I saw the movie "A Better Life" on day 21 of my 34 Days of Oscar. This film has been nominated this year for an Academy Award for Best Actor for Demian Bichir."A Better Life" is the story of Carlos (Demian Bichir) and his son Luis. Carlos is a illegal immigrant working as a gardener in Los Angeles. He is working to provide his son Luis, the opportunities that he never had. When the man who runs the gardening business plans to retire, he gives Carlos two options: either go back to getting work off the streets or buy his truck and tools and start up his
own business. At first, Carlos has hesitations as he does not have a drivers license and if he gets pulled over, he will be deported back to Mexico without his son and the money he needs is considerable. Eventually, with the financial help of his sister, Carlos buys the truck and begins to feel that life is about to get much better. His son Luis is mostly indifferent to anything Carlos does and is slowly drifting towards the gang life. When, on the first day of his new business an associate steals the truck, Carlos and Luis team up to try and track the truck down.
own business. At first, Carlos has hesitations as he does not have a drivers license and if he gets pulled over, he will be deported back to Mexico without his son and the money he needs is considerable. Eventually, with the financial help of his sister, Carlos buys the truck and begins to feel that life is about to get much better. His son Luis is mostly indifferent to anything Carlos does and is slowly drifting towards the gang life. When, on the first day of his new business an associate steals the truck, Carlos and Luis team up to try and track the truck down. I think "A Better Life" is one of the best films of 2011. The story was simple but strong and emotional without ever getting cheesy or stereotypical. The directing job by Chris Weiz was quiet but effective. There were no outstanding or beautiful shots that I can recall, but instead Weiz smartly relied on the 
performances of his actors. The most surprising part of this movie was the performance by Demian Bichir. Bichir's performance of a man who is losing everything while trying to keep hold of his son was outstanding. Demian Bichir was nominated this year for an Academy Award for Best Actor and in most years this performance would be a shoo-in for the win. The performance he gives with his eyes alone is incredible. I thought Jose Julian who played Carlos's son, Luis, did a good job too. There is a simple scene near the end of the film with the 2 talking where both actors hit it out of the park. I was also to see a movie about the hispanic life filmed with so much attention to detail and without resorting to gimmicks o
r having to use any "name" actors to pull in a mainstream audience.
performances of his actors. The most surprising part of this movie was the performance by Demian Bichir. Bichir's performance of a man who is losing everything while trying to keep hold of his son was outstanding. Demian Bichir was nominated this year for an Academy Award for Best Actor and in most years this performance would be a shoo-in for the win. The performance he gives with his eyes alone is incredible. I thought Jose Julian who played Carlos's son, Luis, did a good job too. There is a simple scene near the end of the film with the 2 talking where both actors hit it out of the park. I was also to see a movie about the hispanic life filmed with so much attention to detail and without resorting to gimmicks o
r having to use any "name" actors to pull in a mainstream audience.I give "A Better Life" 4.5 out of 5 stars. I am honestly surprised and disappointed that this movie didn't get more Academy Award attention & more nominations. It is certainly better than some of the movies nominated for Best Picture this year. I would absolutely recommend this movie and look forward to the next film I see Demian Bichir act in.
1 comment:
Agreed on all counts. I voted for Bichir for a SAG Award, and think he is the most worthy candidate in his category at this year's Oscars, as well.
I do very much like Jean Dujardin -- he is wonderful to watch on screen in everything I've seen him do -- but he did not have nearly as meaty a role as Bichir. I think Dujardin excels in playing the debonair, the comedic, even the slapstick, but Bichir brought quiet simplicity and pathos to this film in a way that deserves to be honored.
The only other performance in this category I haven't seen is Oldman's, but maybe I'll try to catch that before Sunday's Oscarcast.
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