Burn Country

2016
4.8| 1h42m| en
Details

A former war journalist now writing for a paper in Northern California is drawn into conflict at home.

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Reviews

Interesteg What makes it different from others?
Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.
Abbigail Bush what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.
Rio Hayward All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.
Michael Ledo Osman (Dominic Rains) worked in Afghanistan as a reporter/ interpreter. He left there to come to the US, living with cop Gloria (Melissa Leo) in a small town in California. She is the mother of a reporter still in Afghanistan.He meets a group of hippies and some rural folks. When a man is killed, all Osman wants to do is to find James Franco. The movie has stories and flashbacks to Afghanistan to show us how we are all alike...which I didn't really grasp as this was a community living out of the American mainstream. The people were bat sh** crazy.The plot seemed to drag in circles. The comparisons were half hearted efforts.Guide: F-word. No sex or nudity
Gordon-11 This film tells the story of an Afghan journalist, who is granted political asylum in the United States of America. He settles in a small town, living with the local policewoman. As he begins his new life and start to forge connections with others, he finds himself unknowingly in much danger.The film has nice cinematography and lighting, but unfortunately that is about it. The story is rather poorly told, as things are not clearly explained. The relationship between Osman and the policewoman is quite confusing, as I clearly heard Osman calling the policewoman "mum" on two occasions. It is also hard to understand why Osman acted so irresponsibly, walking into danger when it is very apparent that some people are not to be messed with. Osman's persistent belief of Lindsay needing him is beyond me either, as Lindsay made no such statement, and there is no evidence to make Osman believe in that. The final scenes that happen in a weird commune is very confusing, and makes little sense. I do not understand the story at all.
Boristhemoggy At first glance Burn Country is quite a simple story, I think drawing comparisons between cultures and showing how expectations of others can be wildly off the mark. However the events which at first seem to be random or at best disconnected, begin to take on a meaning, which for me was drawing comparisons between Afghanistan and it's history and global human nature which is deeply touted in ancient tribal reasoning. Corruption is everywhere, violence is everywhere, tribal management of small social groups is everywhere, but we all do the same thing in our own ways. At the end Osman finds solace in listening to his homeland and feeling connected to his roots, and yet the things he tried to escape were right there with him still in the US, in the way of the US, but following the patterns as his homeland and probably of all countries. The title make absolutely no sense to me at all, but the story is one of tribal living, an almost 'beyond modern rules and law' existence that works simply because it has to. It takes the length of the film for Osman to realise this and while he cannot ever go home, he can immerse himself in the new home in the knowledge that the ways will soon become familiar to him and he leads the same life in a different place.
cdcrb Osman, from afghanistan, is in ca. looking for a job as a journalist. he was formerly the interpreter for an American newsman there and is looking for a better life anywhere but his home. he is staying with the journalists' mother, the local sheriff. before long someone burns up his hosts' mailbox and Osman can't get a pack of cigs in the town general store. do they hate muslims, strangers in general, or what. who knows. before long Osman gets himself in dangerous situations, and really doesn't seem to learn from his experiences. (for instance, when a cop tells me to stay in the patrol car, i'd stay put). people just do not act this way. and I would certainly think that anyone from afghanistan would be very leery. anyway, ian olds, the director, must be close friends with james franco, who plays an unrecognizable pot head here. I am not sure if this is stranger in a strange land territory, or a director not knowing what tale he is telling. the cinematography is very good, though.