Metascore
47 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 18 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 18
  2. Negative: 4 out of 18
  1. 75
    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.
  2. 75
    Cynics need not apply, but I found Bella a real heart tugger.
  3. A tearjerker that earns its sobs with heartfelt emotions.
  4. 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.
  5. 67
    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.
  6. Reviewed by: Tasha Robinson
    50
    The melodrama and cheap theatrics of the story's off-center segments drag the whole thing down.
  7. 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.
  8. Reviewed by: Ken Fox
    50
    Well-acted first-feature.
  9. If you have an appetite for well-made treacle, then Bella should go down a treat.
  10. 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.
  11. Reviewed by: Gary Goldstein
    50
    Certainly a sweet, life-affirming picture, but it's just not authentic or captivating enough to justify its wildly concocted scenario.
  12. Reviewed by: Robert Koehler
    50
    Mexican-born helmer Alejandro Monteverde's debut will be remembered as a curious case of a mediocre film that wows crowds.
  13. Reviewed by: Julia Wallace
    40
    Manages to be utterly predictable without making any sense at all.
  14. 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.
  15. 38
    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.
  16. Reviewed by: Erin Meister
    38
    In this bilingual morality movie about love, family, and fate, however, the unpredictability turns out to be highly predictable.
  17. 33
    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.
  18. 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.
User Score

Generally favorable reviews- based on 40 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 23
  2. Negative: 4 out of 23
  1. MexicanG.
    10
    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! Full Review »
  2. Anonymous
    10
    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. Full Review »
  3. AnnaLuisaR.
    10
    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! Full Review »