Biutiful

“Months?”

 

Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu describes himself as “obsessed with life” and this hectic yet thoughtful feature covers, as in his previous, fragmented work, many facets of human life.  Javier Bardem plays, Uxbal, a man who discovers he has only a short time to live and tries to ensure a brighter future for his children, and assist the struggling friends he has met along the way.  His journey links together stories of immigration and his own difficult family situation.

 

Biutiful is a sprawling mess of a film and yet technically it is supremely efficient.  Inarritu’s team has excelled itself in terms of cinematography and lighting and the direction is well-paced; sporadic bursts of frenetic energy giving way to lingering scenes as Uxbal’s own energy wanes.

Maybe it is due to this efficiency that I was mainly unmoved by Uxbal’s circumstances.  There were certainly moments in the film that shocked me but there was a lack of rawness – despite the squalid conditions and desperate situations faced by the characters – once one of the major events had occurred.

Once again, Inarritu weaves together a triumvirate of narratives - this time connected by a single person rather than an event – and while he pulls the threads together well, it left me feeling very much like an observer; I did not feel an emotional connection to the story. 

Bardem’s performance is faultless, playing the part of the dying man with grace, humility and blasts of desperation and despair.  He is a man struggling to get things right in the short time he has left and you get a real sense of loss from him when he can’t quite fix things the way he wants.

The camera work in the film and the production design are all beautifully handled.  The audience is completely enveloped by the mix of characters and places that make up the story and there is a wonderful exploration of the geography of Uxbal’s life.  It is dark and grimy, not the kind of place you really want to be for long, but it is fully inhabited by the characters, who breathe life into this grim reality.

 

Technically impressive but lacking connection – 7/10