Sonnia and I went to see Biutiful last night.So many things to say about this incredibly sad, overwhelmingly emotional film...I didn't have any prior expectations of it (admittedly done on purpose so that I wouldn't be clouded with other people's opinions), but I knew that it would be sad and that I would most likely cry in the theater. Well, turns out I more than cried-- I was choking back sobs at some parts of the film.It really stirred up some deeper emotions in me and I left the theater feeling simultaneously happy to be alive and fearing the future death of loved ones.

I'd seen Alejandro González Iñnáritu's Amores Perros years ago and was fascinated by his triptych storytelling and depiction of gritty Mexican life (It was also when I first fell in love with Gael García Bernal). Amores Perros is probably my favorite of his films, even though 21 Grams and Babel were equally good and just as compelling. However, Biutiful just blew me away. Set in Barcelona, I was instantly nostalgic for living in Spain again, even though González Iñnáritu never really shows a sunny side of the city, only gloominess and gritty ways of living. I like how he shows the audience how people can live life in 3 very non-conventional ways, but still function on a daily basis. Javier Bardem's character Uxbal steadfastly tries to maintain a stable life for his children despite encountering numerous challenges.

Not only was I drawn into the life of Uxbal, I was also drawn into the lives of both the immigrant Chinese and African workers portrayed in the film. Since working at an immigrant agency for the past year or so, I have an increased awareness of the challenges immigrants face and watching this film made me remember the numerous Chinese and African immigrants I encountered while living in Spain. Due to the language barrier (I don't speak Mandarin and was also very shy to speak Spanish), I wasn't able to communicate much with them, but I can only imagine what sort of struggles they had to go through in order to survive in Spain.
In Biutiful, the Chinese immigrants work in a sweatshop-like environment under horrible conditions, and I also couldn't help but think that almost all of the products/clothing that people buy that are cheap and available are made by people in those same horrible conditions all over the world. I'll go ahead and plug this now: Be more conscious of where you buy your goods. I know it's hard sometimes, and trust me, even I have trouble with this, but there's a reason why that really pretty shirt is only $3. How much do you think that person in Cambodia was paid to make that really pretty shirt? Sometimes it's better to pay more for something that has been made fairly and is sustainable at the same time. Just what I think...

Anyways, I apologize for the slight rambling of this post, but I wanted to share my thoughts on this amazing film and as usual, I wrote with my heart and not with the clear-cut editing I should have used in composing this review.

I guess the main point is, I'm encouraging you to go see Biutiful.

I'm still thinking about it.