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Believe it or not, the director of New Moon, of the Twilight series, Chris Weitz, directed this simple film about a father and a son. But this father-son story is more than the usual. The father is an illegal Mexican immigrant, who came to Los Angeles shortly before the birth of the son. The son is on the fulcrum between drugs & gangs and working hard for the life his father wants for him. |
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As the film opens, Carlos, (Demian Bichir) is working 14+ hour days as a gardener for the Los Angeles wealthy. He works for a man named Blasco, who has the truck, the tools, and the clients. Luis, his son (Jose Julian) is a 14-year old who attends a rough school, and who is dating the niece of a few major gang members. Carlos longs for something more for Luis, but is barely making enough money for the house they live in and the food that they eat.
A Better Life is a very political look at the topic of illegal immigration. No matter how much they try to hide it under the guise of a movie plot, this movie was made to express displeasure about America’s immigration laws. While I’m sure it preaches to the choir very nicely, I doubt that it is constructed strongly enough to persuade any anti-immigration folks to chance their song.
Leaving the politics aside from now on, the story is a very touching look at a strained relationship. Bichir is fantastic as Carlos, and wears his heart on his sleeve very well as an actor. Julian is fairly new to the Hollywood scene, but does not have enough presence for the role he is in. A few times throughout the film he loses his character, and falls back on the whiny teenager role. He is close to being great, but he’s just not quite there yet.
It is a beautiful story about a distant relationship that slowly becomes very close, as Carlos proves he is more “gangster” than anyone Luis knows. Instead of coexisting, these two learn to both depend on and provide for each other. 3.5 out of 5 stars. |
