A BETTER LIFE
US, 2011, 98 minutes, Colour.
Demian Bichir, Jose Julian.
Directed by Chris Weitz.
This is the film that was catapaulted into world attention when the leading actor, virtually unknown, though an award winner in Mexico, Demian Bichir, received an Oscar nomination for Best Actor, knocking out such potential contenders as Leonardo di Caprio for his portrayal of J. Edgar Hoover. Whether this was correct or not is not important now. What is impressive is the performance of Bichir in what is a small film about Hispanic migrants, legal and illegal, in Los Angeles.
He portrays a simple and good man. From Mexico, he crossed the border many years earlier with his pregnant wife. However, after some years, she wanted more from her life in the US and abandoned her husband and young son. The boy, Luis (Jose Julian), is now fourteen and has been brought up (becoming a typical 21st century American boy, trying to fit in, toying with becoming part of a gang, putting on rebellious and resentful airs) by his hardworking father who is employed spasmodically on gardens. Bichir is an actor who can convey a great deal of interior feeling without words, a lived-in face which at first seems impassive but communicates inner struggles.
When he has the opportunity to buy a truck which will enable him to move to jobs more easily and make some money, he hesitates but eventually, with the help of his sister, buys the truck.
If only... Carlos does the right thing by a man who was kind to him, but this leads to some disasters for him and the dashing of his dreams. It is saddening to watch what happens to this decent man through no real fault of his own.
Stories about illegals in the US have been frequently seen on screen. With its humane touches, this one is quite moving, especially in the last part, empathising with Carlos and his sad fate.
Cinema is a helpful place for audiences to get to know and feel migrant and refugee issues rather than simply read headlines or listen to political grandstanding where the individual stories are lost in debates (and invective) about policies.
Surprisingly, the director is Chris Weitz who was responsible for both American Pie and About a Boy (with excursions into The Golden Compass and Twilight: New Moon).
A Los Angeles story? The Hispanic world? The irony of the title – hopes, hopes dashed? The illegals, the legals? The heritage of Hispanic migration in the 20th century? The consequences in the 21st?
1. The LA locations, homes, streets, shops, workplaces, the gardens? The Hispanic atmosphere? The contrast with the affluent world of the whites, their gardens and mansions? The musical score?
2. The Hispanic world, appearances, the Latin aspects, language, customs, the precarious existence, fear of the police and immigration officials, the role of the gangs, the guns? The difficulty for people of integrity?
3. The performance by Demian Bichir? The Oscar nomination? The director and his varied career? Commitment to this small project?
4. The portrait of Carlos, his age, appearance, accent, the communication of his interior life? The background in Mexico, an ignorant young man, wanting to go to Los Angeles, his pregnant wife, the birth of their son? His wife wanting better, leaving him? The years of Carlos bringing up Luis? Worry about him, his age, American attitudes, at home, school, the gangs? Carlos and his jobs, the gardens and his skills? His friend picking him up in the truck? Urging him to buy the truck? The discussions with Anita, her lending him the money? Buying the truck, his satisfaction? The encounter with Santiago, giving him food? Hiring Santiago? Going up the tree, Santiago stealing the truck, his chasing him? Distraught, drinking, going to search for the truck? Asking Luis to help him? The clashes? The information from the man, paying him? Being led to the apartment, the recovery of the mobile phone, the man giving information, the restaurant? Learning that Santiago had sent the money to his family? Going to the yard, finding the truck, getting it back, the windscreen broken? Driving carefully, the police? The arrest? The realism of the experience? Audience empathy for Carlos?
5. Carlos’s friend, driving him to work, working on the trees, the owner of the house, the suggestions about the truck, offering him a vision of self-improvement and financial betterment?
6. Anita, her past, Carlos supporting her? Her husband, care for Luis, lending the money?
7. Luis, his age, reactions of an adolescent in Los Angeles, school and friends, the gangs, the boys and the girls, dating, bullying? The fights? The police, the prejudiced interrogation of Luis, his not having any tattoos? His relationship with his father, with Anita, upset, his hard attitudes?
8. Santiago, friendliness, his story, stealing the truck?
9. The arrest, Luis and Anita, Luis leaving and going home, the treatment of Carlos, the advice from Legal Aid, the treatment as prisoners, the showers, the clothes? The decision for Luis to visit, the embrace, Carlos’s promise to come back? Anita and Luis watching him go on the bus?
10. His new attempt to come back to Los Angeles, with the group, through the desert? The risks?
11. Audiences and their attitudes towards the Hispanic illegals, their role in Los Angeles, their personal lives, the risks, their hopes? The film helping audiences to understand refugees and illegals?
