NEW MOVIE REVIEW
I will try and do as many as these as I can. Reviews of new movies that most have not seen before.
Biutiful (2010)
I don't know where to begin without bawling my eyes out. I guess we can start with emotional connection then. Director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu is pretty much one of the biggest Mexican directors at the moment, and he only has made four films. His debut, Amores Perros, is described as the Mexican Pulp Fiction. His American debut, 21 Grams, gave Naomi Watts an Oscar nomination and helped bring his name to the American public. This helped him with 06's Babel, a film that made him the first Mexican director to ever be nominated for best director. There have been very high hopes for his years-in-the-making Biutiful.
Every one of Inarritu's films deal with crime and are devastatingly heavy. 21 Grams, for instance, is a jumbled-up-plot line film where you experience a non linear sequence of happiness being shattered by death, and at the beginning of the film no one knows what is going on (until all is explained at the end). This, like all of his films, is a crime film that tries to connect to the audience as best as it can. But how can it? Not many people are criminals, surprisingly (unless you count downloading but that's redundant for this review). Amores Perros dealt with shock. 21 Grams used a jumbled plot to get the audience guessing and involved. Babel used current events. As fantastic as all of these films are, I always had a sense that Inarritu never reached his full potential.
Until Biutiful.
His first Spanish film since Amores Perros, Biutiful is yet again a crime film. However it is not your conventional crime drama. This film is far more complex in terms of plot and human psyche. Inarritu decided to be very risky with this film, as before he tried to appeal to the masses to get his name out. Now, he wants the audiences to come to him. Only one big named star in this film, and that's Javier Bardem, of whom was unfortunately almost unknown to the mainstream world until 2007, when No Country For Old Men shook the world. He has been an incredible actor far before then, however, including 2000's Before Night Falls. So now with his recent fame, Bardem is the only eye catcher, apart from Inarritu himself, for conventional film goers. How does a film as risky as this pay off? As being one of the year's best, and possibly the foreign language film of the year.
Bardem is Uxbal: A middle aged father of two who lives in the crime ridden streets in Spain. Apart from fathering his own children (of whom he raises with their bi-polar, time bomb mother), he organizes various groups of people, such as an underground Asian group, a set of construction workers, and a poor African family. He has so many responsibilities as he illegally shelters the African family, and puts himself in a bad place with the Asian market. This is just the beginning.
The catch of the film is that not only does he father all of these "communities", he has just discovered that he has terminal cancer and that he only has weeks to live. Uxbal decides to devote as much time to his loved ones as he can, but things only get worse and worse for him.
I see this film as a modern day, Spanish "Philadelphia". It is not a courtroom drama or a story about a taboo subject that begs for debate. This is simply a man dying of cancer. How it is like Philadelphia, however, is that the audience literally witnesses the slow decline of men who were once visibly healthy. It's absolutely terrifying to do so, and like Tom Hanks, Javier Bardem is a tour-de-force. Also like Tom Hanks, not only should Bardem be nominated, but if he does not win I will be severely disappointed and appalled. There have been many wonderful male lead roles this year, ranging from Colin Firth, Jesse Eisenberg, Leonardo DiCaprio, James Franco, and others. But this role was the first to grab me by the veins of my heart and beg me to join them in their final hour. Although none of the other males were in movies about death (some survival, though), Bardem is still very far in the front for the best of the year; as great as the other actors were, of course.
Before I get sidetracked, I just want to commend one final thing, even though everything about this film was spotless (I will leave that for you to discover for yourself, though): Its fantastic use of the three-act structure. This is the sole purpose why Biutiful is Inarritu's best and most connective story. The first act is the back story of Uxbal's importance. The second act is complete misfortune and the, not gradual, but very steep downfall into the depths of human sorrow. This is the award winning part that comes up, though: The third act. The third act of picking ones self back up, even soon before death, and appreciating what life is truly about. You witness a man who can barely stand or breath anymore trying to live his life as happily as he can and succeeding. Absolute brilliance, and not a better ending could be asked for.
Biutiful is what its name is (forgive the corniness but it is true). An exquisite examination of human strength, love, mentality, and courage. When the version with subtitles is released on dvd/blu ray (which is in late December I believe), I suggest every single person should watch this once. Is it the best of the year? It's a bit early to tell, but it is top five material for sure. Inception is this year's action flick. The Social Network is this year's script writing wonder. The Town is this year's crime drama. Biutiful is this year's celebration of life and its purpose.
Final Rating: 9.8/10