The Burning Plain has individual scenes that are powerful and moving, but in the end the whole is considerably less than the sum of its parts.

| Nov 21, 2020

A calculated intensity. High polish. Exquisite cinematography. An interesting story with an extremely well done interlacing of "chapters" and characters.

| Nov 7, 2019

Both uninspired and languorous, a bland and anonymous concoction.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Aug 5, 2019

The Burning Plain is a dark drama, but one that offers hope - if you're willing to wait for the story to untangle its way to its natural end.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Dec 5, 2018

If you are willing to turn a blind eye to the inherently hackneyed nature of "The Burning Plain," though, the film turns out to be somewhat rewarding.

| Oct 7, 2015

What's that smell? The plain isn't the only thing that's charred in screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga's directorial debut; subtlety goes up in flames too.

| Nov 17, 2013

| Original Score: 1.5/5 | Apr 4, 2011

Deep-seated emotional problems are examined in a complex movie that, as ever with Arriaga, refuses to fit into a straightforward narrative.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Mar 13, 2011

Knowing ... that it's a 20-year old story, one can only conclude the idea behind the film would have been best left unfilmed, an unfinished step toward greater things.

| Jan 31, 2011

Babel director shows his hand too soon

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Sep 28, 2010

Arriaga's multi-narrative format got the best of him. Rather than deliver a sense of shock and awe, it's swallowed up by complexity, leaving you to wonder, "This is it?"

| Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 12, 2010

When so many cinema releases are instantly forgettable, The Burning Plain clings to the memory...

| Original Score: 4/4 | Apr 26, 2010

A melancholy but also profoundly uplifting film by the talented Guillermo Arriaga. Storytelling is an artform and Arriaga is a master

| Apr 24, 2010

I think Ariaga needs to find another structuring device: this is way too complex, and Arriaga is so busy time-shifting that it takes quite a while to figure out who the characters are, and the way their relationships come together.

| Apr 23, 2010

It's a hard film to love, partly because of its air of deadly seriousness.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Apr 22, 2010

Even if the film is a little contrived, it's quite a haunting experience...

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Apr 21, 2010

Once it all clicks into place and viewers are left to engage with the characters, the heavy misery and self-importance of the piece becomes overwhelming.

| Apr 21, 2010

None of the characters breathe... They're knocked helplessly, lifelessly around in the service of the oh-so-serious story.

| Jan 21, 2010

Charlize Theron and Kim Bassinger star in an intriguing drama where past and present are brought together to reveal how you can be redeemed through love

| Original Score: 4.5/5 | Dec 12, 2009

A dreary mess directed and written by Guillermo Arriaga. Since it is Arriaga's first directing assignment, he can only blame his screenwriter for this uninvolving melodrama.

| Nov 13, 2009