The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada
2005 · Movie · R · 121 min · ★ 7.0 · 81% critics
After a border officer kills a ranch hand and the death is brushed aside, the victim’s close friend refuses to let the promise of a proper burial be forgotten. He forces the officer to help recover the body and sets out on a harsh, often darkly funny journey toward Mexico, where grief, guilt, and accountability collide.
Also known as Three Burials
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Watch free on The Roku Channel — also streaming on fuboTV and Howdy.
2 hours to watch.
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Details
- Years
- 2005
- Release date
- 2005-11-17
- Language
- English
- Rated
- R
- Runtime
- 121 min
- Critic score
- 81/100
- TMDB rating
- 7.0/10 (650 votes)
About
You’ll likely enjoy this if you want a modern Western road-journey that mixes harsh moral reckoning with offbeat humor and a reflective mood, somewhat akin to The Proposition; Not for you if you want fast action or a light, easy watch.
Pros: powerful redemption arc; strong performances; dry, dark humor | Cons: slow, dusty pacing; grim subject matter; jumpy timeline
Themes
- mexico
- texas
- illegal immigration
- border patrol
- usa–mexico border
- promise
- corpse
- desert
- neo-western
- coyote
Cast & crew
Tommy Lee Jones
as Pete Perkins
Barry Pepper
as Mike Norton
Dwight Yoakam
as Sheriff Frank Belmont
January Jones
as Lou Ann Norton
Melissa Leo
as Rachel
Julio Cesar Cedillo
as Melquiades Estrada
Levon Helm
as Old Man with Radio
Mel Rodriguez
as Captain Gomez
Cecilia Suárez
as Rosa
Ignacio Guadalupe
as Lucio
Directed by Tommy Lee Jones