Biutiful

Uxbal is a tough but loving single father of two young children, estranged from his unstable and self-destructive bi-polar wife, Marambra. He scrapes a living in the backstreet black economy of Barcelona, where he operates as a middleman for those who exploit illegal immigrant labor. In addition to his dubious worldly talents, Uxbal also has the psychic ability to convey messages from recently departed souls to their grieving relatives, for which he reluctantly accepts payment. Uxbal's chaotic life-style reflects his essential condition - he is trapped between the spiritual and material worlds - and when he learns that he is terminally ill with cancer, it seems as if his body must be rebelling against his conflicted way of living. After receiving news of his imminent death, Uxbal begins searching for a trustworthy person to raise his two children after he dies - and "Biutiful" tells of his struggle to put his life in order and accomplish this apparently impossible task while dark forces throw obstacles in his path. Those who remember Inarritu's previous film "Amores Perros" will find themselves in familiar territory as Uxbal weaves his way through a labyrinth of mean streets and desperate people battling for survival. On the surface there is only the callous selfishness and brutality of a dog-eat-dog world, alleviated by brief moments of tenderness and self-sacrifice - but hidden amongst the confusion there is the age-old journey of the immortal hero towards liberation. The film succeeds in creating something close to a modern myth - it is is a sublime epic, and possibly the best film of the year by a long way.

by tigerfish50 (Old London, New England)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1164999/