Thanks to vcb for pointing us to the new trailer for The Burning Plain. Having seen the movie a few weeks ago, I can say that you won”t find the usual intricate structure and scripty flourishes we’ve come to expect from other screenplays by Guillermo Arriaga (Babel, 21 Grams, Amores perros). For his directorial debut, Arriaga streamlines his story with a minimal amount of chronology shuffling, laying out a relatively straightforward narrative with only a few flashbacks.
The lack of puzzle-piece intercutting opens up the movie for a less claustrophobic atmosphere than we ordinarily feel in one of Arriga’s labyrinths of predestination. I think it allows his characters to development beyond being pawns of fate into a more naturalistic emotional zones. For me, The Burning Plain feels like a higher level of mastery in Arriaga’s own development, but I wonder if critics and audiences will miss the literary dazzle of his earlier work.
8 Responses for "The Burning Plain, trailer"
Despite the mixed reviews, this looks pretty decent to me.
seen it four weeks ago! the movie was actually very average, nothing special! but the peformances were stunnig! kim basinger needs another nomination for this part!she needs all awards attention… somebody should campaign for her and the other actors as well…
I was really looking forward to it but thought it was just OK. The acting is good but I had no emotional investment in any of the characters and thus didn’t care what happened to them.
Not a bad movie but I can’t see this film garnering any nominations at all. Basinger is probably the strongest but there is not enough here to warrant a nomination. I don’t see a screenplay nomination either.
Here in Spain the response was very mixed, maybe more on the negative side….Most of the reviews I’ve read single out the actresses, but not much more…I think the academy will ignore both the movie and Theron and Basinger.
I loved this and thought Kim Basinger gave a poignant, career-best performance.
Like most years, it seems this year too the supporting actress category will be more competitive than best actress. We have already Mo’Nique, women from Nine and now Kim Basinger. And Meryl Streep is also a strong supporting possibility.
Nicely written mini-analysis, Ryan. I’m beyond tired of Arriaga’s and In-a-rut’s mixed-up chronology/convergence of fate storytelling, so hearing that this is something more traditional is intriguing to me. It’s always frustrated me that their obvious talent was squandered on such weary gimmicry as the last few films have showcased.
Another nice surprise, jennybee, is how much Arriaga has learned from those collaborations with Iñárritu about smooth transitions and visual parallels. The story shifts back and forth between Portland, Oregon and a Mexican village, and both settings feel like they’re on the edge of the world.
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