It sucks to be poor. Psycho. Drunk. Slutty. The parent of unwanted children. Everything else bad.
Diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer, Uxbal (Javier Bardem) — a divorced father raising two children — is determined to atone for his life as a black marketeer that unfolds in the slums of Barcelona, Spain.
This was one of those foreign films that came out during the Oscar season that sparked my interest but I never got to see. Thank the lord once again for Netflix!
This is the fourth film from writer/director Alejandro González Iñárritu, who is an extremely talented film-maker. The movie is called “Biutiful” but everything in it is very ugly and were living in those claustrophobic slums in Barcelona with people trying so hard to find beauty in their lives and I really did feel every element here in this character study that really does just take you into it’s story and doesn’t let you go. I think this film also gets really depressing, especially by the end, but something I at least appreciated about this film is it’s very artfully done, and almost never gets too preachy.
Some however, will actually start to be grossed out by a lot of the stuff that they see here. Eating ice cream with your dirty hands, the whole city’s having a bad hair day, and pissing blood all seem realistic because it’s the under-belly of Barcelona but it’s almost more disgusting than a film like Slumdog Millionaire. I didn’t mind this as much as I would have thought, but there are moments here that this film will make you gag at what you see. Also, there is a lot of preachy moments here that seemed like an investigated news report on the effects on globalization and illegal immigrants in foreign countries. Some of this worked, some of it didn’t but the fact is that the story held me in for as long as it did.
Javier Bardem actually got nominated for an Oscar for this, which happened completley out-of-nowhere, and I’m really glad that he actually did. Bardem, as usual, is such a terrific actor and I haven’t really seen him in his actual native tongue but he’s powerful, charismatic, and he shows goodheartedness as Uxbal although he has a problem letting people into his world. Just with a look in his eyes, Bardem is able to convey any type of emotion his character is feeling and every scene Bardem gets to show off his true dramatic depth, he does and it was just about perfect to say the least. Another great performance comes from Maricel Álvarez as Uxbal’s bi-polar wife. She’s great because she just has the right blend of bohemian fun and over-the-edge dangerous that glues you into her character as well, even though you can never tell what she’s going to do next.
Consensus: Biutiful is a disgusting film that gets preachy at times and will leave many people sick after watching it, but the story is engrossing and you feel for this character, mainly because Bardem is just so amazing here that it’s hard not to stand behind this guy. See it once, and say you have, but never feel the need to actually watch it again.
8/10=Matinee!!
Dan the Man's Movie Reviews 
I loved this film, happened to watch it few days ago and I got completely hooked up. I am a big fan of both Javier Bardem and Inaritu, a masterpiece!
It’s very good just not as perfect as I would have liked really.
I am one of the people who did not like this movie, and regret to rush myself to the cinema to watch it. I think it’s the kind of movie where you only have two response, hate or love it. As you said, a lot of the scenes makes you want to gag. That scene were the chinese people ghost is the worst.
It does make you want to throw-up at times but I have to say that I didn’t lose interest at all when that happened really.
I think it’s a good film but I found it to be overbearing and at times, very dull. I like Inarritu but I sometime thinks he goes overboard with his themes of death and I wanted some humor in the film. He doesn’t do that and it just gets pretty tedious at times. If it wasn’t for Bardem’s performance, I would’ve liked the film a whole lot less. Inarritu needs to simplify his ideas more and put some humor into it. Even if it’s in little touches.
There were times where he should have lessened down his ideas and thoughts but what Bardem does here keeps us glued the whole time and other elements of this film actually kept me involved. More than I actually thought.
i honestly really cringe when anyone says a movie is “preachy.” i don’t even understand what that means. but i agree with you; this movei was so artfully done and bardem ais stunningly amazing in it. one of my favorites from last year. and i adore innaritu, always.
This is a good one but preachy is what this film starts to get because it honestly gets too carried away with its themes and messages but I still felt moved by the story.
I couldn’t stand this movie. It was too obvious to earn its understated style, too emotionless to earn its depressing subject matter, and just all around interminal.
Well I see what you’re saying Marshall but this at least had to do something with your mind in a way.