Review of Biutiful (2010) by Pj P — 20 Nov 2011
Barcelona has never been so bleak in this intense film. At times, one feels hard pressed to name a Spanish movie that doesn't feature Gael Garcia Bernal or the star of this particular piece, Javier Bardem - but that doesn't take anything away from the latter's customary excellence. Here, he plays a more benign version of the type Harvey Keitel portrayed in Bad Lieutenant - a shambling shell of a man with a terrible secret and for whom luck rarely intervenes.
Globalization and migrant workers are contemporary themes and Iñarritu skilfully manages a cast that switches between Spanish, Catalan, English and Mandarin. It's no joyride and it recalls Dirty Pretty Things in presenting the flipside of European prosperity - a flipside that is now beginning to bubble to the surface.
This review of Biutiful (2010) was written by Pj P on 20 Nov 2011.
Biutiful has generally received positive reviews.
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