Biutiful
The cinema revolution, it would seem, is coming from the south. As in south of the border. While the Hollywood system seems to be content to trot out retreads and wholly unoriginal ideas to make their millions, a crop of Mexican directors strive to create a hybrid of art and entertainment- thinking people's movies- complete with stories that will stick with you well after you've left the theater.
Well... that's my understanding, at least. I haven't had the pleasure of viewing much from this up and coming group of Mexican-born filmmakers. But, from what I've heard, movies from the likes of Pedro Almodovar (Broken Embraces, Volver, Bad Education), Guillermo Del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth, Hellboy), and Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (Babel, 21 Grams, Amores Perros...and, yes, Biutiful)- among others- are not to be missed. From what I understand they all share distinct qualities of originality, truthfulness, and complexity. This all sounds good to me. Of the three I've listed, I'm only really familiar with the work of Del Toro. I enjoyed the heck out of Hellboy (Though I've only seen the first one) and Pan's Labyrinth is in my top five all-time favorite movies. I had also heard incredible things specifically about Inarritu's Amore Perros and Almodovar's Volver and Bad Education. All of these are on my "to-see" list. Needless to say, when the opportunity presented itself to check out Inarritu's latest, I jumped all over it. The added bonus in seeing Biutiful was that I got to check another Oscar nominated flick off the list (Best Actor- Javier Bardem and Best Foreign Language Film).
Biutiful certainly lived up to my expectations in a lot of ways. It was gritty, original, and above all else engrossing. That said, the story itself made for a difficult movie to watch. Depressing as all get out and often wrenching or devastating... but most importantly it was thought-provoking and, in the end, haunting. I should also add that it was often a bit confusing. Allow me to explain. The movie follows the last days of Uxbal (played by a never-better Javier Bardem), a scoundrel with a heart of gold... or working towards a heart of gold. Uxbal is a scraper. Never had much opportunity to make a good life for himself, but he's doing what he can to survive and provide for his two young children. Doing what he can includes falling into the center of a complex crime pyramid that includes illegal immigrants (to Spain), counterfeit goods, questionable construction deals, and a whole lot of scheming. And when I say he falls at the center, he really is the sole person responsible for keeping the often tenuous situation from imploding. And, as if life wasn't complicated enough, Uxbal finds out that he is dying of an aggressive case of rapidly spreading cancer. Add in an emotional wreck of a wife and the ability to commune with the dead (an ability he uses to make some money on the side) and life- or what's left of it- is nothing short of impossible. And yet, Uxbal keeps trudging on and along the way does what he can to atone for the atrocities he participates in. Like I said, scoundrel with a heart of gold. Complications arise as Uxbal's last days draw nearer and everything begins to come crashing down.
So yeah, that's the story. The tumultuous last months of a dying man whose life is falling apart- despite his efforts to keep it all together. Not the way you'd typically think you'd like to spend two and a half hours. But, like I mentioned before it was engrossing as all get out. The primary reason for this is Javier Bardem. He is flat-out mesmerizing here. He nails it: the desperation and longing, the slowly burning and slowly dying fire of a man who just wants something better for the people he cares for... and he knows that's virtually impossible. Bardem makes you feel the suffering, makes you feel his yearning for the redemption of his increasingly lost soul. Of all the haunting aspects of the movie, Bardem's performance is what linger's with the most intensity. The look in his eyes. But... it's not all doom and gloom. Bardem and Inarritu do an excellent job of capturing and showing the moments that make this struggle essential to Uxbal. In fact, witnessing the puzzle of this character's life-being able to put together the pieces of why he is who he is- is one of the best parts of the film. Rarely do filmmakers allow you to come to these places. Usually, it's all obvious or explained away too easily. Not here.. much to the audience's benefit.
This isn't to say that Inarritu crafts a perfect movie. Far from it. Yes, it is unique and spellbinding- for the most part, but it was also confusing, frustrating, and at times painfully slow. I know that Inarritu is hinting at some deeper meaning to this all. Maybe it's lost in translation. I don't know but I definitely felt like I was missing something in the end. I loved the character study and the film's willingness to explore existential questions. But was Inarritu trying to give some subtle...or hell even not so subtle and definitive answers. Can't say I picked up on it entirely. I have an idea of what it all means, but I can't say I can easily explain it. So do I actually know? That, I don't know. I guess there's nothing wrong with it, but it left me with a vague sense of confusion at the end. I suppose it just means that I'm going to have to think on it more- and considering how the thing is sticking with me, it shouldn't be difficult.
What's more of a problem is the pace. At times the movie moves incredibly slowly. Well, I shouldn't say at times. It IS an incredibly slow movie. It seems to bog down needlessly at times. I don't know if this was by design to help us better soak in the experience... if so, that might be overkill. Bardem gets the job done well enough in his performance there really wasn't any need to stall the story at certain points. I wouldn't say that it was ever really boring, per se, but it was walking a little too close to that line... and for such an otherwise engaging movie, that was a little frustrating.
In the end though, the pros outweigh the cons considerably. What's left is a largely gripping movie dominated by a hypnotic lead performance. I'll certainly take that any day of the week. Definitely looking forward to discovering what else these upstart Mexican filmmakers have in store.
Grade: A-
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