On Saturday night, I watched Alejandro González Iñárritu's Biutiful. It was an impulsive film choise, which turned out to be an emotive experience.
The film was shot in Barcelona, Spain, and it portrayed the city in a grim way. Illegal immigrants who work for most of the day and sleep in horrible conditions; people who try to make their living in dark, small, dirty houses; two children who are growing up in an unsuitable environment; a woman who does not know how to be a "good" mother, nor a "good" wife, and cannot get away from her personal demons; and, in the centre of this dark story, a man - a man who is trying... trying to raise his children, trying to get money, trying to find a piece of love to put in the puzzle of his life, no matter how small or brief that piece may be.
The film is beautifully made, despite its sad content. Whatever good happens in the story does not last for long. A sense of futility, hopelessness, prevails... The scenes of Barcelona are far from inviting - they are depressive. Tears come to your eyes, when you realise that there is not much left to hope for.
Javier Bardem is, once again, wonderful. He is a great actor - immediate, straightforward in this acting, and very emotive. The film would not be the same without him in it. He turns it into poetry - dark, depressing, but somehow biutiful...
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