Three Burials (2005)
Coming Out at 17 November 2005 in theaters.
“The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada”
Adventure, Crime, Drama
The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada is neo-Western film directed by and starring Tommy Lee Jones and written by Guillermo Arriaga. It also stars Barry Pepper, Julio Cedillo, Dwight Yoakam, and January Jones.
The film was inspired by the real-life killing in Texas of a teenager, Esequiel Hernandez Jr, by United States Marines during a military operation near the United States–Mexico border as well as the novel As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner which contains the same plot premise and challenges encountered in the film.
Melquiades Estrada, a Mexican undocumented worker working in Texas as a cowboy, shoots at a coyote which is menacing his small flock of goats. A nearby United States Border Patrol officer, Norton, thinks he is being attacked and shoots back, killing Melquiades. Norton quickly buries Melquiades and does not report anything. Melquiades’ body is found and is reburied in a local cemetery by the sheriff’s office. Evidence that he may have been killed by the U.S. Border Patrol is ignored by the local sheriff, Belmont, who would prefer to avoid trouble with the Border Patrol.
Director: Tommy Lee Jones
Writer: Guillermo Arriaga
Stars: Tommy Lee Jones, Barry Pepper, Julio Cesar Cedillo, Dwight Yoakam, January Jones, Melissa Leo, Levon Helm
Cast:
| Tommy Lee Jones | … | Pete Perkins |
| Barry Pepper | … | Mike Norton |
| Julio Cesar Cedillo | … | Melquiades Estrada |
| Dwight Yoakam | … | Belmont |
| January Jones | … | Lou Ann Norton |
| Melissa Leo | … | Rachel |
| Levon Helm | … | Old Man with Radio |
| Mel Rodriguez | … | Captain Gomez |
| Cecilia Suárez | … | Rosa |
| Ignacio Guadalupe | … | Lucio |
| Vanessa Bauche | … | Mariana |
| Irineo Alvarez | … | Manuel |
| Guillermo Arriaga | … | Juan |
| Josh Berry | … | Border Patrolman |
| Rodger Boyce | … | Salesman |
| Edwin ‘Bubba’ Broussard | … | Bubba |
| René Campero | … | Don Casimiro |
| Lupe Campos | … | Sands Guy #2 |
| Ariel Castro | … | Jorge |
| Diana Chavez | … | Woman |
| Uriel Chávez | … | Cowboy #2 |
| Sonny Carl Davis | … | Kruger |
| Mon de León | … | El Toston Woman #2 |
| Jesse De Luna | … | Miller |
| Richard Dillard | … | Jim |
| Jorge Adrián Espíndola | … | Cowboy #1 |
| Jourdan Henderson | … | Mary – Soap Opera Girl |
| Sean Hennigan | … | Chuck |
| Karen Jones | … | Dog Lady |
| Richard Andrew Jones | … | Bob (as Richard Jones) |
| Victoria Jones | … | Immigrant Girl |
| Raul Molinar | … | Radio Announcer #1 |
| Adrian Navarette | … | Agustin |
| Lonnie Nelson | … | Gravedigger |
| Juan Gabriel Pareja | … | Sands Guy #1 |
| Terry Dale Parks | … | Neil |
| Gustavo Sánchez Parra | … | Tomas |
| Hugo Pérez | … | Man |
| Paulina Reyes | … | Piano Player |
| Sergio Rodriguez | … | Radio Announcer #2 |
| Charles Sanders | … | Doctor |
| Brent Smiga | … | Deputy Antonio |
| Spike Spencer | … | John – Soap Opera |
| Angelina Torres | … | Adriana |
| Barry Tubb | … | A. L. |
| Guillermo Von Son | … | Chino |
| Maya Zapata | … | El Toston Woman #1 |
| Elena Hurst | … | Lorena |
| Robert Barge | … | Border Patrolman |
| Tiki Davis | … | Border Patrol Thomas |
| Jason Starritt | … | Extra |
Sources: imdb & wikipedia