Burn Burn Burn (2015)

Rediscovering life through loss

British director Chanya Button’s feature debut, Burn Burn Burn (2015) is another interesting addition to the club of “road trip” films. The film starts with a funeral and ends on a hilltop, after a topsy turvy journey that two girls take with the ashes and video instructions, as commanded by their dead friend.

Dan, 29 years old, diagnosed with terminal cancer, has filmed himself in a string of videos — as he was trying to come to terms with his imminent death — that his friends Alex and Seph) are supposed to watch at the right time (after he is dead), just in time for their next task. They hit the road with his ashes, in a game of Simon says, played weeks later, to scatter his ashes in different parts of the country; a journey of discovery — not just about their friend, but about themselves.

Yes, it sounds a little cliched, but therein lies the success of the, then still not quite thirty, debutant director, who carries it off almost effortlessly, mixing the maudlin with screwball humor, the sublime with the ridiculous, neither seeming out of place at any point.

Alex, who has just found out that her girlfriend is cheating on her, and Seph, who’s living a relationship that has passed its sell-by date, in a sudden bout of adventure, decide to honor Dan’s last wishes. As they visit different parts of the country to scatter his mortal remains all over Britain, in places that have special meanings for him, they have experiences — some bordering on bizarre, some affirming — that would change their lives, too (just ad Dan wanted it).

The film, though, is lifted up by its two main actors — Chloe Pirrie (Alex) and Laura Carmichael (Seph) — and supported ably by the side cast. More and more, in last few months, I’ve seen movies directed by female directors who have arrived on the scene with these offbeat gems, directed competently, and acted superbly, while providing keen insights into the human experience, without being preachy. It’s good to see another director joining the gang. It’s not the greatest road-trip movie, but it has its moments, both comic and poignant, sometimes right next to each other. Definitely worth a watch.

3.5/5 (Playing on mubi right now)

#films #mubi #women-directors #british #offbeat #screwball