The Burning Plain [Theatrical Release] |  | Manufacturer: 2929 Productions
Category: Theatrical Release
This item is no longer available
Rating:  11 reviews
Language: English (Unknown)
Region: 1
Number Of Discs: 1
ASIN: B00275EHA0
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Amazon.com
A painful secret separates a mother and daughter in The Burning Plain, the feature directorial debut by the screenwriter of Babel, 21 Grams, and Amores Perros. The story moves fluidly in time: In the present, Sylvia (Charlize Theron) seems to be leading a confident life as the manager of an expensive restaurant, but it’s a mask covering promiscuity, self-mutilation, and suicidal impulses. Many years earlier, a young girl named Mariana (Jennifer Lawrence, The Bill Engvall Show) tries to piece together what led her mother (Kim Basinger) into an extramarital affair...even as Mariana herself falls into a dangerous relationship with the son of her mother’s lover. These threads and more are interwoven into an increasingly potent knot. The Burning Plain has some obvious dialogue and a few off-key notes, but despite that is a striking first effort by Guillermo Arriaga. Theron has always been best in roles that draw on anger and pain, like her astonishing performance in Monster; she goes bland when called on to portray nobility and happiness, but give her inner demons and her remarkable beauty roils with hidden emotions. The rest of the supporting cast--including John Corbett and Robin Tunney in small roles--turn in strong work. Like a boa constrictor, the movie slowly coils around you, then squeezes. --Bret Fetzer
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 11
 Brooding, evocative & redemptive. January 28, 2010
J. K. Hinton (TX USA)
I have enjoyed the work of Guillermo Arriage, including Babel and 21 Grams. However, Arriage uses the same technique with 'The Burning Plain, as he did in 'Babel,' which for me can be confusing, at times, and not a preferred methodology for most viewers. Here again, we are faced with current time, running parallel with a significant amount of back-story, and a multitude of characters that initially seem disconnected. It took me a while to realize what was going on. I should have had a clue, from Babel. Finally the stories began to converge---rather flawlessly, so it was well worth the patience required. In fact, in some respects, I think it was better constructed than Babel, in tying up loose ends.
Be warned, this (107 min) R-rated, romantic, mystery/drama, will not be for everyone. It is not action driven, aside from some self-mutilating behaviors, sensual scenes with nudity, and a trailer blowing up. It is not filled with gratuitous violence, awesome CGI, or other big-box-office, draw themes, although the filming is lovely. Instead, it is a slow paced, deep character study involving three wounded female leads, Theron being the primary protagonist. It is about an illicit love affair(Basinger) and the dark web surrounding omissions of truth---the escalating lies. It is about the irrevocable psychic damage that can be done, when youth is the witness to adults breaking the rules and threatening their security. It is about an ego destroyed and on the path of self destruction. It is about stopping cutting, just to feel alive, and opening up for love and forgiveness. It is about redemption.
I loved the psychological dynamics of this movie and thought they were well developed. Having personally worked with 'cutters' for many years, I felt Theron did justice to the self-destructive, emotionally sterile angst of those who must cut, to feel momentarily alive; how they are driven to match their internal scars with external ones. And, Basinger was so well suited to the role of the lonely, timid wife, struggling with an altered body image, who could easily be seen driven into the arms of another man, at whatever cost. The premise is not very original; these are issues that have, and do, happen every day, but, even so, they will evoke many thoughts and feelings within the sensitive viewer. In a word, it is 'powerful!'
This was a rental for me. I don't think I would like to own this movie. Seeing it once was painful enough, but I wouldn't have wanted to miss it. Without reservation, I recommend this film to all serious movie devotees, who enjoy deep, dark, psychologically oriented films, with stellar performances.
Confused for your Enjoyment January 17, 2010
A Customer (L.A.)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Guillermo Arriaga's rotating perspective narrative works best in this tidy drama concerning family, relationships, regrets and two generations of risky sex. The acting, writing and directing are a sensual feast that looks good, sounds good and feels very good after some intrigue. With a lot to see and hear in less that two hours; the out of sequence details weave their way into crystal clarity.
Han Zimmer and Omar Rodriguez-Lopez score hypnotic scenes from the desert to the ocean. The writer has earth, wind, fire and water in mind for the characters, actions and settings; but you can take it as heady soaper.
Like Cubism or string theory; this movie challenges and rewards. Most critics didn't like it in comparison to Arriaga's Babel. Enjoy it and the edge on them. Maybe it has too many notes.
Beautifully filmed; Great BD A/V
Drop-dead gorgeous! January 17, 2010
DimitraEkmektsis (Reno, NV)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Very sensual and seductive. Charlize Theron plays a mysterious woman with a past. I know Charlize mostly from action thrillers, but this is nothing like it. She is a multi-layered character, and apparently is battling some inner demons throughout the story, until the climax in the end. She is a beautiful lady, and she deserves such a beautifully photographed film, rather than the more mainstream movies she usually stars in. The cinematography in Burning Plain is extraordinary, and draws you in, like a master painting. Another interesting fact is that in addition to Hans Zimmer, they apparently got one of the greatest musical geniuses to do the score. Omar Rodriguez-Lopez is the Van Gogh of music. He is classically trained, plays over one dozen instruments, and is considered by many the best guitarist of all time - including me! If you like the soundtrack of The Burning Plain, check out Omar's rock band, The Mars Volta.
Amazing film, great Blu January 11, 2010
Steve Kuehl (Ben Lomond, CA)
This ended up being a few hours well spent, and I hope more people get the chance to share this film with someone. This was not released locally, or anywhere really with that 20 screens over a month thing, but it did make the release posters and the buzz has been great.
The story follows the lives of two families over twelve years, edited non-lineally so we see the consequences of their actions early that then shapes what becomes of their shared tragedy. Outstanding performances by everyone (nice break-out showing by Jennifer Lawrence), a beautiful score, elegant filming, powerful landscapes and some great editing all make for a worthwhile time investment. The Blu quality is reference material from beginning to end, from the ocean scenes to the burning desert trailer set made popular in all of the ads and artwork. Line definition gets tested immediately with that opening bedroom scene: Theron against the outdoor lighting - nothing left to the imagination anymore. The DTS was mixed eloquently, especially the airplane dusting scenes and even the brief explosion sequence. Even if I were to rate this film less than five, the main supplement is a near-perfect documentary about film making itself and it would still give this the highest rating.
* Making of, 43:27 minutes. A lodef director-narrated piece that covers every facet of what it took to make this film. He did this in a unique way through job descriptions and casting choices instead of the drier logistics. He describes and shows some of the jobs you never hear about and the trust he had in this group. Highly recommend giving this a try as it is even edited in such a way that it keeps interest.
* Music, 15:33 minutes. Was the only thing they left out of the main documentary, they cover it adequately here - a solid score but it does cater to the music fans only.
* HDNet promo, 4:46 minutes. The standard ad plug that once you watch the movie, you realize how little this actually represents the quality of the story.
* BDLive, nothing there.
The sound is a 5.1 DTS, with English and Spanish subs. No region coding shown. Wonderful product that I feel is worth the time. Enjoy.
 Fragmented tale of love as cycle of pain, scars and healing December 2, 2009
Mr. Stephen Kennedy (Doha, Qatar)
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
The directorial debut of Guillermo Arriaga, screenwriter of 21 grams and Babel, is a tortured piece of work. Rather like its characters, it is beautiful to look at but bleak as we come to understand it. Thankfully, we are left with a message of hope, but it's a fragmented journey getting there as we experience love as it evolves not just through joy and happiness but through pain and scars.
It's one of those multi-stranded stories Arriaga specialises in... except this time, it is not always different characters we are observing - it's the same ones, in different times. One strand with Kim Basinger, involves a married woman, sneaking off from her empty marriage at lunchtime to her lover, in a trailer on a plain. It's this trailer on fire which gives the film its title. Then, there is the teenage daughter who has her own secrets and is drawn to the young Mexican man who she meets at his father's funeral. Finally, Charlize Theron plays the beautiful restaurateur, who away from the style and poise of her role at work, seeks empty sex and self inflicted wounds.. what pain is she trying to hide? Does the answer lie in the Mexican man who follows her? If the strands don't stand fully composed as short stories in their own right, it's because they rely on each other.. so that the performance of one actress relies on notes set up by another. It's a typically convoluted piece of writing by Arriega. A final point, and this is where critics were on the whole less than kind, is that for much of the movie it is frustratingly ambiguous who is who and in what time, until gradually the picture becomes clear. It's a tangled story for the most part, and if you dislike activating your brain cells, then steer clear. In the end, the story is actually quite slight.. and yet it has some depth of feeling, scraping underneath the characters surface instead of adding layers onto them. It might not have much to say, and the characters may not always be endearing, but it is nonetheless thought provoking and beautifully shot in sparsely filled though elegantly framed widescreen. Frankly I found it more satisfying than the more star-studded and acclaimed Babel. Certainly, the performances from the three leads: Theron, Basinger and relative newcomer Jennifer Lawrence are utterly outstanding. There is no grandstanding here.. just terrific understated turns from some of Hollywood's best.
If bleak cinema and tragic characters are your thing, then step right in. If it's action or easy moral certainties you seek.. move along, there's nothing for you here.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 11
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