Review for Biutiful

Biutiful
(2010) Alejandro González Iñárritu

Film

The Fourth feature film from the much-lauded directorial lens of Alejandro González Iñárritu was always going to command a great deal of attention. After all, every previous entry from the director has merited both critical dissection and applause. Each has also succeeded the previous in terms of scope and ambition, with the sprawling Babel (2006) represented the pinnacle of this expansion and brought in seven Academy Award nominations, despite drawing a diverse range of opinion. The pressure to deliver with Biutiful was intensified by awards season, and the film's underdog status as an Oscar Nominee.

Javier Bardem plays Uxbal, a conflicting, contradictory figure. Warm and endearing, this apparently noble single father is entrenched in criminal activity alongside his brother. He is deeply involved in the acquisition of goods for sale on the black market, and part of a declining empire that is increasingly reliant on the drug industry. Separated from his bi-polar wife, he struggles to bring up his children, then is diagnosed with terminal cancer, which he keeps from his kids. Clearly, this is not a happy, upbeat tale.Uxbal's story reeks with desperation, as every scene drips with aching despair and emptiness. There is a communal sense of regret and pain.

It's easy to emphasize with Uxbal's difficult position. After all, it's clear that his wife is loving, caring parent, however her condition has determined that she must be considered unfit to earn custody over the kids, whilst it also prevents her and Uxbal from enjoying a successful relationship. It's clearly a situation painful for the father. At one point, as he tells his kids about their grandfather passing without the two ever knowing one another, his son proclaims, "that sucks not having a dad". This sort of moment only serves to intensify the ever-present sense of impending death.

Javier Bardem received numerous plaudits for his role in Biutiful, including, but not limited to, both BAFTA and Oscar nominations, in addition to nods in his native country. Such notices were well deserved, as he is terrific throughout this.

As the film unfolds, he is forced to put "his affairs in order", and make compromise for the sake of the kids… in other words, find redemption through his own acts. Even in his criminal activities though, Bardem's character displays a degree of giving and compassion- attempting to prevent the exploitation of the immigrants he supplies goods to, but this is depicted in a non-saccharine manner. Uxbal is not by any means a do-gooder, he's simply a man with principles, and sense of integrity, regardless of what cards he has been dealt. Whilst he operates within the underground, he does so with the best of intentions. A shocking accident two-thirds of the way into the picture is both upsetting and indicative of the terrible situation that Uxbal, and everyone slumming it in his sub-legal world are having to endure.



The city itself is depicted in as cold a fashion as you could ever expect to see Barcelona. A bulging clothes-line sways in the pounding rain, spotlighted by a solitary lamp while the back radiates it's chilly blue tones. Uxbar makes the decision not to go on holiday with his children against the backdrop of a bridge, an outsider, exposed in the cool blue backdrop. The apartments that the featured characters reside in are dank, decrepit places, overrun with cockroaches. Squalor and hardship are present everywhere here. Even sites such as La Sagrada Familia are only depicted fleetingly, they're distant, part of a lifestyle that is beyond Uxbar's means. However it's a life out of reach for all of those involved in this film, to whom contentment is to make do with next to nothing, and everything is fragile. Biutiful perfectly uses one man's tale as a vehicle for representing such a sordid, depressing situation and how it affects the wider community around an individual.

Audio and Visual

The DVD release of Biutiful is appropriately enough, a beautifully crisp presentation in 2.3:1. The cool blue tones are sharp, while the claustrophobic living quarters of the characters are grimy and scream poverty without being murky or unclear. Additionally, the documentary realism of busier scenes, such as those in which illegal traders are ambushed by the police and chased along La Rambla, is extremely effective, and fully of vivid detail and depth. Likewise, the Dolby Digital track makes good use of an emotional score, and avoids descending into the mire, despite scenes often featuring rather quiet dialogue.



Extras

"Director's Flip Notes" is a making of, shot by Iñárritu himself in the form of a video diary. This feature really stands out ,taking in snippets of interviews, and rehearsal footage. This is fascinating stuff, not because it's particularly in-depth or groundbreaking, rather purely as a result of being so candid and heartfelt. If there is any downside, it's that some of he revelations about the cast members, make for as downbeat viewing as the movie itself. Really, this is the sort of material that can result in a person sitting back and evaluating everything they feel crap about in their life, from the perspective that for others, the day to day grind is so much worse.

Also amidst the bonus features, are interviews with actors Javier Bardem, Marciel Alvarez, and Eduard. These are nice inclusions, though much too short to amount to anything revelatory. There's also a charming, if ultimately pointless -for those not involved- introduction to crew members in the shape of a montage of clips. Rounding out the package, we get two trailers for the movie.



Conclusion

It's probably obvious to most, but Biutiful is not an easy film to digest, enjoy, or even particularly like. However, there is much to admire in this extraordinary piece of work. It's a beautifully filmed piece that spotlights the sadness, and perhaps the beauty of that sadness, in the inner city. Barcelona is a spectacular environment, but even the traumatically hopeless lives of the main characters are filled with poignancy, which is reflected in the achingly painful manner in which the city is filmed.
This release itself, looks and sounds great. The extra feature are admittedly, a little disappointing, and could have provided more substance. Despite that, the small selection on offer are charming and insightful.

Javier Bardem is the film's key strength, and indeed, it's his contribution that provides the glue not just holding the picture together, but that elevates it into something genuinely moving. While Babel was an Iñárritu film that perhaps rambled for some people, Biutiful's intimacy and sense of longing should appease said detractors.

An extraordinary depiction of unimaginable sadness.