User reviews

This film is a must watch for every person in the world.. Brilliant storyline... Mind blowing performances from every single character, however small part they were playing. Kudos to the director.. Pls let there me more of such films...

This film had become my white whale in recent years. It has taken me literally 5 years to see it. It's criminal how obscure Burn Your Maps has become - particularly given the incredible performances.

It felt unique and quirky. A young boy (Tremblay) becomes fixated on the idea he's a Mongolian goat herder who belongs in a Mongolian village. Through the ingenuity of his new friend Ismail (Sharma) he's able to venture to Mongolia with his grieving Mum (Farmiga) coming along too.

Burn Your Maps is as much about the grieving process and family, as it is being your authentic self. All elements work quite well together - it could even be categorised as a travel or adventure film. It's moving and emotional, while not falling too far into overly-sentimental moments.

Farmiga and Tremblay are at their best. The scenery is stunning (Canada stepping in for Mongolia). It's a beautiful film on many levels, with the incredible landscapes and cinematography adding to what is a touching story.

Glad I finally found this and was able to watch it. Gets you thinking about life, your identity and where you want to go. Burn Your Maps is a refreshing film in a cinematic era riddled with superheroes and reboots. Will check out the short story (of which this is based) by Robyn Joy Leff now!

I was surprised in the amount of movies that kid Jacob Tremblay already played. At his young age he's already been is some good movies, even an excellent one like Room. In Burn Your Maps he's still only eleven but already a delight to watch. His character was funny and cute, it's what made this movie worth watching. The rest of the cast was also good with Vera Farmiga and Suraj Sharma playing the other two main characters. The story is just funny, a kid wanting to be a Mongolian and even though the Mongolian scenes are filmed in Alberta, Canada it looked like it could have been in Mongolia. Nice cinematography, very good acting and a pleasant story, Burn Your Maps got it all.

This film tells the story of a young boy who has an obsession with him being a Mongolian nomad.

The story is already really good during the first fifteen minutes, and it gets even better as it goes along. The story is incredibly moving, and contains profound wisdom. The line saying that we come with nothing is just amazing. Who would have thought an indie film would be so wise and beautiful. I definitely recommend watching this.

Enjoyable fantasy about real problems dealt with in an innovative and interesting way. Vera Farmiga is good.

This is the kind of movie the world needs. One that is simple and yet crazy at the same time. Like who even sits down and thinks. "Hmmm, how about a movie/book about a young white American boy who thinks he is Mongolian"? This is originality at it's finest! This may be one of the most underrated films in the past decade and I so wish for it to be seen by more people. This movie will make you laugh, it will make you cry, it will make you cringe, and make you smile; and feel all of these different emotions at the same time! I can not by any means, do this film enough justice in describing it. All I can do is encourage everyone that I can to watch this film. It will make your day, trust me!

It really shows how family was affected by the children. Every members of the family is responsible for everything that's happening in a family. It was suppose to be a children's show.

Utterly beautiful, speechlessly brilliant.

I understand there aren't very many women directors, and there's a movement to encourage, so I reserve my final point in support of that worthy effort.

I totally recommend this for those who want a underlying heavy drama with a light portrayal. It's an adventure type of movie where the surroundings and characters evolve, so much dynamic that you can watch this movie many times and still enjoy it.

This was disturbing in many ways. Just because someone experiences grief in a different way doesn't make them bad. They left out the father completely in this movie. The little boy, max was annoying, why would you let a little boy dictate how you act towards others? I hated the mother. So selfish.

Within 5 minutes of the beginning of this film, my wife leaned over and whispered, "I love this film." I had just been thinking the same thing. "Burn Your Maps" is incredibly well written, acted, and directed. You don't realize in the first 5 minutes that the director is going to take you on a journey that will skillfully stir so many emotions, but that is exactly what Jordan Roberts does. The characters, brilliantly portrayed by Vera Farmiga, Jacob Tremblay, and others, are all lost in their own way and spend the film journeying to find themselves and to be found by others. Movies that touch on so many emotions can often seem manipulative of the viewer. Not this one. That's where "Burn Your Maps" really shines. It is incredibly crafted to take you on the journey. I'm usually really time sensitive on movies, very aware if parts seem to drag or are uneven. Honestly, I have no idea how long this movie lasted. From those first five minutes through the closing credits, I was immersed in the story that kept me at a pleasing state of "feeling". Go see this movie. You'll be glad you did.

I enjoyed this film, from start to finish. It was a wonderful story of lost souls, and many of us can relate to this concept of just not fitting in. The boy who starred in this film did a great job of portraying someone, who is lost in a fantasy world, due to real life tragedy, being a bit much to handle. Vera Farmiga did a lovely job as his supportive and understanding mother, though she was attempting to deal with the same family tragedy, in her own way. Martin Csokas was exceptional, as usual. A major talent. The wonderful Virginia Madsen had a great, though brief part. All the talent was outstanding.

The direction, soundtrack, performances, script, and editing were excellent. Why can't Hollywood make more films like this one. No car chases. No inane leaps of faith. Just a good, solid, heartfelt story.

They have immature kids brains and simply don't get the complexities of adult life. This movie is garbage. The kid would be so picked on at school. Kids need to be taught, kids don't tell adults what to do.

This delightful film is a complete fantasy, especially once it leaves its urban setting for an entirely imaginary world of sun-drenched steppes and gambolling goats, full of benevolent, wise, leisured folks who queue up as soon as they are introduced to become our heroes' new best friends and mentors. It's all far too pleasant to be believable, but you would need a heart of the purest mud not to be taken in anyway. For all its wishful thinking, the story achieves the prerequisite for fantasy: it makes you want to know where this place is so that you can move there. The script is also often funny, and the actors are uniformly excellent.

The film has been criticised for not featuring enough Mongolian characters doing authentic Mongolian things, but I think that is missing the point of the story. This is not about actual Mongolia and its people, but about the vast open spaces, exciting and unknown, that open up in front of a nine-year old, just as his parents are seeing their own vistas suddenly shuttered by a personal disaster. This new world is only Asian and exotic in ways that are accessible to the child: grand scenery, semi-free farm animals, people who live in tents, unfamiliar language. But the emotional connections the boy and his mother make while there are, naturally, with people that they could have met in America. On the contrary, it is the other characters, coming over with no expectations, who find answers there to the questions that they did not know how to ask.

Everything rotates around Wes. Wes is a spoilt brat.

Like other reviewers here, I saw this movie at TIFF in 2016 and it has stayed with me since. It is an exceptional story with brilliant performances. I check this page every so often to see if it's picked up distribution. DEAR NETFLIX: please please please acquire the rights to this movie so I can see it again!

This is my first ever IMDB review.... that's how much I need to see this movie again.

"Burn Your Maps" is one of those perfect films, a rarity in today's market where too many films leave you feeling nothing. Not so with "Burn Your Maps." The story alone will stay with you for many heartbeats. In fact, you'll probably observe that many adults are not as intuitive or as open as Wes, 9 years old, and one of the main characters in the film. I rarely rate a film as 10, but the acting, the writing, the directing and the cinematography all come together and create a wonderful cinematic moment that will resonate with the viewer forever.

Great actors and actresses. But so wrong about mongolian nomad life. Everything is so inaccurate. Biggest one is: WE DO NOT EAT BABY ANIMALS!!!!

Get an advisor or real mongolian person to correct the facts.

Can't watch it.

So keeping your job and trying to overcome tragedy is not proper? The best way is yo keep in touch with your spirituality and feelings while letting your children tell you how to live and behave all the way around. Huh?? What a bunch of crap. It's like Hollywood moarning 101. Jejeje.

Just as everyone experiences happiness differently, so do they experience grief. This movie tenderly reminds us of that. You don't have to agree all the time, but at least understand that what is best is what's best for YOU. This was beautifully acted and Jacob Tremblay certainly has a future ahead of him.

Just because you believe you are something doesn't make it so. Next the boy will think he's a female and have to "make the change". ................................................................................................................

I am one to shed a tear at an emotional movie but this one had me sobbing with pure emotional bliss. Profound truths are revealed. A simple change of perspective can transform soul level pain into blissful joy. Simple, yet profound truth.