The Burning Plain

Films about interlocked fragmented stories aren't anything new to writer and director Guillermo Arriaga. As director, 'The Burning Plain' is his first feature film and its quite apparent that he has poured his heart into it. Here too the film involves three stories that are told separately but linked by the first scene.

However, the non-linearity of storytelling is initially confusing but once the tragic link is made apparent, the gut-wrenching conclusion (that explains the explosion shown in the first scene) hits the viewer hard. The setting is very simplistic but rich in atmosphere especially with the dark subtle undertones. The beautiful score contributes well.

Arriaga has gathered an impressive ensemble of actors who deliver wonderfully understated performances. Charlize Theron portrays Sylvia with a subtle intensity. Kim Basinger is skillfully restrained and Jennifer Lawrence shows tremendous potential. John Corbett, Robin Tunney, José María Yazpik, Rachel Ticotin, Brett Cullen, Tessa Ia and Joaquin de Almeida provide great support.

Despite the initial confusion, the narrative is strong. There are a few clichés that could have been avoided, such as the confession scene in the hospital, but these are very minor and don't effect the impact of the film. In the end, 'The Burning Plain' is a solid film.

The pace of the film (probably due to poor editing) is inconsistent. The first half of the film is engrossing, but the second half can be easily predicted. A lot of scenes of the second half can be edited out. Apart from the poor editing, the story itself and the way the story was told are intriguing. The film is women centric and portrays many issues concerning women: breast cancer, housework/chores, mother-daughter relationship, postnatal depression etc.. Charlize Theron suits the leading role particularly after her outstanding performance in the film Monster. But there again exists inconsistency of her appearance in the film (probably due to make-up/lighting filming) - sometimes she appears younger and sometimes older. It's understandable as the director's debut, but I think the director needs to work harder in order to coherently deliver an engaging and technically sound film.

This is the first feature directing experience for Guillermo Arriaga. Already an established writer (Amores Perros, Babel, The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada), Arriaga promisingly directs his own script in this movie. The movie follows the characteristic feature of Arriaga's script: fragmented stories, sometimes happening simultaneously, and sometimes happening at different time periods. The editing is intriguing, prompting you to try and seek connections between the different stories. The performances are amazing (especially Charlize Theron and Kim Basinger's). The landscape choices and the cinematography are beautiful. The Burning Plain is a poignant story about desperation, betrayal, trauma, revenge, guilt and self-hatred, with the stories of three female characters and different "plains" burningly interwoven to deliver a moving depiction of these themes... Highly recommended!

The movie reminded me of Babel, which is not that crazy since Arriaga wrote and directed Babel together with Alejandro González Iñárritu. (I only found this out after I saw The Burning Plain). Whereas I thought Babel was good but not superb, I absolutely loved The Burning Plain. just like Babel, The Burning Plain doesn't do chronology and I love the way Arriaga uses the lack of a chronological time-line to put you on a sidetrack time and time again. Of course I suspected things but I completely missed one of the biggest twists. Past and present are so mixed up that it isn't until quite far into the movie that you realise how all the characters are connected. And in this connection you'll find the big difference between the two movies. Whereas Babel shows the stories of people that are only connected by coincidence, The Burning Plain goes much further than that. When, almost in the end, you find out what really happened you cannot but acknowledge the genius of the person who wrote the story and the stylish way the movie was directed.

Once the 'big twist' is revealed it was like an 'aha-Erlebnis'. From beginning until ending you are wondering about the connections between the characters. "What does Sylvia have to do with Mariana and Santiago, or with Gina and Nick"? When eventually you find out, it is like a puzzle with the last piece falling in place. The result is a beautiful picture with a sad undertone, but not one I would have wanted to miss.

Guillermo Arriaga was the writer for Inarritu's films (Amores Perros, 21 Grams, Babel) and directs here for the first time on a major film project. "The Burning Plain" plays out over thirteen years, although all the action is squeezed into two segments at each end of the time span. The film relates how an extra-marital affair has repercussions which echo through the following years. The chain of events is initiated when Gina, a housewife and mother, embarks on a romance with Nick, a Mexican with a family of his own. After a gas tank explosion kills the lovers while they make love in a remote desert trailer, Gina's traumatized teenage daughter Mariana becomes friends with Nick's son Santiago.

Arriaga focuses on the mother, daughter and grand-daughter as the story unfolds. He uses four actresses for their roles - two being required for the teenage Mariana and her 30-something persona - and all of them (Kim Basinger, Charlize Theron, Jennifer Lawrence and Tessa la) give exceptional performances. When Mariana first sees evidence of her mother's infidelity, she remains silent and carries the burden alone. The breach between them widens as she investigations and confirms her suspicions - and the youthful beauty of her face transforms into a mask as she conceals knowledge which could destroy her family. Arriaga portrays her dilemma with a delicacy that amplifies the girl's pain - showing the silent spread of the poison, its contagion first claiming the mother-daughter relationship, and then creating new ripples of damage which will ultimately infect the next generation.

The narrative is tighter than Arriaga's work with Inarritu - it illustrates how one transgression can set in motion the engine of fate. He relies on classic cinematic techniques rather than Inarritu's flashier ones - but as in his previous work, Arriaga breaks up the story's chronological flow by chopping back and forth between two time segments. One can't help wondering if it was necessary here, since the story possesses such a strong arc. However, this is just a quibble - "The Burning Plain" results in something close to a masterpiece which shares themes found in the work of Shakespeare, Thomas Hardy and Dostoevsky.