Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s “Biutiful” is an unrelenting downer although it made a strong showing in Oscar nominations this year, with a Best Foreign Film nod for the film and a Best Actor nod for Javier Bardem. The title, which comes from the daughter’s misspelling of an English word on her homework, is a steady descent into hell. Barcelona looks dingy and industrial and all of the interiors are gloomy. Every plot thread, and there are many including a police raid on illegal Senegalese immigrants and an illicit homosexual affair between Chinese bosses, gets pushed to the limits of horror. In fact, everything is so miserable that long before the movie ends (it’s two-and-a-half hours long), numbness sets in. Bardem is an exceptional actor and he does his best to create sympathy for Uxbal’s plight. Nonetheless, I just wanted this movie to end.
Uxbal is a hustler who moves around the city, securing work for illegal African and Chinese immigrants for a pair of unscrupulous sweatshop bosses. Uxbal also moonlights as a psychic whom bereaved relatives hire to communicate with the recently deceased. His two school-aged children live with him in a cramped apartment and their mother (Maricel Alvarez), a bipolar ex-addict, drifts in and out of their lives, making promises that she can’t keep. To make matters worse, Uxbal suffers from advanced prostate cancer and has only a few months to live. With “Biutiful,” Inarritu piles on so much misery that you’ll probably want to skip this one. Subtitles. 2/6/11
1 comment:
Depressing, negative films seem to be in this year with movies like "Somewhere", "Rabbit Hole" and "Blue Valentine" on the docket. Now you can add "Biutiful" to this list of downer flicks. Before I saw this movie I thought I might like to travel to Barcelona but now I'm not so sure. I think that Inarritu showed us the dregs of this historic city and the Chamber of Commerce is probably pissed. Don't bother seeing this dreadful movie.
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