Biutiful

2010 Leftovers Marathon, part 4 of 13

Data
Title: Biutiful
Year: 2010
Length: 148 minutes
Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu
Writers: Alejandro González Iñárritu, Armando Bo & Nicolás Giacobone
Starring: Javier Bardem
With: Maricel Álvarez, Hanaa Bouchaib, Guillermo Estrella, Eduard Fernández, Cheikh Ndiaye, Diaryatou Daff, Cheng Tai Shen, Luo Jin, George Chibuikwem Chukwuma, Lang Sofia Lin
Music: Gustavo Santaolalla (and non-original music)
Cinematography: Rodrigo Prieto
Editing: Stephen Mirrione
Oscars: nominated for Best Actor (Bardem) and Best Foreign Language Film
I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), yesterday
Synopsis: a criminal/psychic/father is dying of cancer

My reaction
Concept: We've jokingly referred to this movie as Javier Bardem Is Sad. Turns out that is exactly what it is. Javier Bardem is sad for 2½ hours.
Story: I don't like the story, but I'll grudgingly admit it's good.
Characters:
Dialog:
Pacing:
Cinematography:
Special effects/design:
Acting:
Music:
Subjective Rating: 4/10 (Eh, ). Watching it is a miserable experience. There are moments of poetry, but it's just not worth it.
Objective Rating (Average):