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Rating Averages
My Friends |
Not rated. () |
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All Flixster |
(5125) |
2864 |
4004 |
Female |
(3360) |
1878 |
2625 |
Male |
(1765) |
986 |
1379 |
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| Reservation Road (80%) |
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| Juno (33%) |
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Plot:
Nina, a young, unmarried waitress at a Mexican restaurant, finds herself pregnant and without work after coming in late several days because of morning sickness. Jose, the restaurant's chef, is taken ...( read more
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Meet Other Fans
Recent Reviews
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MCT:November 12, 2008
Whoever thinks for a second that this is just another propaganda, Christian, anti-abortion movie is absolutely missing the point.
As one of the most atheist, most psycho pro-abortion dudes out there, I truly loved it to death.
Beautiful, beautiful movie.
*Review coming soon before the end of November... I fuckin promise! Ok?* -
MCT:August 16, 2008
I really liked the movie except for the ending. I am led to believe that he adopted the baby and she disappeared from his life for a few years until meeting at the beach? It just didn't add up.
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MCT:July 29, 2008After having dinner with Jose's family Nina asks, "Is it always like that? Did you grow up with that?" "With what?" asks Jose.
"Joy. Love."
That joy and love was palpable through every minute of this sad and touching story, written and played very well. -
MCT:June 11, 2008
Sweet, feel good movie that leaves you with a satisfied feeling. "If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans." Recommended.
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MCT:February 29, 2008
As far as first films go, young Mexican writer-director Alejandro Gomez Monteverde's debut is a pretty solid and engaging one. Winner of the People's Choice Award at the 2006 Toronto Film Festival, Bella has received a lot of criticism from the entertainment industry because it's been touted as - and I quote - a "Christian movie". I don't think the film in and of itself warrants any of the hostility.
I totally understand - I guess - where that comes from. Here's how those people interpreted this film's message: if you're pregnant and not ready for a kid, a mysteriously selfless Jesus figure will come out of the woodwork, adopt the child and raise her until you're ready to be a mother. Bella, for simplistic thinkers, may sound like an anti-abortion or pro-life/adoption film (keep in mind, this was made before Juno) but it's so much more than that.
Bella tells two stories. The immediate plot involves a twenty-something waitress named Nina (Tammy Blanchard) who, faced with an inconvenient pregnancy, decides she is not ready to be a mother. When she is late to work for the third time because of morning sickness, her manager, Manny (Manny Perez), assumes she has a hangover and fires her. Nina confides in the restaurant's quiet, handsome head chef, José (Eduardo Verástegui) - a former football (aka soccer) star, who happens to be Manny's brother. When José learns of Nina's condition, he walks out on the job to accompany her for the day. Their ambiguous relationship drives the film, which takes place during that one day.
While the gravity of Nina's situation lays the narrative foundation, the plot thickens as José's mysterious past begins to unravel. It's clear he doesn't want Nina to have an abortion, but his reasons aren't moral or religious, they're more profound than we might imagine. The progressive revelation of his tragic back-story, makes up a large part of the film.
Social buzzwords abound. Unwed pregnancy, abortion, and to say the subject of adoption is brought to debate would be an understatement. Sounds like another agenda-film, one that sacrifices an honest story for a heavy-handed message. A piece of propaganda - not art, right? Wrong. The film plays with all the vulnerability and grit of real life. The characters are flawed, conflicted, and broken. They are as much prone to offend as they are to inspire and the resolution is messy if not beautiful.
Monteverde doesn't hide his Mexican influences. He does indulge in some of the hallmarks of an overreaching first-timer, like the non-linear multiple storyline, à la Iñárritu's Amores perros-21 Grams-Babel, and multiple languages. However, he makes his characters live, punctuating his warm introductions with some moments of such human beauty.
There's a subtle touch of religion throughout, especially involving the scenes with Jose's family, which are the most charming of the film. A typical, traditional Mexican family, they're obviously Catholic and this is portrayed as an integral and positive force in their lives. There's even a nice moment when José prays over a meal to reinforce how seriously he takes his faith. Thankfully, however, religion's never brought up as a reason to oppose the abortion either through dialogue or even subtext. It's merely an insight as to who José is.
Few would argue that these past few years have spawned an era of truly awful didactic trips to the cinema. And to be fair, it's not just liberals making these lousy agenda-films, Christians haven't exactly risen to the post-Passion occasion either. But regardless of your politics or religions (I'm not religious, by the way - which isn't saying I'm an atheist either, I like to think of myself as a spiritual, non-religious person) anyone interested in changing hearts and minds through the medium of film could do worse than studying Bella. Yes, it has a few too many soap opera-ish moments and clunky pieces of dialogue, but it's never preachy, and persuasively makes its point through realistic characters, theme, and a compassionate humanistic story that shows faith - regardless of which God you pray to - in a human spirit it strives to inspire... and at times, even manages to. -
MCT:January 5, 2009
This was simply sweet. I love how it was shot, I loved the chemistry between the leads, and I was completely moved by the story!
Comments
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imshy004posted 368 days ago -
It's interesting how many people is writing the comments in the "review" section. For me, giving a review could be inacurate or not exhaust the beauty of Bella. I highly recomend to watch the movie and get the best view of it.
posted 417 days ago
