Last night I went to the Chennai International Film Festival. They were showing a Spanish language film “Biutiful” directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu. The movie stars Javier Bardem as Uxbal, a Spanish man raising two children surrounded by pain and struggle in the slums of Barcelona. He learns early in the film that he is dying of cancer. While he keeps this knowledge from most people around him, the one person he confides in advises him to “put his things in order”. His efforts to do so, however, are continually frustrated. No matter how hard he tries, situations grow more desperate as death hovers over him. The film depicts hopeless situations in Uxbal’s life involving criminals, exploited immigrants, and his family (his bipolar ex-wife and two children). As things near the end, Uxbal tearfully pleads with his daughter to just remember him. His only comfort and hope was knowing that he would live on at least in his daughter’s memory.
The film was depressing and difficult to watch, but also very powerful in its portrayal of life. Iñárritu described it as “a reflection akin to our brief and humble permanence in this life. Our existence, short-lived as the flicker of a star, only reveals to us its ineffable brevity once we are close to death.” It is short, and when we die we leave behind nothing but our memory. “Biutiful” did not offer much hope, but there is a hope that truly is beautiful. Leaving the theater, I was struck by the large Christmas tree all lit up in the mall. It stood out to me as a symbol of hope, a representation of the eternal beauty that the film did not offer. Without Christ’s birth life is hopeless. Without Christmas our lives are just desperate attempts to “put our things in order” before we die. Thankfully we do have Christmas, and we do have a hope beyond this life. “Biutiful” may not have put forth any hope in its depiction of life and death, but it reminded me that this life is not what we are living for and that more than our memories will live on after our death. That is something worth remembering this Christmas season.
The music playing over the ending credits of the movie was Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G 2nd movement. It is a beautiful and emotional piece of music which fit perfectly with the tone of the movie. I love it, so I thought I would include a version of it I found on YouTube:
Thanks for posting this! It was a good reminder of what the season is all about and I am thankful that we do have hope and so much more.
ReplyDeleteSometimes a deepressing movie is just the key to remind of us of what we do have.
Thanks again
Loved the youtube video too!