Here I Am - Biutiful

Our local cinema, Luna, happens to be a very good one. They play mainly arthouse movies, not just Hollywood blockbusters. If I was earning more I would go there several times a week but failing that, we also visit the video store a lot and catch some decent movies on SBS channels. They do at least two cool things though, this cinema, which gets me there more than I otherwise might manage on my wages. First, they have cheap Mondays where it's 2 movies for $11, and the second is that they have media screenings, to which they give free tickets to some influential local businesses, like our bookstore (we fight amongst ourselves for these) :) Hence, this week I've been to see two movies - Biutiful and Here I Am. The Second movie in the double billing was Howl which Luc was just not up for (nor about 1/3 of the audience who walked out - whether it was because it was slow, a school night or obscene, I'm not entirely sure) so I'll rent that one another day.

Both the films I saw deal with the underprivileged in first-world countries. Living in Australia can be like a dream for a Kiwi (NZer) like me - better wages than at home, gorgeous weather, friendly people, excellent amenities and so many opportunities. But not everyone has such an easy time in Australia. I find it ironic and pretty sick that a NZer like me gets treated better and has significantly more opportunities than many Aboriginal Australians as the film 'Here I Am' reminded me. Conversely, it is both locals and immigrants who struggle in 'Biutiful'.

I came out of both movies moved, feeling really lucky to be in the situation I am and determined to try not to forget that so often. I was grateful when the Salvation Army came door-knocking for donations and gave me a little way to help people needing a bit of support. Our society though......

So, Biutiful.



Barcelona is a city I wanted to visit specifically for its beauty. You won't see that in this movie. The characters in this film live in a Barcelona that is ugly inside and out. The film centres on the ties of family - however imperfect - and the families we make in our communities. Uxbal puts his children above all else and risks so much just for the humble life they share together. His livelihood is earned outside of the law and introduces us the an underground Barcelona - an underground of immigrant exploitation and entrepreneurship that exists in many cities around the world. The plight of these illegal workers is shown mainly through Uxbal's treatment of them than by letting us get to know them - they are mainly kept as outsiders.






With a magnificent performance by Javier Bardem in the central role of Uxbal, as well as a complex and gritty plot, Biutiful is really a film worth watching. I only noticed afterwards that this film is by a director whose film Amorres Perros (2000) I was also really impressed by.



Here I Am




A new Australian film about a group of urban Aboriginal women living in a women's shelter. In particular, it is the story of Karen, a woman in her twenties who has just been released from prison as she faces life back in the city and her three months on parole. What happened before these three months is only suggested and what happens afterwards is up to the audience to guess. While these characters are Aboriginal and does deal with the fact that Aboriginies are shockingly over-represtented in prisons, the themes of being dragged down by your past and what motivates us to move forward, are fairly universal. I thought the acting was some of the best acting I've seen in Australian films - credit goes to the decision to cast mainly 'real' women, not trained actors. I did find the range between tortured and serene performances of the main actor a bit hard to buy at times but that is probably the director trying to show how the character of Karen was struggling to adapt to an appropriate manner with threatening authority figures.

I liked this film, it was a good character story, had a lot of humour and was a film that made you think. The treatment is neither too Hollywood fairytale-ish nor too slap in the face gritty and depressing. It shows a reality from which there is potential for characters who can accept where they are and look at where to go from there.