I saw Biutiful last week at the International Film Festival of Kerala where it was greeted with a standing ovation after the screening. Some may feel Biutiful boring and depressing but it will be a transcendent experience of redemption for the rest. Alejandro González Iñárritu has come up with a movie that could take you to deep trenches of despair and end up on the spiritual path with a glimpse of hope
Biutiful is one of the best movies of the year if not the best.. on par with Iñárritu's Amores Peros. It is a meditation on the dark areas of urban life
It is rich with a true socio-political image (which some might consider as a bleak world view of Iñárritu) by portraying the marginalized multi ethnic lives of Barcelona. Story is filled with bleak images of lives of Senegalese immigrants and Chinese sweatshop workers that will remain as unforgettable visuals in our minds..
Biutiful is the story of Uxbal, a terminally ill man who lives on crimes. Uxbal (played by Bardem) itself is a bridge between our world and the eternal, a man of contradictions.For example, he has a supernatural gift of speaking with the dead but ends up being purely human by charging money for it. Uxbal's wife Marambra who has bipolar disorder is a gem of a characterization. The movie has a linear narrative unlike Iñárritu's previous works. But don't expect a spoon fed Hollywood drama. Movie is deliberately ambiguous at times and open to multiple interpretations.
Good characterizations, smart script and wonderful performances along with artfully dense scenic strength of the problematic city lives, aided by great cinematography make Biutiful a brilliant experience. But the trump card of the movie is a stunning performance by Javier Bardem
Watch it for an improved version of Iñárritu and masterful acting of Bardem
It is rich with a true socio-political image (which some might consider as a bleak world view of Iñárritu) by portraying the marginalized multi ethnic lives of Barcelona. Story is filled with bleak images of lives of Senegalese immigrants and Chinese sweatshop workers that will remain as unforgettable visuals in our minds..
Biutiful is the story of Uxbal, a terminally ill man who lives on crimes. Uxbal (played by Bardem) itself is a bridge between our world and the eternal, a man of contradictions.For example, he has a supernatural gift of speaking with the dead but ends up being purely human by charging money for it. Uxbal's wife Marambra who has bipolar disorder is a gem of a characterization. The movie has a linear narrative unlike Iñárritu's previous works. But don't expect a spoon fed Hollywood drama. Movie is deliberately ambiguous at times and open to multiple interpretations.
Good characterizations, smart script and wonderful performances along with artfully dense scenic strength of the problematic city lives, aided by great cinematography make Biutiful a brilliant experience. But the trump card of the movie is a stunning performance by Javier Bardem
Watch it for an improved version of Iñárritu and masterful acting of Bardem