Review of A Better Life (2011) by Melvin W — 27 Jan 2012

Carlos Galindo: This truck is my only chance to grow this into something big. So we can move out of here and get you in a better school.

"Every father wants more for his son.".

Every good parent's dream is to give their kids what they didn't have, and to give them a chance at A Better Life. This is exactly what Carlos wants for his 14 year old son, Luis. Carlos has been struggling as an illegal immigrant gardener and has been raising his son by himself. They live in a less than stellar neighborhood, where gangs rule the streets. As Luis gets closer to joining, his father tries harder and harder to get them out of there. He buys the truck and tools from his previous employer in an attempt to make some real money. Things don't quite work out the way they are supposed to, but the father and son are brought together through the turmoil.

A Better Life is a great father/son relationship film. The film also defines what it means to be father. Being a father gives Carlos something to live for. Without his son, his life would be meaningless. Demian Bichir gives a really good, Oscar nominated, performance as Carlos. His performance isn't one of over the top anger or sadness, even when the events of his life should draw these emotions out of him. His performance is all on his body language, we can see the torment on his face and the sadness in his eyes. While his performance more than likely won't give him an Oscar, he definitely deserved the nomination.

Chris Weitz is proving to be a hard to judge filmmaker. He made his debut with the teenage comedy American Pie. He eventually made the great About a Boy, and then turned around a few year later and made Twilight: New Moon. Luckily, he bounced back from that embarrassment and made this devastating, but somehow uplifting film. .

Immigration is a hot issue right now, and you would think since it such a big issue, Weitz would fall back on it more than he does. Sure the fact that Carlos has to deal with possibly getting deported every day of his life is mentioned, but Weitz is really telling a story about a father and son, and not about immigration. He just uses the immigration backdrop to make the story all the more powerful, and it really works.

This is a great movie that really flew under the radar this year. Hopefully Bichir's nomination will get some people to watch the film because it really deserves to be seen. .