The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (2006)
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85% of critics liked it
(138 reviews) -
79% of users liked it
(32,766 ratings)
Veteran screen star Tommy Lee Jones makes his directorial debut with the fractured tale of murder and injustice on the U.S.-Mexico border scripted by Amores Perros and 21 Grams screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga. Mike Norton (Barry Pepper) is a fresh-faced Border Patrol officer in Cibolo County, TX,… More Veteran screen star Tommy Lee Jones makes his directorial debut with the fractured tale of murder and injustice on the U.S.-Mexico border scripted by Amores Perros and 21 Grams screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga. Mike Norton (Barry Pepper) is a fresh-faced Border Patrol officer in Cibolo County, TX, whose dedication to his new job leaves his lonely wife, Lou Ann (January Jones), with little to do but spend her days at the local diner, where she strikes up a friendship with waitress Rachel (Melissa Leo). Despite her own status as a married woman, Rachel is unfulfilled in her marriage and is intimately involved with both rugged rancher Pete Perkins (Tommy Lee Jones) and local sheriff Belmont (Dwight Yoakam). Soon after Pete hires Mexican illegal Melquiades Estrada (Julio César Cedillo) as a ranch hand, the growing bond between the pair is suddenly shattered when, in a moment of panic on a routine patrol, Mike hastily guns down the innocent Melquaides. When an enraged Pete learns that Mike has unceremoniously buried the illegal immigrant in an unmarked desert grave and local authorities opt to overlook the case, he kidnaps the crooked lawman and sets out to ensure that justice is served with or without the involvement of the local police force. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Directed By
- Tommy Lee Jones
- Written By
- Guillermo Arriaga, Guillermo Arriaga Jordan
- Genres
- Western, Drama
- In Theaters
- Feb 3, 2006 Limited
- On DVD
- Jun 6, 2006
- Studio
- Sony Pictures Classics
Critic Reviews
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Rick Groen, Globe and Mail
This isn't a film that demands to be enjoyed in order to be remembered -- one way or the other, it will stick with you.
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Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel
With all due respect to that important, quasi-controversial, most-honored film of last year, this is the best Western of 2005.
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Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald
[A] long, kooky, immensely absorbing picture, which forges the elegiac cruelty of a Cormac McCarthy novel with the two-fisted machismo of a Sam Peckinpah movie, and comes up with an altogether new brand of Western mythology.
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Tom Long, Detroit News
Funny, tough, filled with cut-to-the-bone moments and bleached in the heat of the Texas sun, The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada is a movie that sears itself into the viewer with uncompromising vision and stark approach.
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Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press
It boasts genuinely and uniformly fine performances -- a credit to Jones the director and the actor, as well as his costars -- some stunning cinematography by the great Chris Menges and a uncompromising script by [Guillermo] Arriaga.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Tommy Lee Jones
as Pete Perkins
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Barry Pepper
as Mike Norton
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Julio Cedillo
as Melquiades Estrada
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Dwight Yoakam
as Sheriff Frank Belmont
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January Jones
as Lou Ann Norton
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Melissa Leo
as Rachel
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Levon Helm
as Old Man With Radio
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Melvin Rodriguez
as Captain Gomez
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Cecilia Suárez
as Rosa
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Ignacio Guadalupe
as Lucio
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Vanessa Bauche
as Mariana
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Rodger Boyce
as Salesman
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Sonny Carl Davis
as Kruger
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Barry Tubb
as A.L.
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Charles Sanders
as Doctor
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Maya Zapata
as El Toston Woman 1
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Richard Dillard
as Jim
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Guillermo Arriaga
as Juan
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Uriel Chavez
as Cowboy 2
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Victoria Jones
as Immigrant Girl
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Josh Berry
as Border Patrolman
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Angelina C. Torres
as Adriana
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Richard Jones
as Bob
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Jesse De Luna
as Miller
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Sean Hennigan
as Chuck
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Gustavo Sanchez Parra
as Tomas
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Terry Parks
as Neil
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Hugo Perez
as Man
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Irineo Alvarez
as Manuel
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Edwin 'Bubba' Broussard
as Bubba
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René Campero
as Don Casimiro
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Lupe Campos
as Sands Guy 2
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Ariel Castro
as Jorge
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Montserrat de Leon
as El Toston Woman 2
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Jorge Adrián Espíndola
as Cowboy 1
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Jordan Henderson
as Mary Soap Opera Girl
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Karen Jones
as Dog Lady
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Raul Molinar
as Radio Announcer 1
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Adrian Navarette
as Agustin
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Lonnie Nelson
as Gravedigger
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Juan Pareja
as Sands Guy 1
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Paulina Reyes
as Piano Player
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Sergio Rodriguez
as Radio Announcer 2
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Brent Smiga
as Deputy Antonio
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Spike Spencer
as John Soap Opera
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Guillermo Von Son
as Chino
- Julio Cesar Cedillo
- Mel Rodriguez



