Synopsis:Sir William Walker (Marlon Brando) is the aristocratic secret agent sent by Britain to secure a profitable Portuguese sugar cane plantation for the Crown. When he arrives, he befriends the black dockworker Jose (Evaristo Marquez) and plants revolutionary ideas in his head. Walker talks Jose into robbing a bank and builds him up as a national hero in the process. Teddy Sanchez (Renato Salvatori) is the hotel desk clerk with political aspirations who falls under Walker's spell. The blacks revolt
on the night of a festival parade that allows them to be disguised and move around without suspicion. Jose turns his troops over to Teddy, who assumes control of the island. Walker returns to Britain but is summoned ten years later to stop a revolution led by Jose against the now corrupt government headed by Teddy. British troops attack the island and hundreds are killed including Teddy who is executed for treason. The sugar cane crops perish in flames when Jose mounts an attack against the British. When William offers him freedom, Jose refuses by stating "freedom is something you take for yourself." Jose is assassinated and becomes yet another martyr for the cause against colonialism. A drunk and despondent William prepares to leave the island realizing he is just as much a pawn as the men he initially incited to revolt. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
Critic Reviews
Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post
Pontecorvo's pointed 1969 drama of the politics of war feels surprisingly timely.
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Stephen Hunter, Washington Post
I don't think Queimada is as great a movie as Battle of Algiers, but it retains its vitality, its outrage, its savagery and its spirit.
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Elliott Stein, Village Voice
A flawed, but intriguing work, it offers, here and there, proof of Pontecorvo's gift for ecstatic epic filmmaking.
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Adam Lippe, Examiner.com
If there's a better filmic explanation for how people can justify exploitation and colonialism, I don't know what it is.
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Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
As a follow-up to Battle of Algiers, Burn! is a flawed film, but it's worth seeing for its tone of outrage and provocative ideas about colonialism, big business, and slavery.
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Robert Roten, Laramie Movie Scope
It seems timeless in its shrewd political and economic observations. It is as relevant today as it was then.
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David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews
...despite a number of positives...Burn! nevertheless remains oddly aloof...
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Shawn Levy, Oregonian
A fascinating museum piece from an era in which art and radical politics often mixed to vital result.
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Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
It's a clunky political drama that features a cynical and unscrupulous Marlon Brando.
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