A Better Life is a 2011 American drama film directed by Chris Weitz. The screenplay, originally known as The Gardener, was written by Eric Eason based on a story by Roger L. Simon. Demián Bichir was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor.
Video A Better Life
Plot
Carlos Galindo works as a gardener in Los Angeles. His son, Luis, studies at high school He spends time with the gang members, who congregated him. Though Luis does not follow his footstep, he has a hard time committing himself for education. However, this forces him to become a gang member.
Carlos' sister, Anita, lends $12,000 from the family's emergency fund for Carlos to buy Blasco's rent-to-own truck. It is later stolen by Santiago, whom Carlos hired. The next day, Carlos and Luis head to the South Central apartment complex, where it is used as lodgings for undocumented immigrant workers. One man, whom Santiago sold Carlos' mobile phone, tells them that Santiago works as a nightclub dishwasher. Carlos and Luis head to the restaurant, which would open during the night. At the rodeo, Luis mentions to Carlos about his mother abandoning them. He dislikes Mexican music and culture. After finding Santiago at the nightclub, Carlos and Luis interrogate with him. They learn that he has sold the truck to the garage and sent the money to his family at El Salvador. Luis becomes upset at Carlos for defending the man and leaves the restaurant. The next day, Carlos convinces Luis to have a second chance. After Carlos and Luis successfully retrieve the truck, they are caught by the police.
Carlos is arrested and incarcerated as an illegal American immigrant. In prison, Carlos apologizes to Luis and forgives him. When they promise each other that he will return, Carlos boards the deportation bus. The family watches Luis playing a game of soccer, while Carlos and other undocumented immigrants head through the desert.
Maps A Better Life
Cast
- Demián Bichir as Carlos Galindo
- José Julián as Luis Galindo
- Dolores Heredia as Anita
- Carlos Linares as Santiago
- Eddie "Piolín" Sotelo as Himself
- Joaquín Cosío as Blasco Martinez
- Nancy Lenehan as Mrs. Donnely
- Gabriel Chavarria as Ramon
- Bobby Soto as Facundo
- Chelsea Rendon as Ruthie Valdez
- Kimberly Morales as Julia Blanco
- Lizbeth Leon as Lily Castillo
Background
The film is uncommon among Hollywood productions set in a Hispanic community and it features an almost entirely Hispanic cast. Weitz used the film to explore the culture and geography of Los Angeles. Father Gregory Boyle of Homeboy Industries, run by former gang members, helped Weitz and his crew with finding locations and making their film as authentic as possible. The language of the script was modified to reflect the actual slang used in Los Angeles, even reflecting linguistic differences from street to street.
Release
The film was released on June 24, 2011.
Critical reception
Critical response to A Better Life has been positive. The film has garnered an 86% "fresh" rating from Rotten Tomatoes. The critical aggregator Metacritic awarded the film a score of 64 out of 100, signifying "generally positive reviews". Demián Bichir was nominated for an Academy Award as lead actor on January 24, 2012. Manola Dargis, film critic for The New York Times, called the film "Touching and startling." Peter Travers of Rolling Stone called the film "a haunting movie that gets under your skin." Writing for Entertainment Weekly, Dave Karger called A Better Life an "unfussy, yet quite powerful drama with a terrific central performance by Demián Bichir." Karger called the film an "awards contender" and wrote, "With the right reviews and commercial reception, it could go even further."
Roger Ebert, of the Chicago Sun-Times, wrote that "the performances are pitch perfect" and he gave the film 3.5 stars out of 4. The New Yorker critic Richard Brody wrote: "The story unfolds without hagiography, pity, or trumped-up heroism, as the filmmaker approaches the lives of everyday people with modest compassion and imaginative sympathy. Amy Biancolli, writing in the Houston Chronicle, said "It's straight, true and heartbreaking, a masterstroke of raw emotional minimalism".
Awards
Telenovela version
Telemundo produced a telenovela, Bajo el mismo cielo, starring Gabriel Porras and María Elisa Camargo. The series aired from July 28, 2015 to January 25, 2016.
References
External links
- A Better Life on IMDb
- A Better Life at AllMovie
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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