Auf brennender Erde (2008)
19KAuf brennender Erde: Directed by Guillermo Arriaga. With Charlize Theron, John Corbett, José María Yazpik, Robin Tunney. A drama with a two-tiered storyline concerning a mother and daughter who try to form a bond after the young woman’s difficult childhood.
“The movie reminded me of Babel, which is not that crazy since Arriaga wrote and directed Babel together with Alejandro González Iñárritu. (I only found this out after I saw The Burning Plain). Whereas I thought Babel was good but not superb, I absolutely loved The Burning Plain. just like Babel, The Burning Plain doesnu0026#39;t do chronology and I love the way Arriaga uses the lack of a chronological time-line to put you on a sidetrack time and time again. Of course I suspected things but I completely missed one of the biggest twists. Past and present are so mixed up that it isnu0026#39;t until quite far into the movie that you realise how all the characters are connected. And in this connection youu0026#39;ll find the big difference between the two movies. Whereas Babel shows the stories of people that are only connected by coincidence, The Burning Plain goes much further than that. When, almost in the end, you find out what really happened you cannot but acknowledge the genius of the person who wrote the story and the stylish way the movie was directed.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eOnce the u0026#39;big twistu0026#39; is revealed it was like an u0026#39;aha-Erlebnisu0026#39;. From beginning until ending you are wondering about the connections between the characters. u0026quot;What does Sylvia have to do with Mariana and Santiago, or with Gina and Nicku0026quot;? When eventually you find out, it is like a puzzle with the last piece falling in place. The result is a beautiful picture with a sad undertone, but not one I would have wanted to miss.”
