Director
Tommy Lee Jones
Leading Actors/Actresses
Tommy Lee Jones, Barry Pepper
Supporting Actors/Actresses
Julio Cesar Cedillo, January Jones, Melissa Leo, Dwight Yoakam
Genre
Adventure, Crime, Drama
Language
English and Spanish
Awards
Cannes Film Festival: Best Actor - Tommy Lee Jones, Best Screenplay
Date of Release
2005
Producer
Luc Besson, Michael Fitzgerald, Tommy Lee Jones, Pierre-Ange Le Pogam
Setting and Context
Texas and Mexico border
Narrator and Point of View
Point of view is that of Pete Perkins
Tone and Mood
Dramatic, Serious
Protagonist and Antagonist
Protagonist is Pete, Antagonist is Norton and Belmont
Major Conflict
Norton kills Melquiades when he thinks he's being shot at.
Climax
Pete takes Melquiades' body back to his home in Jimenez along with Norton in tow. They bury Melquiades and Norton begs for forgiveness from Melquiades.
Foreshadowing
The coyote eating Melquiades body foreshadows the trouble that lies ahead on this journey.
Understatement
Pete's background is understated throughout the film as we don't know where he came from or his past and why he is the way he is.
Innovations in Filming or Lighting or Camera Techniques
n/a
Allusions
The film is an allusion to William Faulkner's "As I Lay Dying," and the death of Esequiel Hernandez Jr. at the hands of US Marines.
Paradox
Belmont is the Sheriff of the town, but paradoxically he doesn't serve every person equally with justice.
Parallelism
The scene of men watching a soap opera parallels Lou Ann watching the same soap opera in the kitchen while Mike has sex with her.
