" Biutiful "

Verdict: 8/10
Year: 2010
Directed by: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu



Biutiful is a touching tale about life in the brink of desperation.
A middle aged man named Uxbal is the main cast in this film played by Javier Bardem.
Uxbal is of Mexican descent, nearly broke as he tries to make ends meet.



He recently found out that he's a terminal illness and has only months to live.
While constantly struggling to provide a better future for his kids, leaving her deranged Bipolar and drug addict wife behind.



He does odd jobs of recruiting illegal immigrants providing them with work that are underpaid and
are usually against the law and in between jobs, he is also a clairvoyant,
sometimes, he visits funeral parlors and offer his insights on their loved ones,
if the dead has any last words to impart before they go to the light.



A bit ironic for its title.
The story focuses on moral and social issues.
It's about poverty and life in the slums.
It gives us another picture of Barcelona, not commonly seen in brochures
and also talks about the immigrants living there, their hardships and sacrifices they have to make in order to survive.



If you're in a low mood, then I don't suggest you to watch this film.
It's captivating but disturbing, life changing but real heavy drama and
full of bitterness and sadness.
Looking at it from a director's pov though, it's well directed and its attention
to detail was definitely brilliant.

Photo credits from this official Site.

" Solo Quiero Caminar "

Year: 2008
Director: Agustín Díaz Yanes
Verdict: 8/10
English version: Just Walking




Starring : Diego Luna
Elena Araya
Victoria Abril
Ariadna Gil
Pilar Lopez de Ayala





Synopsis:

A story of four women out for revenge and retribution, that would do anything
at all cost
to have a better life and for the sake of camaraderie.



Aurora,in prison for an earlier robbery, while the rest of her friends/gang mates,
Ana, her sister, Gloria and Palom are outside trying to figure out how to set their lives in
proportion, for them, life hasn't been easy.
One is an ex- prostitute who is also the sister of Aurora,
she has accepted a marriage proposal from a Mexican drug leader named Felix.
All seems to good to be true, until she realizes that her husband was a dangerous man,
powerful and would do everything for money.



So, she devised a plan, carefully laid out the details and persuaded her friends,
Paloma and Gloria to rob his office,
but before the big heist can be done, Ana was purposely thrown out
of the car by her husband Felix and was left into a vegetative state.
When Aurora found out about what happened to her sister,
devastated and tormented.
After serving at least 4months in prison.
She was out for revenge to catch a flight heading Mexico.
All seems well, until she met Felix's hit man, the devil's archangel named
Gabriel, played by Diego Luna.



Will the plan go smoothly or will it backfire?








Since Spanish isn't my native language and without the subtitles,
I had to view it twice to understand it better, a bit puzzling,
I thought there were flashbacks every now and then,
I couldn't get it at first till I realized there were none and that it was a fast paced film and
a well plotted story.
I think Diego Luna is without a doubt a charmer in this film, you couldn't get your eyes off him,
even in his dark and macabre character as the assasin,
he still has a soft spot for women. He fell for it.
The women on the other hand played it well too.
Ariadna Gil made you believe like she's the superwoman, the one with all the brains.
Victoria Abril, although a bit old already, still manages to portray her chraracter
as a seemingly doting mother while planning on a heist.
Although, there are some points that would made you re-think, whether or not the girls
could really do it, if they are really that smart to outwit a drug lord, I like the fact,
that it shows how courageous and at the same time, how desperate these women can be.
Although, I doubt what they're really aiming for was revenge, in the end,
it's all about money and greed.




hypnotic soundtrack played by Paco de lucia, ost
and beautiful setting of Mexico and Spain.



watch the trailer here :