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Tommy Lee Jones to show 'Three Burials' Maribel Villalva The West Texas desert -- with its unforgiving heat and equally intense mountain sunsets -- is the backdrop of "The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada,"; a film directed by and starring Oscar winner Tommy Lee Jones. In the film, ranch foreman Pete Perkins (played by Jones), crosses that vast desert into Mexico with a dead body -- that of his friend Melquiades -- in tow to fulfill a promise. The film will open Friday in select cities, but Jones wanted to screen the movie Wednesday in El Paso, event organizer Britt Porter said. The screening is a fund-raiser for the El Paso Community Foundation. Porter said Jones, who owns ranches in the Van Horn- Alpine area, has become very familiar with El Paso in recent years and has built many friendships here -- one of the reasons he chose El Paso for this event. The other reason, Porter said, is that the movie deals with issues familiar to people living in the border region, such as immigration. "Those issues are so ingrained and entrenched in our border community," Porter said. Tommy Lee Jones could not speak with the El Paso Times because of scheduling conflicts. The movie was first screened in May at the 58th Cannes International Film Festival and earned a Best Actor award for Jones and Best Screenplay award for Guillermo Arriaga. Country music singer Dwight Yoakam is also featured in the film as Van Horn's sheriff. The film is loosely based on the 1997 death of an 18-year-old goat-herder, Ezequiel Hernandez Jr. Hernandez was killed by a member of a U.S. Marines team from Camp Pendleton, Calif., assigned to work with the Border Patrol in Radford, Texas, near the Mexican border. According to the Associated Press, the Marines said Hernandez fired in the direction of the team twice with his .22-caliber rifle. When he was about to shoot a third time, the commander of the team fired back once, hitting Hernandez in the torso. The Associated Press also reported that the Navy and Justice departments settled with the family for $1.9 million. In the film, Melquiades is shot by a Border Patrol agent who mistakenly thinks Melquiades is shooting at him. Melquiades is actually shooting at a coyote that is threatening his goats. Pete, played by Jones, kidnaps the agent and forces him on a treacherous journey into Mexico to help bury Melquiades in his village. Event organizer Britt Porter said tickets to the movie screening are selling quickly. He's also encouraging people to learn a little about the film before the event by visiting the film's Web site, www.sonyclassics.com/threeburials. El Pasoan Todd Fowler has already bought his ticket and six more for his office colleagues. He said he's heard good things about the film. "It's been widely praised internationally," Fowler said. "I know it deals with cross-border labor, but also with the friendship that develops between Pete and Melquiades. The movie stresses that there are no boundaries when it relates to friendship." Fowler also said El Pasoans have a unique opportunity to see the film and to question Jones after the screening. "A lot of independent films typically bypass El Paso for major markets like New York and Los Angeles, so this is exciting." Money raised from the screening will go to the El Paso Community Foundation. The foundation will then donate the money to two nonprofit agencies that deal with border issues -- Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center and the Border Institute. Organizers hope to raise $30,000. Eric Pearson, program officer with the El Paso Community Foundation, said Jones was very specific that he wanted the money to go to charities that dealt with border issues. Sister Liliane Alam, executive director of Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center, said she will see the movie for the first time Wednesday, but she is already hoping the film will open up dialogue about immigration issues and undocumented immigrants. "I want people to realize the immigrants who are coming here are not terrorists," Alam said. "Most of them are coming here to be reunited with family members." Alam said that, each year, the organization provides pro bono legal representation to about 700 undocumented immigrant children who are detained; to about 50 people seeking political asylum, such as for religious persecution; and to about 200 undocumented immigrant women who are in the country and are being abused by their spouses. The nonprofit organization has an annual budget of about $400,000 and depends 100 percent on community donations. "I know this movie is raising some questions about the border, and that's good," Alam said. The other beneficiary, the Border Institute, was created by the El Paso Community Foundation to educate specific groups of people about border issues, such as the challenges that face both El Paso and Juárez. Institute director Oscar Martinez said the money from the movie fund-raiser will be used to produce a DVD about border issues that will be made available to the public. Martinez said the film reinforces many of the topics discussed by the Border Institute. "The movie raises issues that are very much a part of the problems that we discuss and study in the institute. In this movie, they talk about controlling illegal migration, violence on the border and sovereignty issues. This is definitely a good fit for us," he said. Maribel Villalva may be reached at mvillalva@elpasotimes.com; 546-6129. |
