Synopsis
A family in emotional turmoil is taken by surprise in this quirky adventure where an eccentric 8-year-old American boy, Wes, has an existential epiphany - He believes that he is in fact a Mongolian goat herder.
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Cast
- Vera FarmigaAlise Firth
- Jacob TremblayWes Firth
- Suraj SharmaIsmail
- Ramón RodríguezBatbayar
- Virginia MadsenVictoria
- Marton CsokasConnor Firth
- Jason Scott LeeShaman Helper
- Glynis DaviesLillian
- Valerie PlancheMaureen
- Sasha BarrySusan
Recommendations
- 80
The Guardian
We can debate if Burn Your Maps merely fetishises a different culture or holds it in true reverence, but I’d like to give it the benefit of the doubt. If nothing else, the performances are terrific all around. - 75
The Film Stage
Don’t think this story is one steeped in heavy drama from start to finish without room to breathe. Roberts’ script — written from an original idea by Robyn Joy Leff — is also very funny. - 63
RogerEbert.com
Likable yet tonally untidy. - 50
The New York Times
For all of the film’s attention to the contradictory emotional aftermath of loss, its Mongolian escape valve feels strangely obligatory — not a reason to get away from mourning, but a gimmick around which a film about bereavement was built. - 50
Los Angeles Times
It's all very strange and more than a bit silly, but somehow — even as characters travel halfway around the world — the plot never journeys anywhere that surprising. - 50
New York Post
Tremblay is charming as an eccentric kid marching to his own tune, but the film’s attention wanders like a goat separated from its herd. - 40
The Hollywood Reporter
Unfortunately, despite some fine performances and enjoyable moments, the film never manages to make its quirkiness engaging. - 30
Variety
Burn Your Maps is one of those movies that’s glib and facile and threadbare all the way through, then the ending sort of gets to you (you’d have to be made of pretty stern stuff if it didn’t), so you think back over what you’ve seen — and it’s still a crock.
