The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada

R

Released May 19, 2005

2 hr. 1 min.

Adventure

Crime

Drama

List

85%

149 Reviews

Tomatometer

81%

25,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

When brash Texas border officer Mike Norton (Barry Pepper) wrongfully kills and buries the friend and ranch hand of Pete Perkins (Tommy Lee Jones), the latter is reminded of a promise he made to bury his friend, Melquiades Estrada (Julio Cesar Cedillo), in his Mexican home town. He kidnaps Norton and exhumes Estrada's corpse, and the odd caravan sets out on horseback for Mexico. As Estrada's body begins to rot, Norton begins to unravel, but Perkins remains determined to honor his vow.

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Critics Consensus

Tommy Lee Jones' directorial debut is both a potent western and a powerful morality tale.

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Samantha S

I just streamed this. Tommy Lee Jones is an incredible director and this movie is so beautiful and strange and full of heart. All about friendship and prejudice and immigration and morality and violence. It's brilliant.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/22/23

Full Review

isla s

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, 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.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

dave s

Tommy Lee Jones' The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada has all of the markings of a film that is good but had all of the ingredients to be great. Set in a small Texas town, a Mexican illegal immigrant is shot dead by a border guard (Barry Pepper) in a misunderstanding and is left for the coyotes. Pete Perkins (Jones), Melquiades' best friend, discovers the details of the incident and, after recovering the corpse and kidnapping the border guard, embarks on a journey to fulfil the promise he made to his friend to bury him in Mexico. The movie succeeds on the strength of the unique story, striking scenery and sound performances, but is sometimes hampered, especially in the first act, by sporadic flashbacks that are either pointless or could have been dealt with through exposition over the course of the story. Regardless, Jones' directing debut is worth viewing for its comments on the depth of friendship.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

William L

Fans of Jones' earlier Western roles may note the parallels of the narrative with a major plotline in Lonesome Dove, in which Jones must also accompany the remains of a close friend on a perilous journey across the harsh Western frontier, as a result of a promise secured earlier. The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada avoids diving into surface-level politics regarding the US/Mexico border and illegal immigration, choosing instead to clarify the humane nature of those on both sides (with respect to some parties) through a sincere friendship, imperfect characters, and bleak subplots that are reminiscent of a far larger-scale film (even if the narratives sort of fizzle out with time). A quality neo-Western that feels equal parts adventurous and plausible. (4/5)

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

11/13/20

Full Review

Audience Member

Great movie and great acting!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/04/23

Full Review

bo s

Unusual but good story.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

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Tommy Lee Jones

Director

Tommy Lee Jones

Pete Perkins

Barry Pepper

Mike Norton

Julio Cedillo

Melquiades Estrada

Dwight Yoakam

Belmont

January Jones

Lou Ann Norton

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Nigel Andrews

Financial Times

The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada has the grandeur of a morality drama enriched with the impassioned bewilderment of true tragedy.

Oct 7, 2018

Full Review

David Ansen

Newsweek

As an actor Tommy Lee Jones rarely makes a false move. A master of understatement, he conveys a sense of enormous power held in check. The same could be said of his first feature as a director, Three Burials.

Nov 1, 2007

Full Review

Empire Magazine

Rated: 5/5

Apr 1, 2006

Full Review

Richard Propes

TheIndependentCritic.com

A contemplation film that begs to be chewed up, spit out, processed, talked about, and felt deeply.

Rated: 3.5/4.0

Sep 26, 2020

Full Review

Yasser Medina

Cinefilia

It's a neo-western so predictable and so flat, that I know almost everything that happens by heart. [Full review in Spanish]

Rated: 5/10

Jul 25, 2020

Full Review

Chris McCoy

Memphis Flyer

Arriaga's wry fatalism is strangely satisfying, and his screenplay provides the backbone for great performances by the principal cast.

Jan 8, 2020

Full Review

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Synopsis

When brash Texas border officer Mike Norton (Barry Pepper) wrongfully kills and buries the friend and ranch hand of Pete Perkins (Tommy Lee Jones), the latter is reminded of a promise he made to bury his friend, Melquiades Estrada (Julio Cesar Cedillo), in his Mexican home town. He kidnaps Norton and exhumes Estrada's corpse, and the odd caravan sets out on horseback for Mexico. As Estrada's body begins to rot, Norton begins to unravel, but Perkins remains determined to honor his vow.

Director: Tommy Lee Jones
Screenwriter: Guillermo Arriaga
Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics
Production Co: EuropaCorp
Rating: R (Sexuality|Language|Violence)
Genre: Adventure, Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): May 19, 2005, Original
Rerelease Date (Theaters): Dec 14, 2005
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 1, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $5.0M

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