'Biutiful' Review: Elegant but Overdone

Though neither won last night, when the Academy Awards nominations were announced, one of the biggest surprises was the inclusion of Javier Bardem in the Best Actor category. Bardem, who previously won an Oscar for “No Country for Old Men,” received the nomination for “Biutiful,” which was also nominated for the Best Foreign Language film. The movie tells the story of a man who stopped imagining how good his life could be and started settling into the depressing world that he helped create for himself.

[youtube fdWz1IFEv4k nolink]

—–

Near the beginning of the film, the camera focuses on a man’s wedding band. A man’s voice is heard talking to a young woman as the two talk about the band with their hands raised. The focus on their hands foreshadows the story’s focus on the lead character’s occupation and how his life is affected by his source of income.

Uxbal (Bardem), the story’s lead character, helps manage a local sweatshop in Barcelona. At work, he’s a professional trying to make money through unethical labor practices. At home, Uxbal is a different person. He’s a dedicated family man with two young children.

Soon after we meet Uxbal, he’s diagnosed with a deadly disease. He only has a few months to live so he starts cherishing the time he has left with his family. In working to better the lives of his children, he moves back in with his bipolar ex-wife. If he was in a different stage of his life, he probably wouldn’t reunite with her but he’s facing his own mortality and wants to do what’s best for his family.

The scenes showing the family together are where the story excels. Around the dinner table, the family connects with each other in a strong and meaningful way. The most beautiful scene in the film takes place at the table where Uxbal, his ex-wife and their children sit around enjoying each other’s company. Natural light streams in through the windows giving the family a beautiful glow. This is the life that Uxbal could have enjoyed without guilt if he had made different choices.

However, he has chosen to be a criminal on the side so he is constantly aware of the suffering around him. He watches the sweatshop employees suffer through work and sleep in a cramped room together. He tries to improve their lives but his assistance doesn’t make their lives better. In fact, his support only makes their lives worse. Even when he’s trying to be a “good guy,” his help only leads to more pain.

Uxbal’s story focuses on the personal and the professional choices he makes. However, at two and a half hours, the story feels bloated and overlong. The movie could have easily been edited down, removing some extraneous storylines that go nowhere. There are even a few sexual scenes that easily could have been excised from the final cut.

However, “Biutiful” tells an interesting story about a man caught between two worlds. It’s a long movie that can be tedious but it works really well when it focuses on Uxbal’s family. “Biutiful” may not be a beautiful movie but it’s still worth watching if only to watch how a man’s family can be his greatest strength and how a man can sometimes be his worst enemy.