Burning Sands

2017

1 hr. 36 min.

Drama

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List

88%

26 Reviews

Tomatometer

59%

250+ Ratings

Audience Score

Zurich Condoll (Trevor Jackson) is a student at Frederick Douglass University and is proud to be a pledge at a famous African-American fraternity. But anti-hazing rules have driven his Hell Week underground, and the veteran members of his fraternity have degenerated into a pack of vicious, drunken, sadistic louts.

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Critics Consensus

Burning Sands covers familiar territory, but Trevor Jackson's layered performance and director/co-writer Gerard McMurray's empathetic approach help set it apart.

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Audience Member

The world of fraternities is a closed, alien one to people like me - a Brit who has never lived in the USA, and never really liked the whole old boy networks that run so many things in the world. Hazing - ritualised bullying and abuse - only makes it seem more distant, and that's the subject of this film which tells the story of a Hell Week which spins out of control. It's distinguished by some good performances and some subtle direction; I'm not a great deal clearer on how these rituals have got to this place, though the film wants to make a case that driving them underground has made them worse. That's a valid view, but this is a film that wants to show rather than discuss. It shows well - uncomfortably, unnervingly, chillingly and powerfully. But it falls short of what it could be, and what this subject matter needs.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/07/23

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mark d

Absolute waste of time. It's just one torture scene after another. It gets old real fast And the ending is just terrible. Unless you like seeing college-age kids getting tortured, skip this one.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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Audience Member

Can't speak about the accuracy of its portrayals but it's fairly well-acted, though the film does a poor job of setting up its scenes for audiences that don't already know what to expect. Character development also is lacking some.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/08/23

Full Review

Audience Member

This movie had a lot of potential to be an emotional and enlightening piece, but it just didn't deliver. The performances weren't bad, but they weren't great either, and I couldn't really feel the relationships between characters as much as I think I should have been able. It takes a very surface-level condemnation of hazing without really diving deeper into the environment that has allowed this to happen.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/26/23

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Audience Member

A must see for any parent sending kids to college and for any kid wanting to pledge while in college.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/21/23

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Audience Member

Thought the young actors did a great job. Insightful movie, would have liked to see how they handled the whole deal afterwards but I see what the writers wanted us to do. Make the decision for ourselves.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/13/23

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Gerard McMurray

Director

Trevor Jackson

Zurich

Alfre Woodard

Professor Hughes

Steve Harris

Dean Richardson

Tosin Cole

Frank

DeRon Horton

Square

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Burning Sands: Clip - We Come from Kings and Queens

1:01

Burning Sands: Movie Clip - Lead Your Brothers

1:09

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Burning Sands: Trailer 1

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Sergio Mims

Shadow and Act

Burning Sands is a well made, thought provoking film filled with subtleties and a compelling story that, like any good film, leaves us with questions, and challenges us to think about the repercussions of our actions.

Aug 14, 2017

Full Review

Aramide Tinubu

Essence

Burning Sands is a riveting assessment of freedom, compassion and what it means to think critically about the circumstances you may find yourself in.

Apr 6, 2017

Full Review

Matt Zoller Seitz

RogerEbert.com

You definitely come away from the experience with very mixed feelings about what you've seen and how it was presented, which feels just about right for a story like this one.

Rated: 3/4

Mar 10, 2017

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Emmanuel Noisette

The Movie Blog

We want movies to make us feel things and generate discussions. This movie succeeded in both.

Feb 6, 2019

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Morgan Rojas

Cinemacy

McMurray creates a world full of raw emotion, tension-filled relationships, and an alternative coming of age journey that we don't often see in film. So while it may be a tough watch, it is an unforgettable one.

Aug 6, 2018

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Shaun Munro

Flickering Myth

This troubling drama earmarks McMurray as an intriguing talent to watch as he prods a prevalent American social issue that absolutely cannot (and should not) be ignored.

Rated: 4/5

Mar 19, 2018

Full Review

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Synopsis

Zurich Condoll (Trevor Jackson) is a student at Frederick Douglass University and is proud to be a pledge at a famous African-American fraternity. But anti-hazing rules have driven his Hell Week underground, and the veteran members of his fraternity have degenerated into a pack of vicious, drunken, sadistic louts.

Director: Gerard McMurray
Executive Producer: Caroline Connor, Gerard McMurray
Screenwriter: Christine Berg, Gerard McMurray
Production Co: Homegrown Pictures, Netflix, Mandalay Pictures
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 10, 2017

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