I recall reading that Werner Herzog called the movie a “poem” and I think he’s got something there, in a way it is very poetic in its structure as well as the type of story it tells. One of the few faults the movie has is that it does kinda fail to get you fully invested in Uxbal’s quest to provide his kids a stable future before he dies, even though his pathos is very real and tangible, especially when you’re older. It also doesn’t really feel that desperate, the way everything is portrayed so subtle. I think it might in part be because you don’t really get to see and know the kids that well, they mostly just act as plot device to create friction with Uxbal and his on/off relationship with his bipolar wife. At times it could also be a bit too predictable, but overall it is a pretty likable film and it does provide some interesting subplots, but you could have trimmed the length a bit. Two and half a hours stretches it a bit too much.
Biutuful (2010)
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