Review of The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (2005) by Derek W — 09 Nov 2007

This is a great film full of symbols of grace, redemption, magical thinking, loss and the boundaries that are personal, cultural, and spiritual, not merely geographic. Faced with the indifferent locals who would rather save their butts than save their souls, Jones takes it on himself to become the humanizing agent in a mercenary world.

This movie helps us understand that sometimes the imagination fulfills a purpose that life cannot and can dignify death. This movie shows how human relations matter; how the electronic media are mere illusion producing devices; and even an old cowboy's body can find the fountain of youth by sticking to basic principles of human decency and understanding, and even the most direloneliness can be overcome even miles from home.