Rated R for disturbing images, language, some sexual content, nudity and drug use
Cast: Javier Bardem, Marcel Alvarez, Eduard Fernandez, Diarytou Daff, Cheng Taishen
Director: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu
In our life's journey, our choices are far more important than our pace. We have greater control over our choices.
It's a noble thought, wanting to make every life decision the right one. On our own personal existential avenues, however, we learn down the road that life's right decisions will invariably amend themselves into more appropriate and necessary decisions. Then one day we're hit with the cold reality that the right decisions and the necessary decisions often take on vastly different forms.
This is especially true for Uxbal (Javier Bardem), a survivalist of sorts on the streets
crisscrossing the seedy underbelly of Barcelona. Alejandro Gonzales Innaritu's "Buitiful" is the harrowing story of Uxbal's attempt to make the best choices for his children as prostate cancer rapidly eats away at his life. The film's strength comes from the belief that solidifying one's relationships is the safest passage to the beyond, even for those who have few relationships to begin with. (After all, legacies are merely contemplated during mid-life crises. I imagine the emotional and spiritual health of your loved ones is contemplated during the final days of your life.)
We know early on Uxbal is facing a medical crisis. He is being examined in a clinic. The doctor informs him that blood needs to be taken, then leaves the room as a lab assistant enters. She proceeds to draw blood, but Uxbal doesn't trust her. ("Is the syringe clean? Here, get me another one. Let me do it.") It's a strong opening, telling us almost everything we need to know about Uxbal...
He has grown up on the streets. He knows the dangers. The atmosphere. The aggression. The consequences of various actions. Uxbal is a study in occupational duality. We learn his primary means of support is a variegated buffet of illegal acts... most notably human trafficking. He seems like the shadiest of characters until we see him with his family. Here he takes on the persona of devoted family man, and we come to understand that his involvement in illegal transgressions was how he must have survived his youth on those very same streets. We're told he never knew his father, and his mother passed away when he was six. He doesn't remember her.
After hearing the grim diagnosis, Uxbal makes a series of decisions to help his children after he's gone. Some are good, like taking in the wife (Diaryatou Daff) of a Senegalese immigrant recently deported. Some not so good, like reuniting with his estranged wife (Maricel Alvarez), a bipolar disorder sufferer who works as either a masseuse or more, depending on her need for money. We also learn that Uxbal has a kind of clairvoyant ability... he accepts monetary sums for communicating with the recently departed.
The emotional crux of the story hinges on one particular decision Uxbal makes. It's a choice made not out of greed, but because his children will need the money after his death. I won't reveal the decision, but it does have truly horrific consequences. Uxbal is devastated. How can he enter the afterlife with a heart so burdened?
Alejandro Gonzales Innarritu ("Amores Perros", "21 Grams", "Babel") is a wildly innovative storyteller, though his filmmaking techniques do sometimes gravitate toward self-indulgence. "Biutiful" is mostly skilled in its visual style. The strictly handheld camera work is an effective tool for conveying the cold, harsh, gritty reality faced by those caught in the undertow of urban crime. I also admired the lighting. Sometimes Uxbal is lit with a warm glow, other times in gelid shades of blue... the effect captures the tortuous final journey of the human soul.
Unlike Innarritu's previous works, the film does not make use of a fluctuating timeline. The story is conveyed in a refreshingly straightforward manner, though it does meander a little. If there's a drawback here, I think it's that the movie seems to be juggling one too many balls in the air. Personally, I could have done without the clairvoyance angle. The whole idea of it seemed, to me, a bit superfluous. Sure, Innarritu does add nifty visual touches to certain scenes. The most effective shows the "ghosts" of the recently deceased resting against the ceiling. A nice bit of symbolism--those souls unable to "free" themselves--but since it was already established that Uxbal had clairvoyant abilities, those effects--cool as they are--don't have much narrative resonance. In the end, they add little to the story.
Despite a couple reservations, I do recommend the film. It's a powerful story of redemption and securing peace in the afterlife by amends in this life. Playing a flawed, layered, tortured soul is itself a tall order, and Javier Bardem is terrific at carrying us along on his journey in spite of those complexities. Or maybe because of them. "What's out there?" he asks at the end. It's a question that not only resonates for him in the afterlife, but it offers a newfound meaning for his offspring as they carry on in this one.
* * * out of * * * * stars
