Biutiful (2010)

The most recent movie of Mexican director Alejandro González Iñárritu portrays a modern-time Barcelona I didn’t know, though I could imagine it exists. In fact, this movie could have been filmed in most European countries, we all know what is going on but it’s just that we choose not to think about unpleasant things that happen around us.

I have read several times that the movie is about “a conflicted man involved in illegal dealing who struggles to take care of his two children”…or variations of it. It so happens that there is a lot more to this story, like sweatshops and exploited illegal immigrants whose lives we also get to know. This is a movie about people of all races struggling to make a living under desperate circumstances.  

Iñarritu even manages to tackle issues like bipolarity, cancer, homosexuality, adultery, murder and after-life, and yes, it all makes sense and adds to the movie.

As for the cast, Javier Bardem deserves his nomination to the Oscars, but with the script and direction this movie has, it would be hard not to do a good job. I was more surprised with the rest of the cast, since they all do a great job with solid performances. I’m thinking of Maricel Alvarez, Hanaa Bouchaib or Diaryatou Daff. Sometimes having a cast of unknown actors adds to it, because it keeps you focused in the story and on the people that are a part of it.

You will see many people describing this movie as boring, scattered, and inferior to “Babel”. It surely is a movie that demands your full attention. I saw this movie alone and I’m glad that I did that.  As for comparing it with the director’s previous work, I had a chance to re-watch Babel very recently and though I really like that movie, I think Biutiful is better. Well, I’m glad we are all different.

One last note to mention how I love the end of this movie. Or the way it begins?

Biutiful earned itself a Best Foreign Language Film Oscar nomination.

Green light!