I’ve always thought Javier Bardem was beautiful — turns out, he’s “Biutiful” as well. That is to say, he’s the star of this film who is already getting praise for his portrayal of Uxbal, a conflicted man and father. Bardem won Best Actor at the Cannes Film Festival for the role.
Directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu (“Babel”), this Spanish film tells the story of the double life of Uxbal, an underworld figure in Barcelona who is also a single dad. While feeling the end of his life may be near, Uxbal tries to secure a future for his children while also trying to get back together with an old lover.
Just a warning: there is a lot going on in this trailer, although it is all beautifully shot. There’s sandy beaches (with dead people lying on them, apparently) and snowy mountains. There’s Uxbal as the violent mobster and as the adoring father. There’s shots of the old lover he’s trying to reconnect with. And try to count how many pensive and/or pained shots there are of Bardem. There’s quite a few!
The trailer left me wanting to see more, as it hopefully will for other moviegoers. I just hope the fact that the movie is in Spanish won’t drive people away from what is said to be a brilliant performance by Bardem.
See this “biutiful” film in theaters on Dec. 10.
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