Bella (Alejandro Gomez Monteverde, 2006): USA | Mexico
Friday, May 30th, 2008
Bella (2006)
(DVD)
Verdict: A very good film overall — interesting character development — but much too sentimental. The film tries (and does) hit too many predictable emotional chords in the viewer. Death, kids, pregnancy, broken family — the ingredients for emotional drama — much too much — but engaging structure.
And, the beard is much too long — really unnecessary for the film or the character — excessive which probaly hurt the film in the end.
The filmmakers contextualize the film in terms of the representation of Latinos in film — as breaking the stereotypes of Latinos — true, the film does not feel like a Latino film — it feels like an emotional story, Latino or no Latino
Verdict: Some excellent compositions and cinematography > but little narrative sense even within the vampire world that’s created — character motivations do not work and leave the audience wondering ‘why?’ — even within a supernatural world, the logic of that world needs to be sustained in order for the audience to suspend its disbelief. And some very unconvincing acting by Josh Hartnett.
Verdict: A much stronger film in this particular theater and with an enthusiastic audience — so many double-entendres with quite a bit of wit, irony, and sarcasm — a great example of how the Code could be malleable. Also, a wonderful example of the perpetuation of the myth of traditional gender roles all the while depicting strong women and enamoring the audience with the performances and the actors — a film filled with potential ideological contradictions.
