"A Better Life"
The Screen Actors Guild and the Academy of Motion Pictures both nominated Demian Bichir for his work as lead actor in the film A Better Life. I think this caught a lot of people off guard, myself included. The film was released in the summer against the dreck from Michael Bay and a Pixar sequel. Was this another quality film that was to be lost in a sea of overblown, special effects ridden flicks that had no screenplay for a backbone? Occasionally award shows are useful in that they do remind us of films that have come out prior to October. The attention that A Better Life received was well deserved as Bichir gives us a rather poignant performance.
All Carlos Galindo (Bichir) wants is to live out the American dream for himself and more importantly his son, Luis (José Julián.) Carlos wants to move to better neighborhood, to a bigger house, own his own business, and have Luis attend a better school. What's holding him back? Carlos is an illegal immigrant who has been living in this country for fourteen years. He works as a landscaper just making enough to barely get by. Luis doesn't have a whole lot of respect for his father or school. The prospects of joining a gang intrigue him. Could this lead to a better life?
Luis' ideas and attitude differ greatly from his father's. When Carlos' employer sells him his work truck, Carlos sees greener pastures on the horizon. This is the first step in right direction for the Galindo's. Unfortunately when the truck is stolen any sort of hopes and dreams of striving to be something better are dashed away. Carlos and Luis must come together to reclaim what was once theirs and in the process gain respect for each other.
A Better Life is good character piece that examines a typical father son relationship that we have seen before. On one side you have Luis who sees little point in going to school or even graduating for that matter. He looks around and sees everything as the glass is half empty. He questions everything, even his own existence. Carlos wants to make his son understand all the sacrifices he had to make when moving to United States. He wants Luis to understand his heritage and where he comes from. Carlos wants to be proud of his son and in a way atone for all the failures he did to himself prior to Luis' birth.
Director Chris Weitz gets very strong performances from his two leads. Bichir gives such a heartfelt and moving portrayal of a father who's struggling on a number of levels to keep his family and life together. Julián holds his ground quite well against Bichir. The two have believable chemistry together which is why their story is interesting to watch. The story itself is nothing special. It’s their performances that keep this film together.
A Better Life does have an agenda. It addresses the ever going concern of illegal immigrants living in this country under the radar. I think regardless of how you feel on the subject matter this subject matter doesn’t detract too much from the film. The issue is present but not necessarily crammed down our throats. Carlos and Luis just happen to be of Latino descent. The characters themselves and the goals they are trying to achieve throughout the film could be interchangeable with any race of people.
I don’t feel sorry the characters because it’s clear how they got to where they are and the situation they have put themselves in. The risks are real. The situation is plausible. There are a number of quality scenes that depict challenges and hardships that some people face in the this country every day. A Better Life does a fine job of keeping true to the themes of family and togetherness. This is a choice piece of entertainment that features some fine acting.
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