The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada

Name: The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Mystery, Crime, Western
Released: December 16, 2005
Duration: 121 min
Rating: 77
Cast: Barry Pepper, Dwight Yoakam, January Jones, Julio Cedillo, Tommy Lee Jones

2005

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 35 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 88 Ratings

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7.6

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7.6	Your Score
7.6	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 88 Ratings

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The Three Burials Of Melquiades Estrada

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Movie Details & Credits

Sony Pictures Classics | Release Date: December 16, 2005 | R

Starring: Barry Pepper, Dwight Yoakam, January Jones, Julio Cedillo, Tommy Lee Jones

Summary: 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. Peter 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 and quixotic journey intoA 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. Peter 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 and quixotic journey into Mexico. (Sony Pictures Classics)… Expand

Director: Tommy Lee Jones

Genre(s): Adventure, Drama, Mystery, Crime, Western

Rating: R

Runtime: 121 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

Kevin Thomas

Incisive yet supple, wrenching yet deeply pleasurable, The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada easily ranks among the year's best pictures. Read full review

100

Sean Axmaker

Tommy Lee Jones steps behind the camera to direct himself in the most impressive directorial debut the American cinema has seen in some time, a contemporary western both rough and poetic, laconic and passionate. Read full review

Todd McCarthy

Outstandingly realized on all levels. Read full review

Rick Groen

What a strange and strangely compelling movie this is. Read full review

Jack Mathews

A small movie that plays like a Western epic. Read full review

Joe Morgenstern

I admired the leisure and intensity of this morality tale.

Lawrence Toppman

Writer Guillermo Arriaga earns most of the blame. He played similar games with narrative in the vastly better "Amores Perros" and "21 Grams," jumping back and forth in time to show relationships among subplots and characters. But "Burials" barely has one plot. Read full review

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User Reviews

CristinaV.

Feb 5, 2006

This is the best screenplay in years. Guillermo Arriaga was robbed at the Oscars. He is the greatest writer of our time.

1 of 2 users found this helpful

PeterL.

Mar 10, 2006

This is a perfect movie. I don't know which movie Peter F went to see, but he is wrong. The acting, the camera, the directing and the writing of this film is just amazing. A masterpiece

1 of 2 users found this helpful

AgatinoZ.

Nov 29, 2006

It is so sad when a Wonderful film passes by almost unnoticed. The way this movie is structured, in fragments, that come and go according to the characters feelings and ethics is keeps the storyline original. The quiet acting, the vistas, the rights and wrongs. And the notion that a man It is so sad when a Wonderful film passes by almost unnoticed. The way this movie is structured, in fragments, that come and go according to the characters feelings and ethics is keeps the storyline original. The quiet acting, the vistas, the rights and wrongs. And the notion that a man like Pete Perkins has long disapeared from the face of the earth, says so much about how a society has lost touch with humanity. In Pete Perkins' care of the decaying body of Melquiades we find more respect for human beings than in any real life characters. Along with Eastwood's Unforgiven and Ang Lee's Brokeback Mountain, the West has moved into the sunset that the early films were anticipating. I congratulate Tommy Lee Jones, for he has created a modern quiet masterpiece.… Expand

1 of 2 users found this helpful

ChadS.

May 30, 2006

[***SPOILERS***] In the motel room, it's not clear if Melquaides(Julio Cedillo) and Lou Ann(January Jones) loosened up after they danced, which makes us wonder if Mike(Barry Pepper) was in the right, and Pete(Tommy Lee Jones), is loco, when he drags his hostage across the prairie. [***SPOILERS***] In the motel room, it's not clear if Melquaides(Julio Cedillo) and Lou Ann(January Jones) loosened up after they danced, which makes us wonder if Mike(Barry Pepper) was in the right, and Pete(Tommy Lee Jones), is loco, when he drags his hostage across the prairie. There are scenes here funnier than anything in "Weekend at Bernie's". The ultimate punchline of this film is that Pete chose the wrong man to revere.… Expand

1 of 2 users found this helpful

DawdlingPoet

Nov 24, 2021

This is quite a slow-moving and somewhat gritty watch, although its setting is relatively rural, in Mexico. The cinematography is quite good and the performances decent enough but it did feel a little bland/bleak and I wouldn't say it's a particularly engrossing watch as such. However, theThis is quite a slow-moving and somewhat gritty watch, although its setting is relatively rural, in Mexico. The cinematography is quite good and the performances decent enough but it did feel a little bland/bleak and I wouldn't say it's a particularly engrossing watch as such. However, the main plot/theme is a somewhat interesting one and I liked the music featured. It may not be especially engrossing but it is reasonably tense at times and overall I'd say its a film worth watching, so I would recommend it but not if you're looking for a constant all-out action type film, this is more of a slow-burning Western/crime drama, I'd say - less a thriller and more a contemplative watch.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

ChristianW.

Dec 26, 2006

After reading gushing reviews for this film I was disappointed and, frankly, bored as this surprisingly shallow modern western meandered to a conclusion that had me asking "is that it?". Good points were Dwight Yoakam's acting, though his character exited too early, and the films dark After reading gushing reviews for this film I was disappointed and, frankly, bored as this surprisingly shallow modern western meandered to a conclusion that had me asking "is that it?". Good points were Dwight Yoakam's acting, though his character exited too early, and the films dark and slightly surreal atmosphere. Bad aspects include its slow pace, irrelevant encounters, hard to swallow coincidences, Tommy Lee Jones' unconvincing character and lack of expression, loose ends and stereotyped characters. Some of the scenes with the corpse made me wonder ifI was watching the third "Weekend at Bernies" installment by mistake.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful

MikefromAngus

Jun 28, 2013

An ugly, dirty movie. That has no purpose. It drags on and on, the movie was over 2 hours long and its about nothing! The movie was predictable, and worse of all boring!!

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

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57	#57 Best Movie of 2005
67	#67 Most Discussed Movie of 2005