Bella
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Movie Reviews of Bella
Movie Review: combines a moral message with high artistic execution
Summary: 5 Stars
Bella is the best movie I've seen all year. Oddly, the origin of the movie was the intention of the writers/producers to make a film that presents a positive role model of strong Latino families (in this case, a family of Puerto Rican/Mexican origin). It also has a strong pro-life message. But often when filmmakers set out to send a message, the art gets compromised on the way to beating you over the head with it. The Ultimate Gift for example, while it didn't completely beat you over the head, did seem more contrived, and the lead's acting wasn't always tops.
Every good movie is of necessity a contrivance. The trick is to make it seem utterly natural, living and breathing. That's a function of the script and acting. There's a very short scene in Bella with two brothers -- in the beginning, there isn't even any dialogue. They just sit at the counter eating, and one elbows the other, the other elbows the first brother back, back and forth, back and forth. It tells more than words ever could. Simple, natural, and it rings perfectly true. The whole movie has that sort of effortless genuine feeling. The family message and the pro-life message is preached in the softest way, like those pro-life TV commercials the Mormons ran a few years ago.
The majority of Bella takes place in the space of a day and a half. A restaurant on the streets of New York is preparing for a big meal, the boss ordering all the staff around. We see a young woman at the drugstore, then at home, taking a pregnancy test -- Nina is a waitress at the restaurant, and when she finally gets to work, the boss complains that this is her third time late, and she's fired. The chef at the restaurant (the boss's brother), witnesses this. Nina runs off, but she's dropped something, and the chef picks it up and runs after her. He spends the day with Nina, and being a friend to her in time of need will change both of their lives...
A great deal of the artfulness of this movie is how much is left out of the story of the two main characters. The chef had a major disaster in his life a few years before, an accident that derailed his life plans and it still haunts him. We see the incident in some relatively brief flashbacks. And Nina tells a bit of her life story, but without a lot of detail. The ending is also very subtle and not completely fleshed out. It only shows what you need to see for the emotional resolution of the story.
Bella won the Toronto International Film Festival's People's Choice Award in 2006, an honor given to films like Chariots of Fire, Strictly Ballroom, Hotel Rwanda, The Princess Bride, and The Big Chill. It deserves to be in that league.
If this isn't enough to recommend it, it is also a family movie, without sleaze and language, featuring characters who model the values of family, respect, kindness, and helping others.
Movie Review: One Day...3 Lives Changed
Summary: 5 Stars
Of all the movies, I saw in 2007, Bella was by far my favorite. It is arguably the best independent film I've ever seen. With too many glowing compliments like these, it could be easy for this movie to fall victim to expectations that were just too high. This is an independent movie, a labor of love that was made at just about $3 million. A friend who had seen it told me, "The acting isn't perfect. The script isn't perfect. But you leave the movie a better person. It is a love story without a romance." That is a pretty good review in a nutshell, and lowered my expectations just enough to be completely impressed by the acting and story in Bella. The conclusion is sublime. This movie resonates in your soul long after you leave the theater. That is a rare accomplishment. So while it is not of the highest filmmaking caliber, this movie continues to capture the hearts of audiences, already grossing $7 million (in a very limited release) and winning the Toronto International Film Festival's only honor, the People's Choice Award. (Notable past recipients include Hotel Rwanda, Whale Rider, Amelie, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Life is Beautiful. An impressive track record of inspiring movies.) That is where the awards ended though. It is sad that such a unique movie has received such little mainstream attention and recognition. It would be very easy to let this movie slip by, but I encourage you to seek it out.
In case you haven't already heard, Bella is the story of a waitress that finds out she is pregnant and the cook who tries to convince her to have the baby. The themes of the movie are definitely Christian, but I'm hesitant to call it a "Christian movie" because it is not sappy or preachy or inhabited by black and white characters. It is a human movie. It is real and authentic with complex characters who each struggle with their brokenness. I went in expecting to like this movie because of what it stood for. I left loving it because of its quality. The cinematography deserves to be singled out. Intimate, gorgeous lensing lends itself to the story with subtle beauty. For a feature film debut, director Alejandro Gomez Monteverde deserves to be applauded.
I think the perfect way to experience Bella would be to have about 3 friends over for dinner, eat rich food, watch the movie, and discuss your thoughts afterward over a glass of wine. My wife is also planning to use it with our church's youth group when it is finally released on DVD. Bella will uplift you and make you think about providence at the same time. It takes the expression "Everything happens for a reason" and makes it visible on film.
Movie Review: A Film That May Move You To Tears
Summary: 5 Stars
BELLA is one of those unpredictable films that usually may not get noticed amidst an array of movie choices to watch. As the title states, it is a film about love that is deeply rooted love between friends and family. And it is a film about living, then losing, but regaining the American dream; we see the dream lived by one Puerto Rican-Mexican American family, which reveals their rich culture of family, food, language, and religion. Although most of the film is spoken in English, there are a few scenes in Spanish accompanied with subtitles. And it is fitting that the film takes place within the so-called melting pot that is New York City.
BELLA runs a little over 90 minutes, but there are plenty of complexities within the storyline. The film also confronts the issue of perceptions, and how people perceive one another without complete communication. As the film proceeds, the character's stories are intricately told in quick snapshots. The most interesting aspect of the film is how it starts at a fast pace revealing fragments of the main characters' lives, Jose (Eduardo Verastegui), a Chef, and Nina (Tammy Blanchard), a waitress, who work for Jose's brother, Manny (Manny Perez). One day Nina is 20 minutes late for work because she was very ill; unfortunately she gets fired without having to completely explain her situation -- she's pregnant. And this incident begins the film, and Nina's constant pondering of what to do with the rest of her life, keep the child or abort it, and Jose confronting his demons of a past life he left behind four years ago.
There are plenty of moving scenes in the film that tug at the heartstrings. However, there are two scenes that stood out. One of them is when Nina and Jose walk along the street and talk to a blind man who makes paper origami figures, and offers Nina a figure that looks like a frog. Not knowing that he is blind, it is only when he asks Nina to describe to him what the city streets look like, that she realizes his blindness, and the second is the surprise ending of the film. It is scenes like these that make the littlest or biggest tokens of kindness more meaningful in one's life.
Alejandro Gomez Monteverde wrote and directed Bella, and the film won the People's Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival. After watching the film, it is worthy of an Academy Award nomination as well. Indeed, this is a gem of a film that any movie viewer may want to get a glimpse because of its excellent storytelling and film making.
Movie Review: Bella
Summary: 5 Stars
A story of a young waitress (Nina) who finds out she is pregnant, who on the same day looses her job because she is late, and (Jose) head chef (brother to the owner of the restaurant) who walks out on his job to see if he can help her. Nina is sure that abortion is the only way for her to solve her problems. Jose has flashbacks to a terrible accident that changed the course of his life forever, but also made him more open to looking at the people around him, and making him care for them. Nina and Jose spend the day together, finding out about each other's pasts, dreams they both had, and becoming friends. Jose trying to convince Nina that her baby deserves a chance to live, and that if she doesn't want to be a mom, she should at least give it up for adoption vs an abortion.
My two cents worth I liked it. The movie was a bit fast paced in my opinion, with lots of flashbacks and flash forwards (in most movies you don't often see where the characters imagine what might happen). It made it a bit hard for me to keep up, I did understand it all when the film was done, but it just seemed a bit choppy some times. Scene changes were a bit dramatic sometimes too, often with a bit of extra noise, or flashes of light. This didn't make it bad, just a bit startling sometimes. I think that the accident scene (I won't spoil it and tell you what happened) was well done, it gave you enough details that you understand what happened, and you feel great empathy for those involved, but you don't go away sick because there are too many details. The ending is great!! Not exactly what I expected, but very happy. It also left a bit to the imagination (there were 4 of us watching it, and we didn't all agree with what the ending meant. . . that is nice sometimes).
Over all, I liked the movie, honestly wouldn't pick it as a movie to watch over and over, but I wouldn't have a problem watching it a second time either. There were also no sex scenes or swearing - a big bonus for me
Rated PG (due to the accident scene I think. . .)
*Note: I am writing this review because I want to; no one connected to this movie or Amazon.com has paid me to write it. All opinions are mine.
**note: My husband thinks this has the feel of an `independant film'
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Movie Review: Saving More Lives Than You'd Think
Summary: 5 Stars
Eduardo Verastegui and Tammy Blanchard give brilliantly moving performances in the sweet but serious "Bella." It's the story of two people who become close friends due to a series of life-changing events. Blanchard plays Nina, a recently fired mother-to-be who befriends Jose (Verastegui), a former-soccer-star-turned cook. The pair spend the day together as Nina is debating on whether or not to keep her baby. As the story unfolds, we learn a lot about both of them. Nina meets Jose's wonderful family who have a great life together. Jose opens up to Nina about his past, and why he's a cook and not playing professional soccer. In the end, the pair share something that's greater than any run-of-the-mill love story ending.
"Bella" features an excellent cast that includes Manny Perez as Jose's restaurant-running brother. Ali Landry has a brief role in the film, but gives one of the most heart-tugging performances in the film. When Nina (and viewers) is introduced to Jose's family, the performances of the actors show just how powerful family bonds can be presented on the screen.
Director Alejandro Monteverde keeps things moving at a slow (but never boring) pace. The viewer is given just enough pieces of the puzzle to keep them interested in the story and just enough hints to make them wonder as to what happened to Jose that ended his soccer career. The music is also very nice.
The film received a PG-13 rating for thematic elements and brief disturbing images. The primary topic at hand is abortion, so there's nothing light about the thematic elements. The disturbing images come via Jose's confession as to what happened to him that made him go to work for his brother. Young children should not see these images. They are executed to perfection and will move many people to tears, especially if you have a family. There's also a deep and refreshing Catholic undertone to the whole story.
In the end, I'm betting that people will either love this film for being so positive or hate it for what they might perceive as being preachy. Whichever camp you might reside in, do give "Bella" a chance. It's a positive film in a world that's littered with negatives. Highly recommended.