Review of A Better Life (2011) by Christopher H — 03 Feb 2012

[i]Ladrones de Trocas[/i].

Okay, not an original sentiment. (Though I do find it interesting that the relevant slang term does not appear in the couple of online dictionaries I checked to ensure I was spelling it right.) It wouldn't surprise me to find out that Roger L. Simon, who is credited with the story, admits the connection freely. That said, I'm not calling this a remake any more than I'd call, say, [i]West Side Story[/i] a true remake of [i]Romeo and Juliet[/i]. It's a reimagining of the story. The issues these characters have are not directly the same as the issues of immediately post-war Italians, but the heart is still there. These are people worried about feeding their families. How to relate to one another. Both stories are about two things--they are about the need for a job and what it takes to keep it, and they are about how fathers and sons relate to one another. A lot of movies are about these two things; it's just that this movie hangs them on the same basic framework as [i]Ladri di Biciclette[/i].

Carlos Galindon (Demián Bichir) is an illegal immigrant. He came to the US from Mexico a long time ago, and he now lives in Los Angeles with his son, Luis (José Julián). Luis's mother took off years ago. For the last five years, Carlos has been working for Blasco Martinez (Joaquín Cosio), and now, Blasco has saved up enough to go back to Mexico and buy a farm. He offers to sell his business to Carlos for $12,000. Carlos is hesitant. For one thing, he doesn't actually have $12,000. For another, he doesn't have citizenship, which means he doesn't have a driver's license. If he gets pulled over, that's it. He's getting deported. But he finally agrees to do it. On the day Blasco had been out scouting other potential buyers, a Salvadorean man named Santiago (Carlos Linares) had shared his lunch with Carlos, and in exchange, Carlos chooses him from among the day labourers and takes him as an assistant. And Santiago steals the truck.

One of the most notable differences between the two films is the age of the son. Because Luis is fourteen, he is no longer as idolizing of his father as nine-year-old Bruno was of Antonio. In fact, he is scornful. His father is working himself half to death, and it appears to be all for nothing. They live in a lousy little house in a terrible neighbourhood. Luis goes to a bad school. Carlos helped his sister, Anita (Dolores Heredia), when she first came to the US, and Anita married a citizen. Her life seems great, though there is the implication that her marriage isn't. Luis thinks the gangbangers in his neighbourhood are living better lives than he and his father, and he believes they're easier lives. He believes his old man is getting taken advantage of, and he believes his father invites it through most of his interactions. And maybe, just maybe, it's what his old man deserves for hanging onto the wrong things.

This is assuredly not Mythic Los Angeles. This is the other side, the darker side that we don't want to imagine even exists. A woman speaks anxiously to Blasco about having Carlos up in her palm tree, and Blasco points out that she doesn't want to pay enough to have someone in a cherry-picker out cutting the dead fronds. Santiago works nights as a busboy, and during the day, he is out on that street with the other men, begging someone to pick them up and take them for a day of hard labour for very little money. Carlos grows plants in his backyard which will be taken to the homes of Blasco's clients. When Carlos and Luis go out in search of information about the truck, they take the bus, which is always crowded. Anita lives in a decent neighbourhood, and it is far above what Carlos will likely be able to afford for a long time, even running the business himself. We are told that he had saved up a lot of money, but he gave it all to a lawyer who promised him citizenship. Clearly, that didn't work out.

Demián Bichir is up for Best Actor this year; this is the first nominee in that category which I've seen. There is nothing exciting about his performance as Carlos Galinda, because Carlos Galinda is not an exciting man. Apparently, a lot of people are saying that this movie is predictable, but surely, this is the life that Carlos Galinda would lead. He knows that he will have to be very careful to avoid getting deported--he must never get pulled over by the cops, not even once. He must never get into an accident. Without the truck, he can slip under the radar. However, without the truck, he is once more desperate. Blasco cannot promise him that whoever buys it will keep Carlos on, because it simply isn't that kind of business. Carlos will be back on that sidewalk, trying to look like he's worth hiring, and he will be doing that every day. That isn't the kind of life exciting performances are built on, but it's possible to be compelling without being exciting.