted: 138
Fresh: 117 | Rotten: 21
Tommy Lee Jones' directorial debut is both a potent western and a powerful morality tale.
Average Rating: 7.5/10
Critic Reviews: 36
Fresh: 29 | Rotten: 7
Tommy Lee Jones' directorial debut is both a potent western and a powerful morality tale.
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Average Rating: 3.7/5
User Ratings: 32,766
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Movie Info
Veteran screen star Tommy Lee Jones makes his directorial debut with the fractured tale of murder and injustice on the U.S.-Mexico border scripted by Amores Perros and 21 Grams screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga. Mike Norton (Barry Pepper) is a fresh-faced Border Patrol officer in Cibolo County, TX, whose dedication to his new job leaves his lonely wife, Lou Ann (January Jones), with little to do but spend her days at the local diner, where she strikes up a friendship with waitress Rachel (Melissa
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Cast
-
Tommy Lee Jones
Pete Perkins -
Barry Pepper
Mike Norton -
Julio Cedillo
Melquiades Estrada -
Dwight Yoakam
Sheriff Frank Belmont -
January Jones
Lou Ann Norton -
Melissa Leo
Rachel -
Levon Helm
Old Man With Radio -
Melvin Rodriguez
Captain Gomez -
Cecilia Suárez
Rosa -
Ignacio Guadalupe
Lucio -
Vanessa Bauche
Mariana -
Rodger Boyce
Salesman -
Sonny Carl Davis
Kruger -
Barry Tubb
A.L. -
Charles Sanders
Doctor -
Maya Zapata
El Toston Woman 1 -
Richard Dillard
Jim -
Guillermo Arriaga
Juan -
Uriel Chavez
Cowboy 2 -
Victoria Jones
Immigrant Girl -
Josh Berry
Border Patrolman -
Angelina C. Torres
Adriana -
Richard Jones
Bob -
Jesse De Luna
Miller -
Sean Hennigan
Chuck -
Gustavo Sanchez Parra
Tomas -
Terry Parks
Neil -
Hugo Perez
Man -
Irineo Alvarez
Manuel -
Edwin 'Bubba' Broussard
Bubba -
René Campero
Don Casimiro -
Lupe Campos
Sands Guy 2 -
Ariel Castro
Jorge -
Montserrat de Leon
El Toston Woman 2 -
Jorge Adrián Espíndola
Cowboy 1 -
Jordan Henderson
Mary Soap Opera Girl -
Karen Jones
Dog Lady -
Raul Molinar
Radio Announcer 1 -
Adrian Navarette
Agustin -
Lonnie Nelson
Gravedigger -
Juan Pareja
Sands Guy 1 -
Paulina Reyes
Piano Player -
Sergio Rodriguez
Radio Announcer 2 -
Brent Smiga
Deputy Antonio -
Spike Spencer
John Soap Opera -
Guillermo Von Son
Chino -
-
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All Critics (144) | Top Critics (37) | Fresh (120) | Rotten (22) | DVD (15)
This isn't a film that demands to be enjoyed in order to be remembered -- one way or the other, it will stick with you.
Top CriticWith all due respect to that important, quasi-controversial, most-honored film of last year, this is the best Western of 2005.
[A] long, kooky, immensely absorbing picture, which forges the elegiac cruelty of a Cormac McCarthy novel with the two-fisted machismo of a Sam Peckinpah movie, and comes up with an altogether new brand of Western mythology.
Funny, tough, filled with cut-to-the-bone moments and bleached in the heat of the Texas sun, The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada is a movie that sears itself into the viewer with uncompromising vision and stark approach.
It boasts genuinely and uniformly fine performances -- a credit to Jones the director and the actor, as well as his costars -- some stunning cinematography by the great Chris Menges and a uncompromising script by [Guillermo] Arriaga.
Tommy Lee Jones' big-screen directorial debut might not be the easiest film to watch, but its payoff makes it one of the better trips to the movies of the past year.
An offbeat, tonal take on the Western, Tommy Lee Jones' The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada is best described as soulful and creative, if scattered and overambitious.
Exerts considerable, groggy power
Tommy Lee himself must be mentioned, as he pulls a nuanced role with a craggy, sunburnt face that's impressive to behold. He's at the top of his game in this flick, all the more remarkable as he's literally wearing many hats on the production.
Part character study, part Peckinpah-esque border Western, part mystic epic, Three Burials traverses its uncharted territories with a humour and humanity that lighten the burden of its sadness.
Breathtaking tableaus, colorful characters, and a moving message about redemption end up overshadowed by wanton insanity one might normally associate with a sadistic snuff film.
A stunningly offbeat and finely controlled directorial debut.
The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada is a spiritual exploration so profound and complex that it's impossible to take it all in with one viewing.
The film's color wheel is a little oversaturated, thus negating the grit Tommy Lee Jones was surely after, but the presentation is still pristine.
one of those offbeat dramas that would never have gotten produced without the clout of a major star behind it. ...a challenging, unpredictable film that never allows the audience to get too comfortable.
A parable, buddy movie, western myth and road movie all rolled into one %u2013 one excellent one
Audience Reviews for The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada
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Foreign Titles
- Trois enterrements (FR)
- Los tres entierros de Melquiades Estrada (ES)
