"Biutiful" - Review

Biutifully touching and heartbreaking

"Biutiful" is the fourth and newest film from Academy Award nominated Director, Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarritu, whose previous work includes of "Amores Perros", "21 Grams", and "Babel". This is his first film completely in Spanish since his debut film.

Anyone familiar with Iñarritu's work knows that he always touches on similar themes of death, love, crime, life struggles, and many other things. And "Biutiful" is no exception to the aforementioned. Javier Bardem ("No Country For Old Men") stars as Uxbal; a single father of two living in the slums of Barcelona who is involved as a middleman in the criminal underworld of said city. However, though involved in crime, Uxbal isn't like most criminals, he has compassion, heart, kindness, and incredible love for his children (whom he basically does these things for). On top of living and working in a dangerous world, Uxbal is on the brink of death after being diagnosed with cancer. So the majority film deals with him accepting his fate, reconciling, dealing with his estranged bi-polar wife, and fixing his messy life as much as he can.

My only (minor) issue with the film is the storyline, because it's something that Iñarritu has already done. However, that doesn't stop it from being a beautiful, touching, and great film overall. My biggest praise would easily go towards Javier Bardem's performance; it was very powerful, so real, and ultimately forced you to care dearly for Uxbal. It's no surprise that he's been nominated for Best Lead Actor at this year's Academy Awards (and the first ever nomination for a role in a foreign language, if I'm not mistaken). This role has officially sealed my approval of Bardem as one of the best actors today. He's impressively eclectic as he can play any role ranging from a likable criminal with morals, a charming & unorthodox artist ("Vicky Cristina Barcelona), and a relentless monster ("No Country For Old Men").

This film is completely in Spanish (with English subtitles), so if you're open-minded enough to check it out or if you already constantly view foreign films, then I recommend it; just do keep the tissues handy if you check it out because it causes many lumps in your throat. It isn't without its minor flaws but it's still one of the best films of 2010. I loved the performances, I loved the incredibly moving musical score, and I enjoyed it overall.

Score: 4/5