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Biutiful

Director: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu - Rated: MA

Reviewed by Joshua Maule

31 Mar 2011

4:22pm Thursday, 31st March 2011

"I tried to pray but I don't know who to pray to," cries Javier Bardem moments before sobbing loudly into the shoulder of a confidant.

Playing the deeply religious yet confused Uxbal in the latest feature by Alejandro González Iñárritu (Babel, 21 Grams), Bardem's heart is evidenced every moment he's on screen in the creases of his face, the huskiness of his Spanish voice, and his loving embrace of his children. The story is carried on his shoulders.

In the end - while prayers and visions are very real for Bardem's character, his children are his functional religion and his deepest sense of spirituality. His struggle is less as religious devotee and more as determined father.

Flawed and entangled in a web of shady figures in Barcelona's multicultural underworld, Uxbal's intentions for his children remain good. All his protectiveness (dropping his kids at the gate of school each day) and all his intensity (demanding his son show better table manners) only reveal he is full of love. When he yells, it's for the best.

But hemmed in by mortality, he finds himself battling things as brooding as they are unstoppable. He faces an enemy he has no power to fight - death itself. Here is the most tragic aspect of his struggle.

Uxbal's preparedness to put himself in the line of fire to shield his family, including his depressive wife Marambra (Maricel Álvarez), from the world outside, reminds us of the lengths many will go to for their family. While religious ideals can be too hard, or too unattainable - "I tried to pray" - pragmatism and hope remain long afterwards.

In fact, it's exactly from here the Bible suggests some clarity arises. God is the one "from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name". He is the ultimate Uxbal, the original parent, the Source, the perfect Father.

While in his time of despair, Uxbal is unsure who to pray to, he is actually manifesting something of God. His readiness to become despised for the freedom of his children is nothing other than a glimmer of Divine love. It's a love deeper than affection or good feeling for it finally dares to suffer for the freedom of others.

Yet in Uxbal's case, for all his courage, he is just a man. And death is knocking on his door. While he tries to fix things, he eventually must stare down the great black cloud above. His scramble ultimately brings to mind the immediacy and universality of the grave for all people.

The film is a great portrayal of a man's struggle to survive, but is a tragedy in the truest sense of the word.