Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- brooding
- melancholic
- intimate
- serious movie night
- arthouse drama viewing
What critics said
Critics broadly found the film serious-minded and well acted but overly symbolic and melodramatic, with its multi-narrative structure failing to generate sufficient emotional resonance.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Sylvia, Mariana and Santiago, Maria, and Gina and Nick occupy distinct but connected strands separated by time and space.
Sylvia's emotional odyssey and the families' responses to betrayal, tragedy, and abandonment are organized around guilt.
Gina and Nick conduct an intense affair while both are married, making secrecy central to the plot.
The New Mexico border-town and border-crossing material place fractured families within stark, isolating environments.
Films like The Burning Plain, and why
21 Grams
interwoven relationship narratives, guilt, emotional trauma, and melodramatic drama
Babel
nonlinear multi-narrative structure, forbidden intimacy, grief, and moral consequence
Crash
interconnected lives, family rupture, adultery, and emotionally intense ensemble storytelling
Little Children
relationship-centered melodrama shaped by secrecy, betrayal, and fractured family bonds
Movie Details
- Director
- Guillermo Arriaga
- Release Date
- 2008-11-07
- Runtime
- 111 min
- Rating
- 6.6 / 10 (479)
Cast
- Charlize Theron
- Kim Basinger
- Jennifer Lawrence
- Joaquim de Almeida
- John Corbett
- Robin Tunney
- Fernanda Romero
- Brett Cullen
- Danny Pino
- José María Yázpik
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- fuboTV, Magnolia Selects Amazon Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Burning Plain about?
- A fractured, emotionally charged drama traces forbidden love, family trauma, and guilt across interconnected lives on opposite sides of time and the New Mexico border.
- What is The Burning Plain like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Burning Plain as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is The Burning Plain violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in The Burning Plain as mild.
- What did critics think of The Burning Plain?
- Critics broadly found the film serious-minded and well acted but overly symbolic and melodramatic, with its multi-narrative structure failing to generate sufficient emotional resonance.
- Which films are like The Burning Plain?
- Films with a similar feel include 21 Grams, Babel, Crash, and Little Children.
- How long is The Burning Plain?
- The Burning Plain runs 111 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Burning Plain?
- In United States, The Burning Plain streams on fuboTV, Magnolia Selects Amazon Channel.
