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Bella
EMAILPRINTRoadside Attractions
Mixed or average reviews
Based on 18 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 35 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Drama
Written by:
Leo Severino
Patrick Million
Alejandro Gomez Monteverde
Directed by: Alejandro Gomez Monteverde
Release Date:
Theatrical: October 26, 2007
DVD: May 6, 2008
Running Time: 91 minutes, Color
Origin: Mexico / USA
Language(s): English / Spanish
Summary
RATING: PG-13 for thematic elements and brief disturbing images
Starring Eduardo Verástegui, Tammy Blanchard, Manny Perez, Ali Landry, Angélica Aragón, Jaime Tirelli, and Ramon Rodriguez
An international soccer star is on his way to sign a multi-million dollar contract when a series of events unfold that brings his career to an abrupt end. A beautiful waitress, struggling to make it in New York City, discovers something about herself that she’s unprepared for. In one irreversible moment, their lives are turned upside down…until a simple gesture of kindness brings them both together, turning an ordinary day into an unforgettable experience. (Metanoia Films)
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
The movie is a little more lightweight than the usual People's Choice Award winner at Toronto, but why not? It was the best-liked film at the 2006 festival, and I can understand that.
Read Full Review >New York Post Lou Lumenick
Cynics need not apply, but I found Bella a real heart tugger.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Chronicle Ruthe Stein
A tearjerker that earns its sobs with heartfelt emotions.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum
May have more heart than head, but it's also just as interesting for what it leaves out of its romantic story as for what it retains.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov
Bella is, indeed, a beautiful film. The bustling, cab-crowded thoroughfares of New York City have rarely looked as inviting and the coastline as momentously beachy as they do in this film.
Read Full Review >Variety Robert Koehler
Mexican-born helmer Alejandro Monteverde's debut will be remembered as a curious case of a mediocre film that wows crowds.
Read Full Review >Chicago Tribune Tasha Robinson
The melodrama and cheap theatrics of the story’s off-center segments drag the whole thing down.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Gary Goldstein
Certainly a sweet, life-affirming picture, but it's just not authentic or captivating enough to justify its wildly concocted scenario.
Read Full Review >Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea
What are you going to do when your lead actress offers a performance that's as unlikable as the woman she's portraying? Maybe it's the script (flimsy, formulaic), or filmmaker Alejandro Gomez Monteverde's conspicuous direction, but Tammy Blanchard's Nina, a waitress with a dour disposition and an unwanted pregnancy, pretty much sucks the life out of this well-meaning melodrama.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum
In stories like this defiantly unsubtle, structurally clunky specimen, causes women who are considering abortion to think again, and self-selecting audiences to enjoy a light, luxurious weep.
Read Full Review >The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Rick Groen
If you have an appetite for well-made treacle, then Bella should go down a treat.
Read Full Review >Village Voice Julia Wallace
Manages to be utterly predictable without making any sense at all.
Read Full Review >The New York Times Stephen Holden
If Bella (the title doesn’t make sense until the last scene) is a mediocre cup of mush, the response to it suggests how desperate some people are for an urban fairy tale with a happy ending, no matter how ludicrous.
Read Full Review >Boston Globe Erin Meister
In this bilingual morality movie about love, family, and fate, however, the unpredictability turns out to be highly predictable.
Read Full Review >Miami Herald Connie Ogle
The film is more of an exercise in pandering and propaganda -- give your baby up for adoption, you selfish pig! -- than the heartfelt drama it aims to be.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club) Scott Tobias
The emotions at play in Bella are no doubt heartfelt--and must have resonated with a few hundred people, anyway--but they're so cut-and-dried that the mawkish script virtually writes itself.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Desson Thomson
A Mexican movie in which the outcome is never in doubt, the scenes are endless -- sorry, we meant poetic-- and the false beard on the central character's face looks as though it could use a little extra gum.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 7.7 (out of 10) based on 35 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Mexican G. gave it a10:
Bella is one of a kind. A story that is not far from reality: a rushing city as NY, a real life latin family, an unwanted pregnancy... all from a positive point of view, one that all of us should adopt as a lifestyle. There is nothing irreversible, with real love anything can be overcome. A good message, great acting and an original story. Brave creators of a movie that contains a polemic theme. Definitely, a must-see!
Anonymous gave it a10:
This movie is one of my all-time favorites. Tammy Blanchard delivered an Oscar-worthy performance as Nina, and the rest of the cast was excellent. The movie handled sensitive issues in a delicate and thought-provoking way. The characters were eminently believable and compelling, and the movie -- despite having a clear message -- steered clear of being preachy or tacky. The ending left me with tears running down my face. I want everyone to watch this movie.
Anna Luisa R. gave it a10:
Worth watching! Bella wonderfully depicts real human experiences in difficult situations. Most of the "funnest, entertaining" movies, by pop-America culture standards, feed people with useless messages, to say the least. This movie gives a rich message of how it feels to live and making good choices. Artistic. Real. Raw. Human. Simply beautiful! Everyone should watch this movie at least once!
David J. gave it a3:
Nearly every scene was grossly overdramatic. I kept thinking "Oh C'mon" to both lead characters. Some reasonable acting by the minor characters cannot salvage this film that makes the main lead almost Christ-like, and the female lead suffocatingly dour. See Lord Jim for a more interesting exploration of the issues in this film.
Johanna N gave it a10:
Exquisite and beautiful. Artistically-filmed with a good soundtrack and great acting. One of the *best* movies I've seen in a long, long time. It's all about redemption. Guilt-ridden for taking the life of an innocent little girl in a tragic car accident, Jose is redeemed by saving the life of Nina's Bella. How does he save her life? Well, that's the story the movie tells. Other people get redeemed too -- Nina and Manny come to mind. This hopeful story is well-grounded in reality. People who feel the film is "inauthentic" must have incredibly sad and jaded lives. But for those who know that redemption is real, for those who have been able to forgive themselves and others for terrible deeds, for those who have been wallowing in a pit only to be raised out of it by the love of another, this movie speaks the truth.
Jas B. gave it a10:
This movie is awesome!
Chad S. gave it a5:
A dispute over change between a Chinese grocer and an Anglo-American customer results in "Crash"-like words. Was the bill that the customer handed over to the grocer, a ten, or a five spot? Nina(Tammy Blanchard) is next in line. The customer leaves. It's Nina's turn. "Korea"(what the customer calls the grocer) opens the till and sees that he erred. This is not a throwaway scene. Don't be distracted by the Unabomber-like beard that Jose(Eduardo Verastegui) sports, in repose, or in rapport with Nina. Don't be distracted by the overwrought emotions that ensues. While you weren't looking, this filmmaker remade "Crash" to his own specifications(from the point-of-view of a Latino). In Paul Haggis' "Crash", Ludacris doesn't stop. Jose stops. He stops and gives assistance to the injured. And he still winds up in prison for five years. Because of that scene at the Chinese grocer, the ethnicity of the second party becomes relevant. The victim, and the victim's mother, are Anglo-American. Draw your own conclusions as to the sort of prison sentence Tom might have received were he not from Mexico. "Bella" begins well. Manny(Manny Perez), a restaurant owner, incidentally, shares the same name as the protagonist in Stewart O'Nan's "Last Night at the Lobster". He runs a tight shift. His firing of Nina is justified. Her anger is justified, too(this is the first of three crashes). So far, so good. The walking tour of New York that Jose and Nina undertake is okay, as well. But when they reach their destination, "Bella" becomes hard to watch. The film is somewhat redeemed by its political subtext.
