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IMDbPro

Burn Country

  • 2016
  • 1h 42m
IMDb RATING
4.7/10
947
YOUR RATING
Dominic Rains in Burn Country (2016)
Trailer for Burn Country
Play trailer1:57
2 Videos
9 Photos
DramaThrillerWar

A former Afghan journalist seeking asylum discovers the dark underbelly of his new small-town home in Northern California.A former Afghan journalist seeking asylum discovers the dark underbelly of his new small-town home in Northern California.A former Afghan journalist seeking asylum discovers the dark underbelly of his new small-town home in Northern California.

  • Director
    • Ian Olds
  • Writers
    • Ian Olds
    • Paul Felten
  • Stars
    • Dominic Rains
    • Melissa Leo
    • James Franco
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    4.7/10
    947
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Ian Olds
    • Writers
      • Ian Olds
      • Paul Felten
    • Stars
      • Dominic Rains
      • Melissa Leo
      • James Franco
    • 12User reviews
    • 11Critic reviews
    • 60Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 win & 1 nomination total

    Videos2

    Burn Country
    Trailer 1:57
    Burn Country
    Burn Country
    Trailer 1:59
    Burn Country
    Burn Country
    Trailer 1:59
    Burn Country

    Photos8

    View Poster
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    + 4
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    Top cast40

    Edit
    Dominic Rains
    Dominic Rains
    • Osman
    Melissa Leo
    Melissa Leo
    • Gloria
    James Franco
    James Franco
    • Lindsay
    Rachel Brosnahan
    Rachel Brosnahan
    • Sandra
    Thomas Jay Ryan
    Thomas Jay Ryan
    • Dmitri Sokurov
    Tim Kniffin
    • Carl
    James Oliver Wheatley
    James Oliver Wheatley
    • Gabe
    Jason Craig
    • Gary
    Wendy Vanden Heuvel
    Wendy Vanden Heuvel
    • Maddie
    Christopher Kuckenbaker
    • Beaux
    John Craven
    John Craven
    • Joseph
    Michelle Maxson
    Michelle Maxson
    • Karen
    Ari Vozaitis
    • Pyro Kid
    Emile Rosewater
    • Doug
    Sharia Pierce
    • Screaming Woman
    Keith Baker
    Keith Baker
    • Deputy
    Gabe Maxson
    • Marcus
    Brent Lindsay
    • Mario
    • Director
      • Ian Olds
    • Writers
      • Ian Olds
      • Paul Felten
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews12

    4.7947
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    Featured reviews

    8lu_lou_belle

    Interesting

    The sound track is just kind of amazing, the off kilter manner of filming, and some evocative performances add to the unusual atmospheric hum. The little bit of time ive spent deep in the red woods off the beaten track north and west of cultured wine country, and other remote rural places make the setting relatable.

    But then again i like off beat film far better than multplex clickbait.
    1debeautymarshall-190-662830

    Horrible

    Most stupid, Insignificant.mlvie ever. Made absolutely no sense. Story line was ridiculous. Anyone who rated this movie anywhere near good is just pretending to be deep.
    1trsm1010

    Absolutely bizarre......a complete WTF movie

    I love weird , interesting 'indie' films that most people dislike but this was a real mess. I went in with an open mind, and little to no expectations and ending up getting nothing out of this. I even read several explanations of what the film meant, what it portrayed but felt completely clueless to why anyone would want to watch this. Bizarre and disconnected
    6subxerogravity

    It's a fascinating story, and I like how it was done

    A little confusing trying to see this movie as two titles were used. the movie opening title is Burn Country, but some theaters referred to it as the Fixer. Must have been an old title

    Under either title , it is a wild and fascinating film, about Osman who is a fixer. Back in Afghanistan he was a journalist who specialized in being Foreign journalist connection to the people, but he was exiled and with the help of a friend, ended up in a small town in Northern California that doesn't meet his expectations of America, but he tries to make the best of it by doing his best in a crappy job at the local newspaper as a police blogger (basically making police reports sound interesting to the public).

    He's a foreign man on American soil, but in a place and culture that not a lot of American's see on the daily.

    Burn Country starts out with a simple narrative of Osman trying to make good by doing what he does best, journalism, and he decides to take the only job he can get as a journalist and take it far too seriously.

    Melissa Leo, an amazing Thespian who changes her look like she was Daniel Day Lewis to do the part, plays Osman's sponsor in the states, a police sheriff who is the mother of a fellow journalist still over in Afghanistan. She has a very motherly relationship, somewhat trading in one son for another.

    James Franco was actually very impressive. I've seen him do small movies like this in which he just does a cameo to sell movie tickets I guess, but he does have a critical role in this beyond that. Nothing fancy, he's not doing anything that you have not seen him do in a Seth Rogen film, but you see this method really works as a supporting actor for Dominic Rains' leading man.

    A very good leading man too. Very likable and charismatic. He gets you into the character's story, which is good cause it's basically just watching this guy adjust to a culture not his own.

    And Burn Country picked the best setting. It was different enough to me that I was a bit of a fish out of water trying to understand how these people live.

    Burn Country starts out as a very clear narrative and then gets a little sir real as Osman experiences the culture clash. Very good.
    6refordgarry

    Welcome to the USA

    Difficult if you've seen Borat (2006) not to draw obvious comparisons, despite "Burn Country" being a human drama, profound yet also somewhat entertaining.

    The character, Osman, (played by Dominic Rains) has arrived fresh from Afghanistan into small-town California, a romantic terrain of rolling mists, deserted beaches, Sequoia trees and American homesteads inhabited, it seems exclusively by white rednecks and new-age hippies.

    The refugee-Afghan interpreter, journalist and "fixer" intent on using journalism in his new life sports a mustache and stubble, together with more than a touch of that endearing, unpredictable, quirky nature that got Sacha Baron-Cohen's "Borat" in such trouble with his critics. The obvious nature of Osman's recent violent war- torn past, however that led him to seek asylum on the US is reflected in events that unfold during the not-so-innocent Afghan journalist's familiarization with American backwoods life – inhabited by a community whose tribal "answers" to the problems of their often violent way of living sometimes rivals even Osman's birthplace, continents away, supposedly proving that we are, under the skin not so different from one another.

    Osman, at one point purports his reason for coming to America being not the danger, but because he: "got the idea stuck in his head that life started somewhere else……. like you had to get out to have a chance of really living.."

    Since the justification for the journalist's asylum in America is never in doubt (with him unable to return home), the depiction of small- town America here ought make Americans feel rightly proud for welcoming a stranger so unconditionally into their close-knit tribe. Burn Country does, in a sense accentuate the need for community over city, notwithstanding its incredibly "fuzzy" attitude towards the dispensing law and order - the positive message from this movie being the power of Human Nature to eventually triumph over personal differences and other adversities.

    Best Emmys Moments

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    Related interests

    Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)
    Drama
    Cho Yeo-jeong in Parasite (2019)
    Thriller
    Band of Brothers (2001)
    War

    Storyline

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    Did you know

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    • Soundtracks
      Ann Coulter's Poor Theater (Polish Language Version)
      written by Jeff Tobias

      Published by Yes Reality Music (BMI)

      Courtesy of Jeff Tobias

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    FAQ15

    • How long is Burn Country?Powered by Alexa

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 9, 2016 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official site
      • Official site
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • The Fixer
    • Filming locations
      • Bodega Bay, California, USA
    • Production companies
      • ACE Productions
      • Green Street Films
      • Abel Aflam
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 42m(102 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.39 : 1

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