The Upcoming
  • Culture
    • Art
    • Cinema & Tv
      • Movie reviews
      • Film festivals
      • Shows
    • Food & Drinks
      • News & Features
      • Restaurant & bar reviews
      • Interviews & Recipes
    • Literature
    • Music
      • Live music
    • Theatre
  • Fashion & Lifestyle
    • Accessories
    • Beauty
    • News & Features
    • Shopping & Trends
    • Tips & How-tos
    • Fashion weeks
  • What’s On
    • Art exhibitions
    • Theatre shows
  • Tickets
  • Join us
    • Editorial unit
    • Our writers
    • Join the team
    • Join the mailing list
    • Support us
    • Contact us
  • Interviews
  • Competitions
  • Special events
    • Film festivals
      • Berlin
      • Tribeca
      • Sundance London
      • Cannes
      • Locarno
      • Venice
      • London
      • Toronto
    • Fashion weeks
      • London Fashion Week
      • New York Fashion Week
      • Milan Fashion Week
      • Paris Fashion Week
      • Haute Couture
      • London Fashion Week Men’s
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Instagram

  • YouTube

  • RSS

CultureMovie reviews

The Burning (El Ardor)

The Burning (El Ardor) | Movie review
18 June 2015
Lyubomira Kirilova
Avatar
Lyubomira Kirilova
18 June 2015

Movie and show review

Lyubomira Kirilova

The Burning

★★★★★

Release date

19th June 2015

Certificate

Links

FacebookWebsite

An ambitious project aiming to turn the traditional western on its head, The Burning is an Argentinian adventure flick that is visually stunning but lacking in substance. Gael Garcia Bernal portrays a mysterious man who emerges from the Argentinian rainforest, to rescue the kidnapped daughter (Alice Braga) of a poor farmer after mercenaries murder her father and take over his property.

TheBurningThe Burning is director Pablo Fendrik’s third feature film and it is the biggest one yet: not only does it benefit from a larger budget, it also stars popular actors. Firstly, there is Gael Garcia Bernal, known to international audiences for his roles in Walter Salles’ The Motorcycle Diaries and Alfonso Cuarón’s Y Tu Mamá También. Alice Braga (City of God, I Am Legend) steps in as Vania, the only female character in this story of vengeance, and probably the only character that is ever truly developed. While Vania is just an ordinary peasant woman, taking care of the men in the farm at the start of the film, by the end she grows into a stronger character, with independent thoughts and ideas. Ultimately, she proves to be the one that manages to come up with a plan of vengeance: one that is a lot more thought-through than those that the men are proposing.

The influence Sergio Leone’s westerns had on The Burning is pretty obvious, especially in the face-off scenes between the peaceful farmers and the mercenaries. However, this influence is sometimes represented in such a literal way that it is almost laughable, which is definitely not the desired effect of a film that aims to portray such serious issues as deforestation and the violent eviction of people from their lands. While Fendrik tries to portray the struggle Argentinians are facing today, setting it out in a sort of a “jungle western”, he fails to truly tell their story. In other words, there are gory images and violence aplenty, but apart from shocking the audience, they do not have a convincing plot to account to. The characters are very underdeveloped too, which is not helped by the shallow acting from the cast, both known and unknown.

Finally, The Burning is doubtlessly beautifully shot, making the Argentinian jungle look truly majestic. However, too many lingering shots, poor dialogue, and questionable scenes make this one a drag.

★★★★★

Lyubomira Kirilova

The Burning is released nationwide on 19th June 2015.

Watch the trailer for The Burning here:

Please accept YouTube cookies to play this video. By accepting you will be accessing content from YouTube, a service provided by an external third party.

YouTube privacy policy

If you accept this notice, your choice will be saved and the page will refresh.

Related ItemsAlice Bragagael garcia bernalPablo Fendrik

More in Movie reviews

The Race to Save the World

★★★★★
Oliver Johnston
Read More

The Mitchells vs the Machines

★★★★★
Emma-Jane Betts
Read More

Arlo the Alligator Boy

★★★★★
Mae Trumata
Read More

Ride or Die

★★★★★
Andrew Murray
Read More

Chadwick Boseman: In Honour of An Artist

Andrew Murray
Read More

Ip Man: Kung Fu Master

★★★★★
Jim Compton-Hall
Read More

For the Sake of Vicious

★★★★★
Lilly Subbotin
Read More

I Blame Society

★★★★★
Ben Flanagan
Read More

Why Did You Kill Me?

★★★★★
Emma Kiely
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap

Movie and show review

Lyubomira Kirilova

The Burning

★★★★★

Release date

19th June 2015

Certificate

Links

FacebookWebsite

  • Popular

  • Latest

  • TOP PICKS

  • London’s Michelin-starred restaurants open al fresco right now – and all those re-opening in May
    Food & Drinks
  • Cruise – Online
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Weezer with the LA Philharmonic and YOLA at the Walt Disney Concert Hall Online
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • Birdy at Wilton’s Music Hall Online
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • A Splinter of Ice at Cheltenham Everyman Theatre Online
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Chiswick Playhouse Recharged: An interview with producer Wayne Glover-Stuart
    Theatre
  • Anthropocene: The Human Era at Oxford Playhouse Online
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • The Race to Save the World
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • The Motherhood Project: An interview with creator and curator Katherine Kotz
    Theatre
  • The Mitchells vs the Machines
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • 50 Next unveils the new generation of food industry pioneers
    Food & Drinks
  • Arlo the Alligator Boy
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • London’s Michelin-starred restaurants open al fresco right now – and all those re-opening in May
    Food & Drinks
  • Campfire in Kings Cross: Two Tribes deliver everything you’ve been missing with a night of beer, BBQ and live music
    Food & Drinks
  • Live from the Barbican: Moses Boyd
    ★★★★★
    Live music
The Upcoming
Pages
  • Contact us
  • Join mailing list
  • Join us
  • Our London food map
  • Our writers
  • Support us
  • What, when, why

Copyright © 2011-2020 FL Media

An Audience with Jimmy Savile at the Park | Theatre review
The Motherf**ker with the Hat at the Lytellton | Theatre review