I picked this one up the other night and I wasn't disappointed.
This was a damn good movie!
It was directed by Tommy Lee Jones and I have to say that this is simply one of the best performances he has ever given.
When you look at the cover, you might think that this is a Western...well it is and it isn't.
The movie is set in modern times around the Texas/Mexico border.
Here is the official synopsis:
"A man is shot and quickly buried in the high desert of west Texas. The body is found and reburied in Van Horn's town cemetery. Pete Perkins, a local ranch foreman, kidnaps a Border Patrolman and forces him to disinter the body. With his captive in tow and the body tied to a mule, Pete undertakes a dangerous and quixotic journey into Mexico."The film is especially important because of all the recent developments of the US trying to stem the flow of illegal immigrants from Mexico.
Jones plays Pete Perkins who becomes very good friends with Melquiades.
(pronounced "Melky-ah-dess)
We see them hanging out and working together and come to understand that Melquiades is a good and decent man who is "just a cowboy" like Jones and his men...he just wants to earn a living.
When Melquiades is shot and killed by a Border Patrol officer by accident, Jones realizes that the police don't care much about some illegal Mexican. Jones then decides to stop at nothing to find his friend's killer.
When he does, he kidnaps him at gunpoint, handcuffs him and takes him down to Mexico on horseback to bury Melquides.
The journey is extremely rough going and the border patrol agent played by Barry Pepper nearly dies during the journey.
The trip is a learning experience for both men to say the least and demonstrates just how far a man will go to honor the life of a friend.
And yes, Melquiades is buried, then exhumed, then buried a second time and exhumed and finally buried for good the third time.
Ebert gave this film four out of four stars.
Read his review hereI highly recommend this film.
You won't soon forget it.