photo © 2010 cine davar | more info (via: Wylio)Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu is one of the most innovative working directors of our time. His films are often a mess, I don't always like them, but they do something most films don't - try to be different. I loved 21 Grams and had mixed feelings about Babel so I didn't know what to expect going into his latest Oscar-nominated foreign language film Biutiful (not a misspelling).
This film, starring Javier Bardem as Uxbal, a criminal who learns he is going to die of cancer, is a heart-felt, yet overly busy film that some are bound to love, and others, hate. Uxbal is a devoted father, caring husband in a broken marriage, and seemingly the only one of his gang of illegal merchants who has a heart. He is a part of a sales ring that sells knock-off purses and DVDs. When he learns he is going to die, he begins to make changes for the better, but most of them end up in disaster. He also has a psychic ability which the film unfortunately played like an afterthought.
Overall, this is a very sad movie. I think it's trying to say that you cannot fight destiny, even if you try. It's hard to diagnose. I really didn't like it, but I do appreciate it. Bardem gives a great performance (although Ryan Gosling was still robbed for the Best Actor nomination), but overall the film is just too glum for me to give it a blanket recontamination. I left feeling like I would never want to see it again, but on the positive side, I haven't been able to stop thinking about it. It's power is in it's devastation, and that's not usually one's idea of a good time at the movies. If you are looking for a good mind-challenging flick, try this. If you just want to relax and enjoy yourself, skip it. I would give it a 6.5 out of 10.
Parental Take: This is a very hard R rated film. There is tons of nudity, including one of the oddest stripper scenes I've ever watched (and squinted at.) There is also violence, profanity, and some disgusting urination moments.
If You Like Biutiful Try: Try watching 21 Grams - it's a better constructed story, but still not a feel good movie.
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