Uxbal is a single father with two kids who has the ability to communicate with the dead. He lives a chaotic life, working with illegal immigrants in the periphery of Barcelona and having to deal with his self-destructive and abusive ex-wife. When diagnosed with terminal cancer, he starts to save money and tries to find someone to raise his children after he's gone. Alejandro González Iñárritu, the director of the movie, is known for his ability to compose characters that are very human, portraying their sins without any judgment. In Biutiful, he portrays Uxbal as a man with a lot of flaws, but still makes it easy to connect with him and understand his acts. Javier Bardem's Uxbal is a man in pain, with deep feelings of sorrow and sadness. His strong performance gave him an Academy Award nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role, which was without any doubts, very well deserved. The film is set in Barcelona, but not the touristic city we are used to see: the Barcelona portrayed in the movie is a place marked by poverty, exploration and corruption. Biutiful is extremely raw but it isn't not a depressing movie: it is actually a melancholic, beautiful and touching story about a man's walk towards the end.
18-year-old Journalism student from Brazil that spends too much time watching movies and writing. Passions include: dumb reality TV shows, Jane Austen, Sir Alfred Hitchcock and old books.
