DVD
REVIEW: BELLA

04/30/08

Bella in Spanish
means beauty or beautiful and this movie surely is. Both
Writer/Director Alejandro Gomez Monteverde and leading man
Eduardo Verastegui were eager to bring a decent, powerful
and meaningful movie that not only has a positive message
but also portrays Hispanics in a more realistic light. They
succeeded. It is a simple movie with a strong story based on
true events combined with good acting. The fundamental theme
of this picture can be summed up by its opening line given
by Jose (Eduardo): “My grandmother used to say, You want to
make God laugh? Tell him your plans.” In the real world,
your life can change completely in an instant. Many times,
those changes involve a lot of pain and suffering, and
whatever your plans were are completely out the window. This
movie tells the story of a few such cases.
The backdrop for this film could not be more appropriate. It
is the city of a million stories, New York. In the hustle
and bustle of New York life, this story purposely highlights
the fact that human virtues such as hospitality, family
ties, caring and true friendship can still be found. Jose is
a star soccer player on his way to sign a contract with a
professional team. He is larger than life and without a care
in the world. In an instant, his plans were changed and he
ends up being the head chef of his brother’s restaurant in
the city. There is where he meets Nina (Tammy Blanchard),
one of the waitresses. She has a life changing problem of
her own to deal with. Still tormented by his own life
changing event, Jose unselfishly steps in like a true friend
to help Nina get through her situation. This move in turn
not only helps Nina, it indirectly ends up helping Jose as
well.
The characters in this film represent a typical slice of
people trying to survive their lives in the Big Apple. They
are approachable people that we can relate to and connect
with. They are the people we run into everyday but don’t
know it. What makes some of these characters extra special
is how being hospitable, helpful, and caring comes as second
nature to them. Another major theme in this movie is the
importance of people helping people and being that friend
that truly cares. The amazing thing is that we are all
capable of filling such a tall order. The cast of performers
have done a wonderful job bringing that theme to life on the
big screen. It is most evident in Eduardo’s and Tammy’s
performances. Tammy nails the role of Nina, the struggling
waitress trying to make ends meet on her own. She looks and
sounds like a genuine New Yorker too. Eduardo was impressive
as Jose going from superstar to humbled human being but all
the while remaining a decent, noble man. How these two
intertwine is the making of a special story. It might not
necessarily be unique, but it is a powerful story worth
telling. We as a society need to see more movies of this
caliber to keep us in check. Heck, even the dialogue was
relatively clean given the down-to-earth, realistic nature
of the film. The cinematography also helped with the cause.
It was cozy and comfortable. It made you feel right at home.
I see a promising future for Director Alejandro Monteverde.
He really got the message across in this humble production.
Hispanics are not drug dealers or criminals by default, and
people’s lives can change drastically at turn of a corner so
we should not take our lives for granted and be a little
more caring towards others. The decisions we make help bring
about these life changing events. I recommend you decide to
see this movie for it might change your life.
Film
Review By Cine Marcos
cinemarcos@smartcine.com
VIDEO:
1.78:1 Anamorphic Widescreen 16x9
AUDIO:
English,
2.0 -
5.1 (Dolby Digital).
Subtitles - English Spanish - Optional
SPECIAL FEATURES:
“Behind the scenes production”:
An inside look at the making of the film featuring
including comments from producer
Eduardo Verastegui, Writer/Director Alejandro Gomez Monteverde
and rest of the cast.
(16:57)
“Behind the Journey of
Distribution”: This is a five part featurette
with a running time of about 20 minutes. The featurette
covers the difficulties that the producers had trying to get
the film distributed by major film distribution
company.
Audio commentary with
director Alejandro Monteverde
Bella Music videos:
Exclusive Alejandron Sanz music video "En la Planta de Tus
Pies" (3:13)
Trailers and TV Spots
RATING BREAK DOWN:
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VIDEO |
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AUDIO |
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