Biutiful (2010)

Biutiful (2010)
Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu
Writer: Alejandro González Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone
Cast: Javier Bardem, Maricel Álvarez, Hanaa Bouchaib, Diaryatou Daff
This is a story of a man in free fall. On the road to redemption, darkness lights his way. Connected with the afterlife, Uxbal is a tragic hero and father of two who's sensing the danger of death. He struggles with a tainted reality and a fate that works against him in order to forgive, for love, and forever.

Bleak depressing tale about a man's struggle to get by when everything he attempts goes wrong, eventually turning him inward on himself. It plays out much like a classic blues song dealing chiefly in how much one man can lose and his hardship of living in a struggling environment. The always fantastic Javier Bardem plays Uxbal a man whom never knowing his own father wants better for his own two children. He has to deal with single parenthood since becoming estranged from his drug addicted bipolar wife (who's now shacked up with his sleazy brother). To keep his family going Uxbal tries to manage various aspects of an illegal Chinese run sweat shop. His job involves protecting the street vendors who sell the wares to the illegal immigrants who make them. If things wasn't bad enough for the hapless man he also needs to deal with having incurable cancer, and how his eventual death will affect his two children.

So then Biutiful isn't trying for feel good movie of the year. It is downbeat and even boring at times but it's still a mighty powerful story. Modern master Alejandro González Iñárritu manages to rise the film away from it's kitchen sink/gutter depths to a place that feels very human and real. Even though its an harsh journey, the end is truly epic with Uxbal's character finally getting the peace and resolve he so yearned for. Most people I've spoke about it with didn't like the film very much, but I really did and would whole heartedly recommend it. The performances are fantastic especially those by the legendary Javier Bardem and new comer Diaryatou Daff who plays the street vendors wife whom ends up looking after Uxbal. Ohh by the way the title Biutiful is a misspelling Uxbal gives his daughter when he's helping her with her homework, no doubt a reference to never really knowing beauty himself. Here's looking forward to Iñárritu's next feature hope its not too long away.

(8 out of 10)