Review of Biutiful (2010) by Muktashif D — 29 Aug 2012

I was a little overwhelmed by this movie. It is unflinchingly dark, even bleak in parts. What holds it together is Javier Bardem's luminescent portrayal of a father dying of cancer, struggling to remember his own long-dead father, and to be remembered by his own children.

It's a story of life and connection, facing death, and the choices we make to support or exploit each other along the way. In the end it worked for me because of the way it wove together the world's familiar tragedies with the magic in life, often just below the dark, gritty surface of regular people doing what they must to care for themselves and their families.

This movie is Not for everyone. But it is worth seeing.