Film Review: Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (2005)

A man (Melquiades) is shot and quickly buried in the high desert of a west Texas town. The body is found and reburied in Van Horn's town cemetery. Pete Perkins (Jones), 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 journey into Mexico to fulfill his promise.

Review:
I believe this was Tommy Lee Jones' directorial debut. What an odd film to start his directing career. The story starts off innocent enough. We are introduced to the main characters in a rather nonchalant and matter-of-fact way.

The relationship between Pete and Melquiades is never really explained. I sensed they became good friends after some time working together. There are several flashback sequences which reinforce this theory. Of course, once he is killed we find out just how good a friend Pete was. Three Burials is a bit like a road picture in the vein of Elizabethtown. What I mean by that is that emotions are brought to the surface whereas before these feelings were implied. The catalyst for this is losing one's best friend. It is during these times, we truly see the importance of their friendship. This is the driving force behind Three Burials.

So, Melquiades is shot and killed. The local police don't really care and they quickly bury the body in the town cemetery. Pete wants to know who killed his friend. They sheriff, played by Dwight Yoakam doesn't put much effort in finding the killer. Pete, not to be deterred, finds out on his own who murdered the man. Once Pete kidnaps the man, the journey is set to begin.

Does Pete seek revenge? No, that would be too easy. Instead, he takes the killer border patrolman (Barry Pepper) on the journey to fulfill the promise to return Melquiades to his hometown in Mexico. While heading south, there are trials and confrontations along the way. The border patrolman gets bitten by a rattlesnake, but Pete helps to save his life. I really thought he would let him die at some point, but he doesn't. Once they find the town, he tells the patrolman to dig Melquiades' grave and then later to beg for forgiveness. It was a very compelling moment in the film.

Three Burials is not your typical Hollywood fare. It is deliberately slow as it explores the human condition. After watching it, I felt relieved. Not in the sense it was over, but in the fact knowing that life is short and anything can happen at any given moment. If you are looking for something unconventional and thought provoking, then this is your ticket.

Mike's Rating: 8 Hole-in-the-wall desert towns (Fine directorial debut)
MPAA Rating: Rated R for language, violence and sexuality.
Running Time: 2 hour 1 minutes