Three Burials (2005)

Ranch hand Pete Perkins looks to fulfill the promise to his recently deceased best friend by burying him in his hometown in Mexico.

Director:

Tommy Lee Jones

Writer:

Guillermo Arriaga

Stars:

Tommy Lee Jones, Barry Pepper, Dwight Yoakam

5 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tommy Lee Jones	...	Pete Perkins
Barry Pepper	...	Mike Norton
Julio Cesar Cedillo	...	Melquiades Estrada (as Julio César Cedillo)
Dwight Yoakam	...	Belmont
January Jones	...	Lou Ann Norton
Melissa Leo	...	Rachel
Levon Helm	...	Old Man with Radio
Mel Rodriguez	...	Captain Gomez
Cecilia Suárez	...	Rosa
Ignacio Guadalupe	...	Lucio
Vanessa Bauche	...	Mariana
Irineo Alvarez	...	Manuel (as Irineo Álvarez)
Guillermo Arriaga	...	Juan
Josh Berry	...	Border Patrolman
Rodger Boyce	...	Salesman

Storyline

A man is shot and quickly buried in the high desert of west Texas. The body is found and reburied in Van Horn's town cemetery. Pete Perkins, a local ranch foreman, kidnaps a Border Patrolman and forces him to disinter the body. With his captive in tow and the body tied to a mule, Pete undertakes a dangerous and quixotic journey into Mexico.

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Plot Keywords:

female nudity | border | u.s. border patrol | buying a house | handcuffed | 

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Taglines:

Nobody is beyond redemption.

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Genres:

Adventure | Crime | Drama | Mystery | Western

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, violence and sexuality

Details

Official Sites:

Sony Classics [United States]

Country:

France USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

24 February 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

The 3 Burials of Melquiades Estrada

Filming Locations:

Shafter, Texas, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$759,792 (France), 2 December 2005

Opening Weekend USA:

$23,859, 18 December 2005

Gross USA:

$5,023,275, 4 June 2006

Company Credits

Production Co:

EuropaCorp, The Javelina Film Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

121 min 121 min 107 min (TV)

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Much of the movie was shot on Tommy Lee Jones's own ranch.

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Goofs

Just after Pete describes the Melquiades house at the end of the movie, there seems to be some sort of crew member visible starting in the lower left-hand corner of the screen.

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Quotes

Rachel: Viagra works for Bob.
Belmont: I'll turn truck-stop queer and blowjob-giver before I use that shit.

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Crazy Credits

The title of the film and the various title cards are in both English and Spanish.

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Connections

Referenced in Three Burials: Making the Music (2006)

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Soundtracks

Porn Pastiche
Written by David Bach
Courtesy of David Bach

User Reviews

Flawless indeed... amazing film

Tommy Lee Jones' film about a rancher (Jones) who keeps his promise to his friend and co-worker Melquiades Estrada who wanted to be buried in his homeland in Mexico. The film is slow at times, but gets it point across well, and I believe those instances in the film where not much is going on actually help it in order to put things in perspective for us viewers. The cinematography is artistically beautiful, while the score, screenplay from Guillermo Arriaga (who also appears in the film) and the performancer are first-rate. Amazing how films like this go virtually overlooked in the press and eyes of mainstream American cinema-goers. This film deserves to get all the nomination and award hype that less worthy stuff like Brokeback mountain or even Walk the line have received. This is a true masterpiece from Tommy Lee Jones, who proves hes just as credible in directing as in acting. 10/10