“The son of a bitch is beyond redemption.”
The theatrical directorial debut of actor Tommy Lee Jones and in some ways reminding me of Peckinpah’s Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia, and that’s not a bad thing.
Two good ole’ boys are out in West Texas and decide to shoot a coyote that’s eating something behind a log. The coyote is made short work of, but when they go to inspect their kill, they find the decomposing body of Melquiades Estrada (Julio Cesar Cedillo). This is the first burial of Melquiades Estrada. Estrada’s friend rancher Pete Perkins (Tommy Lee Jones, whose face looks like a worn saddlebag which works well in this role) is devastated to learn of his friend’s death.
Mike Norton (Barry Pepper) and Lou Ann Norton (January Jones) are two folks from Cincinnati who are new to town. Mike works with the border patrol and Lou Ann, well she sits around the coffee shop all day smoking with waitress Rachel (Melissa Leo) since there’s nothing to do in this dying little border town. Rachel has plenty to do since she’s sleeping with the Sheriff, Pete, and who knows who else, right under the nose of her husband who owns the cafe.
One day while getting a little masturbation time with a Hustler mag out in the desert, Mike hears some shots and returns fire. He accidentally kills Melquiades, who was shooting at a coyote. Local Sheriff Belmont (Dwight Yoakam) knows exactly who killed Melquiades but chooses to do nothing since he was a “wetback” and doesn’t want to upset the border patrol. Perkins finds out who really killed Melquiades, that Belmont knows, and this does not exactly set well with him. Meliquiades is buried in a pauper’s grave instead of being turned over to Perkins for burial on Sheriff Belmont’s orders. This is the second burial of Meliquiades.
Promise me you'll bury me in Jimenez, Mexico
As I said, none of this sits well with Perkins so he kidnaps Mike and has him dig up Meliquiades to take him to be buried in his village in Mexico - as Pete promised Meliquiades he would do. The journey is on for the third burial of Melquiades Estrada, but even a corpse has its secrets.
I thought this was a really good movie. It very much reminded me of the quest of Warren Oates in Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia. Both quests end up involving a corpse, go into old Mexico, and both heroes are probably not in their right minds by the end of the picture. I thought that Tommy Lee Jones did a fine job in the role of Pete Perkins. His worn face reminded me of a worn saddle bag (as I said) and his grief over the death of his friend etches every line in that wrinkled, worn face.
Barry Pepper starts off with a lemon eating scowl on his face that makes you think the camera operator is reminding him that he starred in Battlefield Earth. However, by the end of the movie I felt that his performance improved. There are some bits of comedy involving Dwight Yoakam’s Sheriff and the town waitress. I also liked the way each of the characters are connected throughout the first part of the film - whether they know it or not. Most of the film was shot on Tommy Lee Jone’s ranch in Texas. Some might be confused because the first half of the film jumps around in time.
Bored
The Burial of Melquiades Estrada is presented in both anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1) and fullscreen (1.33:1). When you hit the play button you’re given the choice of which version you want to play. Special features include a laid back commentary by director/actor Tommy Lee Jones, actress January Jones, and actor Dwight Yoakam.
I thought that The Burial of Melquiades Estrada was a very good movie. Anything that puts me in mind of a classic film (without right out stealing from it) is always a good thing.
The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada is now available at Amazon . It is available for pre-order at AmazonUK for an August 7th release. Visit the DVD’s database for more information.
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