Burn!

In the middle of the 19th century, William Walker, an agent of the British government, is sent to the fictitious Caribbean island of Queimada. His mission: to incite the slaves working in sugar cane cultivation against the plantation owners and to convince the island's citizens and aristocrats that they would be better off without the Portuguese authorities. So Walker is to organize the overthrow of the Portuguese colonial government in order to clear the way for the British.

His plan succeeds with the help of the charismatic slave leader José Dolores, Walker leaves the island and moves on to the next location. But when Dolores and the slaves realize over time that they are being used and their situation with the British is even worsening, they rebel again. Walker returns to put down the rebellion and encounters his former pupil and ally Dolores, who is now his enemy...

In the 1960s, Marlon Brando became increasingly involved in social issues. Although his popularity waned, he attempted to create art relevant to the changing cultural landscape. During this period, Brando produced as many inconsequential as "significant" works. After the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968, however, Brando vowed to only make important, socially conscious films that could help change the world.

At the same time, Brando's long-term contract with Universal expired. He was finally free from the constraints of the conservative studio and could once again turn his attention to personal projects. Only shortly before, Brando had seen the politically radical film THE BATTLE OF ALGIERS by Italian director Gillo Pontecorvo, an incendiary and highly acclaimed chronicle of the Franco-Arab conflict. It was exactly the kind of movie Brando wanted to make.

BURN! is the result of their collaboration, a violent, difficult and passionate reckoning with Western colonialism in South America.