The Burning Plain (2008)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Guillermo Arriaga

Writer (WGA):

Guillermo Arriaga (written by)

Release Date:

18 September 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A drama with a two-tiered storyline concerning a mother (Basinger) and daughter (Theron) who try to form a bond after the young woman's difficult childhood. |

Plot Keywords:

Daughter | Mother | Trailer | Funeral | Fumigator

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Charlize Theron	...	Sylvia
Kim Basinger	...	Gina
Jennifer Lawrence	...	Mariana
José María Yazpik	...	Carlos
Joaquim de Almeida	...	Nick
Tessa Ia	...	Maria
Diego J. Torres	...	Cristobal
J.D. Pardo	...	Young Santiago
Danny Pino	...	Santiago
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
John Corbett	...	John
Brett Cullen	...	Robert
Gray Eubank	...	Lawrence
Rafael Hernández	...	Doctor Armendariz
Toni Marie Lopez	...	The woman
Sean McGrath	...	Scott
Cesar Miramontes	...	Plaza street vendor
Marty Papazian	...	Young Man
TJ Plunkett	...	Pat
Chris Ranney	...	Grocery Shopper
Aide Rodriguez	...	Operator
Fernanda Romero	...	Sophie
Kacie Thomas	...	Vivi
Robin Tunney	...	Laura
Malcolm Ullery	...	Priest's helper
Stacy Marie Warden	...	Monnie
Taylor Warden	...	Bobby

MPAA:

Rated R for sexuality, nudity and language.

Runtime:

Canada:111 min (Toronto International Film Festival) | UK:106 min

Country:

USA | Argentina

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:R | UK:15 | Netherlands:12 | Sweden:7

Filming Locations:

Depoe Bay, Oregon, USA

Company:

2929 Productions

Guilt

"Burning Plain" intrigued me from the opening scenes. In fact, I watched this film more or less hoping to see beautiful girls, rather than see a deep plot. It turned out that "Burning Plain" offered me both of these.

If I start from the miss-shots in this movie, I have to say that there were some plot holes. There were unfinished developments of quite a few characters, but that is probably because you can't put everything in 100 minutes movie. Thurthermore, I actually enjoyed the twist of the plot, since I understood parts of it immediately, and others were unknown to the very end. I am glad that the plot is not lost during flashbacks and flash-forwards.

Secondly, I enjoyed the problems which this film discussed, especially the problem of guilt. I caught myself even pondering, how should we face guilt? Should we run away, or should we welcome it open-handedly? Moreover, the girls were just I expected them to be. Young, beautiful and motivating. I would envy Guillermo Arriaga if I were in film business and I didn't get to work with such beauties.

Lastly, the soundtrack. I didn't particularly notice it throughout the film, which is good, because it helped me focus on what is happening, but in the end, when the film had it's most emotional moments, the sound delivered. I understand Hanz Zimmer had something to do with it, and I congratulate him for such a nice participation Generally, films that offer nice girls do not offer awesome plot, but there are exceptions. As problematic as it is, "The Burning Plain" has its prettiness, which makes me rate the film 9/10