Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (2005)

Western/Drama - directed by Tommy Lee Jones - takes place in Western Texas and Northern Mexico. Careless border guard shoots an illegal Mexican (named Melquiades Estrada) and looks as if he will get away with it. But the Mexican has a good friend in Pete (Tommy Lee Jones) who calmly and deliberately arranges for proper revenge and a kind of atonement. Action involves Pete kidnapping the border patrol man - forcing him to carry Estrada's dead body into Mexico all the way to Estrada's hometown for proper burial. Much adventure on the way as border patrolman attempts multiple escapes, gets bit by a rattlesnake, faces hunger and thirst, sunburn, etc. Lovely photography of the scenery in Northern Mexico, and fine acting by Tommy Lee and border patrolman (Pete Perkins) - we see gradual transformations in character. 2 hrs.