The Burning Plain

Of course I have to start this post out with how disappointed I was that Charlize Theron couldn't make the screening (she was in Toronto last year looking so fabulous, and I was very excited to see her again). She was scheduled to come to the festival, but had some conflicts that made unable to do so. As the director of The Burning Plain, Guillermo Arriaga, took the stage before the screening, he had a woman come up an read a letter Theron had written to apologize for her inability to be at the screening and how much she wanted to be there to support a project that in which she truly believed. Arriaga also said a few words, and he was completely humble and appreciative to be able to show his work - it was so refreshing to see a director who was gracious about the attention his films generate.

Arriaga is well known for his other films: Babel, 21 Grams both which had come to the Toronto film festival in years past. If you have seen either of these films, you'll notice a trend that Arriaga uses in weaving the different stories of peoples' lives into a single story to show how interconnected we are. In this film he uses the same device, but alters it a little. He not only weaves different lives, but also time to show how the past influences the present.

The film utilizes a nonlinear time structure (it jumps from the far past, to the present to the not so far past) to show us how seemingly strangers lives are so intertwined. First is Sylvia (Charlize Theron), who is a woman struggling with demons from the past. To deal with her feelings of self loathing she cuts herself and sleeps with anyone to numb her emotions. Next are Gina (Kim Basinger) and Nick (Joaquim de Almeida) who are both married to other people, and engage in an illicit affair which isn't quite as secret as they thought. Then there is Mariana, the 16 yr old daughter of Gina who discovers her mother's deception and tries to punish her for it. She also deals with the death of her mother by getting involved with Nick's son Santiago. And finally 13 year old Maria and her father Santiago whose world comes to a halting stop as Santiago's crop ducting plane crashes endangering Satnitago's life, and Maria must to go find her mother who abandoned her when she was 2 days old.

Through many twists and turns in time and jumping from place to place (Oregon and New Mexico) we come to realize that Mariana is actually Sylvia and the guilt she feels is from the punishment she delivers to her mother Gina. Mariana was trying to make a rather dramatic point and scare Gina into going back to her father by setting a gas fire in the mobile home where Nick and Gina meet. The fire catches more quickly than Mariana expected, and blows up the trailer killing the two adults. Nick's son Santiago becomes interested in Mariana after his father's funeral to understand more about his father's affair. The two fall in love, and Mariana ends up pregnant. She feels unworthy to have the baby and plans to leave once she has given birth. 13 year old Maria is that child, and she has come to Oregon to find Mariana (Slyvia) to reunite her with Santiago, who he never stopped loving.

The film is heartbreaking in its honesty, but in the end is a tale of forgiveness and enduring love. Basinger put in a very sold performance as the emotionally fragile Gina. And Theron's wounded, guilt ridden Syvia is played with great depth. The cinematography is stunning as it captures the mood of the film: the cliffs of Oregon are as tumultuous as Theron's character.

I thought the film was moving, and beautifully shot, but a little lacking in emotional closure at the end. Mariana (Theron) was never given the chance for the pivotal moment of reunion with Santiago, which I thought Theron would totally nail. But, otherwise the film was emotionally gripping and completely compelling to watch.

Here are some picture of Arriaga befre the screening: