Since this is the first example review I've had so far, I figured that this was a good opportunity to explain why I'm counting Biutiful (one of the foreign film nominees of 2010) as a 2011 movie. I've decided to use a simple rule that I've seen a few others use: if I had absolutely no opportunity to see the movie before March, then I count it as a 2011 movie. For some other examples, all of the 2010 foreign film nominees except Dogtooth will count as movies of 2011 as well as Barney's Version, Uncle Boonmee, and Rubber. Anyways, I just thought I should mention that here.
Starring: Javier Bardem
Language: Spanish
On Blu-Ray + DVD: May 31, 2011
On Blu-Ray + DVD: May 31, 2011
Well, Biutiful is my first foreign film from 2011, and it was a damn good one to start with. Though it may be a bit tedious for some (especially in the first hour), I thought Biutiful was a wonderfully depressing film containing one of the best acting performances I've seen in quite a while.
Biutiful's plot focuses on that anyone should be able to relate to: our own mortality. The main character, Uxbal (played by Javier Bardem), is diagnosed with terminal cancer and told that he does not have long to live. Following this, the film centers around Uxbal's attempts at coping with this news, from denial to depression and everything in between. Uxbal's journey roughly follows the five common stages of grief (denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance) and their consequences on his family, his friends, and his job.
The theme of mortality is handled perfectly in Biutiful. I was constantly asking myself how I would handle that situation, and the things that Uxbal says and does actually make sense in the context of his life. We see him try to hide his illness from his children so as not to upset them, especially since he grew up without a father figure too. The relationship between Uxbal and his children is heartbreaking and there were two or three scenes that really touched me. Uxbal also tries to help out his employees with the time he has left, which makes sense once we see the emotional attachment he has with every single one of them. The film is bookended with a scene in the middle of the woods that relates to this theme of death, and, though I won't ruin the scene for you, it is deeply moving and beautifully shot. I absolutely loved how Inarritu handled this weighty issue.
I was also impressed with how many mysteries Inarritu was able to juxtapose within this story. One of Uxbal's businesses is paying off policemen for a gang of illegal immigrants so that they turn a blind eye to drug trafficking. The more interesting of his two jobs is helping hide and find work for a group of illegal Chinese immigrants. This subplot leads to both the most worthless and the most surprising parts of the film. I'll leave the surprise as a surprise, but there is a weird subplot involving two Chinese men who run a sweatshop and are homosexual lovers. One is happily married while the other is trying to break up that marriage. It's an interesting plot, but it has no impact at all on Uxbal and seems very out of place within this film.
My other big complaint about Biutiful is that the first hour is very dull. Other than finding out that Uxbal has terminal cancer, the rest of that hour is spent merely introducing all of the great elements that make the rest of the film so wonderful. I understand that you can't just leap into the conclusions of the plot without first explaining how you got there, but so much of the first hour is just Bardem walking around or looking at something. It obviously did not ruin the film for me; I just wish that it had been more interesting.
Speaking of Bardem, he puts forward a stunning performance as Uxbal that, in my opinion, should have won him the Best Actor Oscar from the list of nominees. His performance feels extremely personal; if you told me that he actually has terminal cancer, I'd almost believe you. Uxbal, in the hands of the wrong actor, could have been a flat, boring character, or, on the opposite end, a caricature of emotions; Bardem finds the perfect middle ground between these two. He displays outward emotions, like many men in real life, only when Uxbal is alone or under stress, but his facial expressions let us know that, even when he is composed, Uxbal could break down at any minute. Bardem was able to bring a sense of realness to Uxbal, and this performance is the only one I've seen this year that deserves any special mention. Hence this paragraph.
Biutiful is, well, a beautiful film. Bardem's performance as Uxbal is moving, as is the way Inarritu handled the theme of mortality. The first hour is overlong and, at times, boring, but maybe it had to be that way so that the rest of the film could be so great. It's not packed full of action, and it's in Spanish, but if you're willing to overlook these bad excuses, Biutiful is a film you need to see.
Biutiful's plot focuses on that anyone should be able to relate to: our own mortality. The main character, Uxbal (played by Javier Bardem), is diagnosed with terminal cancer and told that he does not have long to live. Following this, the film centers around Uxbal's attempts at coping with this news, from denial to depression and everything in between. Uxbal's journey roughly follows the five common stages of grief (denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance) and their consequences on his family, his friends, and his job.
The theme of mortality is handled perfectly in Biutiful. I was constantly asking myself how I would handle that situation, and the things that Uxbal says and does actually make sense in the context of his life. We see him try to hide his illness from his children so as not to upset them, especially since he grew up without a father figure too. The relationship between Uxbal and his children is heartbreaking and there were two or three scenes that really touched me. Uxbal also tries to help out his employees with the time he has left, which makes sense once we see the emotional attachment he has with every single one of them. The film is bookended with a scene in the middle of the woods that relates to this theme of death, and, though I won't ruin the scene for you, it is deeply moving and beautifully shot. I absolutely loved how Inarritu handled this weighty issue.
I was also impressed with how many mysteries Inarritu was able to juxtapose within this story. One of Uxbal's businesses is paying off policemen for a gang of illegal immigrants so that they turn a blind eye to drug trafficking. The more interesting of his two jobs is helping hide and find work for a group of illegal Chinese immigrants. This subplot leads to both the most worthless and the most surprising parts of the film. I'll leave the surprise as a surprise, but there is a weird subplot involving two Chinese men who run a sweatshop and are homosexual lovers. One is happily married while the other is trying to break up that marriage. It's an interesting plot, but it has no impact at all on Uxbal and seems very out of place within this film.
My other big complaint about Biutiful is that the first hour is very dull. Other than finding out that Uxbal has terminal cancer, the rest of that hour is spent merely introducing all of the great elements that make the rest of the film so wonderful. I understand that you can't just leap into the conclusions of the plot without first explaining how you got there, but so much of the first hour is just Bardem walking around or looking at something. It obviously did not ruin the film for me; I just wish that it had been more interesting.
Speaking of Bardem, he puts forward a stunning performance as Uxbal that, in my opinion, should have won him the Best Actor Oscar from the list of nominees. His performance feels extremely personal; if you told me that he actually has terminal cancer, I'd almost believe you. Uxbal, in the hands of the wrong actor, could have been a flat, boring character, or, on the opposite end, a caricature of emotions; Bardem finds the perfect middle ground between these two. He displays outward emotions, like many men in real life, only when Uxbal is alone or under stress, but his facial expressions let us know that, even when he is composed, Uxbal could break down at any minute. Bardem was able to bring a sense of realness to Uxbal, and this performance is the only one I've seen this year that deserves any special mention. Hence this paragraph.
Biutiful is, well, a beautiful film. Bardem's performance as Uxbal is moving, as is the way Inarritu handled the theme of mortality. The first hour is overlong and, at times, boring, but maybe it had to be that way so that the rest of the film could be so great. It's not packed full of action, and it's in Spanish, but if you're willing to overlook these bad excuses, Biutiful is a film you need to see.
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