Carlos Puga tries desperately to stir up some emotion with his character-charged film Burma. Telling of a father who reappears years after abandoning his terminally ill wife and children, Puga works hard to build a relationship with the audience. Unfortunately, much to the credit of his actors and the over simplistic nature of his message, the bond never fully takes hold.
Christopher Abbott, Gaby Hoffmann, and Christopher McCann star as three siblings who share a delicate, strained relationship, most of which stems from their lack of understanding and communication. Their interactions often seem awkward and forced, and their dialogue exchanges a bit tedious as they all lack the natural flow of a genuine conversation. Maybe this was all intentional to showcase the disharmony within the family, but it generates more questions than answers, ultimately distracting from the main purpose of the film"”which isn't too clear to begin with.
The film does posses a raw tone that does create a sense of realism, especially during the middle portion of the story. But it ultimately isn't able to distract enough to make Burma enjoyable. The film's rustic feel and campy demeanor assist in drawing in the audience, but unfortunately the other qualities aren't there to take the film past the mediocre stage of content. Once all parts are unearthed and the story begins to progress, it does so with good urgency. But getting to that point proves difficult as it takes several scenes for it to find its voice, losing much of its audience in the process. Add in the fact that the story is overly simple and has very little to do with the father's untimely return, and it becomes difficult to see this film as anything other than an abrupt misfire.
While the potential was there, Puga is ultimately unable to bring everything together. As a result Burma falters quick out of the gate, leaving many wondering just why they chose to spend time with this dysfunctional family.
