Genre: personal
drama
With: Javier
Bardem (Uxbal), Maricel Alvarez (his ex-wife Marambra), Hanna Bouchaib (his
daughter Ana), Guillermo Estrella (his son Mateo), Eduardo Fernández (his
brother Tito), Cheikh Ndiaye (Ekweme), Diaryatou Daff (Ige, Ekweme’s wife). Cheng
Tai Shen (Hai), Luo Jin (Liwei, Hai’s associate)
Director: Alejandro
Gonzalez Inarritu
Screenplay: Alejandro
Gonzalez Inarritu, Armando Bo and Nicolas Giacobone
Release: 2010
Studio: Mod
Producciones, Ikiru Films et al.
Rating: 14A
MBiS score: 8.5/10
The Mess You Leave
Behind
QuickView
Story-line:
when his life takes an unexpected turn, a Barcelonian wheeler-dealer tries to
do things right for the sake of his family and associates.
Pluses: a
fine cast led by a driven and brooding Javier Bardem, a complex and original
screenplay featuring multi-faceted characters, genuinely touching moments and
startling visual transitions, masterly direction, superb photography by Rodrigo
Prieto (note the dominant Sagrada
Família church), adept editing and appropriate production values.
Minuses: some scenes remain cryptic even after attentive
viewing… but they contribute to the film’s unusual, almost mystical charm.
Comments: BIUTIFUL
is a lyrical and hard-edged redemption movie whose European feel reminded me of
LES AMANTS DU PONT-NEUF and several works by the great Krzysztof Kieslowski. I
was especially impressed by Javier Bardem as a character entirely different
from his cold-blooded killer in NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN. As this film eloquently
shows, no life is ever a complete success nor an outright failure. It’s the
effort you put into it that really counts.
MBiS
© 2018 – All rights reserved