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Biutiful

Name: Biutiful
Genre: Drama
Released: December 29, 2010
Duration: 147 min
Rating: 58
Cast: Javier Bardem

2010

METASCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 33 Critics

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 108 Ratings

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7.2

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7.2	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 108 Ratings

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BIUTIFUL

Movie Details & Credits

Liddell Entertainment | Release Date: December 29, 2010 | R

Starring: Javier Bardem

Summary: Academy Award winner Javier Bardem plays a man on the wrong side of the law who struggles to provide for his children on the dangerous streets of Barcelona. The latest film from Academy Award nominee Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Biutiful won the award for Best Actor at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival and is sure to be one of the mostAcademy Award winner Javier Bardem plays a man on the wrong side of the law who struggles to provide for his children on the dangerous streets of Barcelona. The latest film from Academy Award nominee Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Biutiful won the award for Best Actor at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival and is sure to be one of the most talked-about films of the year.(Roadside Attractions)… Expand

Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu

Genre(s): Drama

Rating: R

Runtime: 147 min

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Awards & Rankings

100	#100 Most Shared Movie of 2010

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Critic Reviews

The Hollywood Reporter Kirk Honeycutt

Dec 30, 2010

Biutiful has a strong, linear narrative drive. Nevertheless, and most of all, it's a gorgeous, melancholy tone poem about love, fatherhood and guilt. Read full review

Arizona Republic Bill Goodykoontz

Jan 27, 2011

It's Bardem's portrayal of his search for those answers that drives Biutiful forward. Read full review

Sean O'Connell

Jan 28, 2011

Biutiful soars to its highest points once it shifts its focus away from death to ask us how we are choosing to live our lives. Read full review

St. Louis Post-Dispatch Joe Williams

Feb 3, 2011

The saving grace of Biutiful is Bardem. Read full review

New York Daily News Joe Neumaier

Dec 29, 2010

Here, it's all Bardem, and this great actor's careworn face and sensitive presence counts for a lot. He ultimately can't save the soul of Biutiful, but he makes the journey easier. Read full review

Christian Science Monitor Peter Rainer

Jan 29, 2011

Iñárritu does the actor no favors by putting him through the existential wringer every step of the way. Uxbal suffers for all our sins. Read full review

Village Voice Melissa Anderson

Dec 28, 2010

Though its structure may be whittled down in comparison with the earlier works, Biutiful is even more morbidly obese than "Babel" in terms of soggy ideas, elephantine with miserabilist humanism and redemption jibber-jabber. Read full review

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User Reviews

delusion

Mar 3, 2011

This movie is absolutely great! It is touching and it is view into a real situation of immigrants, who struggle to survive in a horrific conditions. But it is not only that. There is also a story of domestic problems many people can identify with it. And there is a man caught in thisThis movie is absolutely great! It is touching and it is view into a real situation of immigrants, who struggle to survive in a horrific conditions. But it is not only that. There is also a story of domestic problems many people can identify with it. And there is a man caught in this situation, who wants to make things better for everyone, but unfortunately has his own war to fight - cancer. Movie makes you think. In addition to that, the cast is amazing, especially Javier Bardem who is a wonderful actor.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

roor

Sep 2, 2014

Exquisite! Wonderful piece of art which will leave you absolutely breathless. It has been a long time I have't watched such a beautiful and at the same time painful movie. As the story continued I was more and more captivated by the love, pain and truth I was witnessing. I wanted this movieExquisite! Wonderful piece of art which will leave you absolutely breathless. It has been a long time I have't watched such a beautiful and at the same time painful movie. As the story continued I was more and more captivated by the love, pain and truth I was witnessing. I wanted this movie to never end.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Mrtruegrit2288

Feb 12, 2012

The film is painful there's no doubt about about that but Inarritu's genius is it's ability to captivate, to grab on and not let go and to make you feel every moment of pain desperation. The cast is flawless, and Bardem is without a doubt, the single greatest actor that Spain has produced .

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

lasttimeisaw

Jan 5, 2014

I have been an advocate of Iñárritu’s works continuously, AMORES PERROS (2000, 8/10), 21 GRAMS (2003, 9/10) and BABEL (2006, 8/10), but his fourth feature length BIUTIFUL has been evading my watchlist hitherto, maybe it is its dour outlook intimidates me, although Bardem grabbed a preciousI have been an advocate of Iñárritu’s works continuously, AMORES PERROS (2000, 8/10), 21 GRAMS (2003, 9/10) and BABEL (2006, 8/10), but his fourth feature length BIUTIFUL has been evading my watchlist hitherto, maybe it is its dour outlook intimidates me, although Bardem grabbed a precious BEST LEADING ACTOR nomination in a foreign language picture.

But today, I’m in an indomitable mood (thanks to my sanguine nature) so I dare to take the challenge. BIUTIFUL, the intentional spelling error rings a bell of THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS (2006, 7/10), under the same default of a divorced father struggles to maintain the subsistence with his kid(s), the latter is a bullish and aspiring fairytale while the former treads the muddy water in the underground Barcelona, with an impending terminal cancer lurks on.

Uxbal (Bardem) lives a double life, he is a medium who earns money from eliciting the last words from the deceased, also he is involved in a furtive illegal immigrant labor business with a Chinese boss Hai (Chen). With two children to foster, as a single father, when he realizes his days are numbered, it is a clarion call to urge him to be prepared and don’t leave anything unfinished, which is also why the cancer sub-genre has its unique allure since it sets a date, motivates or even coerces the protagonists to take a look at theirs lives from a different angle, to slow down the pace and engage in an introspection like in TIME TO LEAVE (2005, 7/10) or to fulfill the bucket list like in MY LIFE WITHOUT ME (2003, 8/10), but here, Uxbal faces a much grimmer reality, everything will collapse, sometimes even in the most horrid way (an accidental carbon monoxide poisoning results in the casualties of two dozens Chinese immigrants all because he bought the cheapest heaters), his tentative attempt to leave two kids to his bipolar ex-wife Marambra (Álvarez) leads up to a blind alley and his brother Tito (Fernández) is a giant sleaze ball. With no other option, he leaves all his savings to an African immigrant Ige (Daff), who lives with them with her own infant boy, in dire hope he wishes she can take care of his offspring, but will she? Life cannot be more harder, so death could be his deliverance.

Bardem is so emotive as the jaded father, with his perpetual greasy hair, utterly riveting in meting out the plight around him, particularly scenes with his two younglings, a dramatic turn from the deadpan and ruthless killer in NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN (2007, 9/10); theatrical actress Álvarez stuns in her film debut, a far more afflicted persona beyond redemption. Being a Chinese, it does pique my curiosity to see how a foreign director does with the Chinese gay characters in their films, but as a much diluted subplot here, shamefully it has been passed over with a vilifying perspective.

Iñárritu spins a Stygian recount of a very personal story, its often wobbly, frantic camera movements linger persistently in the seedy and cramped environs, attended by the otherworldly score from Gustavo Santaolalla, sometimes resorts to fright flick with the spectra materialize out of nowhere. Apparently my least favored film so far, its brooding nature and the one-sided linear narrative does deter the general audiences from emerging oneself to a sadcore once more.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

amheretojudge

Aug 12, 2018

hauntingly poignant to a point where the audience surrenders itself in its belle..

Biutiful 3 Out Of 5 Biutiful is a character driven dramatic feature about a father figured personality that breathes for its metaphorical children till the end. Clocking for almost 150 minutes, Inarrituhauntingly poignant to a point where the audience surrenders itself in its belle..

Biutiful

3 Out Of 5

Biutiful is a character driven dramatic feature about a father figured personality that breathes for its metaphorical children till the end. Clocking for almost 150 minutes, Inarritu adequately puts all of his guns on the table and narrows it down on such simplistic terms, which can even communicate to a 4 year old kid; not something that everyone can achieve. Having said that, the concepts that the audience works on, in its initial stages seems to have shucked away for its own closure; it had the potential to end on a higher ideal than it does in here. As always, the camera work is amazing and up-close that is handled manually to achieve more closeness with the viewers through character's perspective. The writing is elaborative, adaptive and enough to feed off the audience to its run-time but what's itchy in here, is its nature to restart the clock every now and then as it jumps to another sequence of the feature, where clearly it was supposed to flow and resume the clock. As mentioned, Inarritu has clearly poured his soul into its project for there barely lies a weak spot on execution in the entire feature. And then all the work lies upon Bardem to pull it off on performance objective which he does convincingly. Inarritu's world is a stage where the rehearsal is prior to the final act hence there is a raw beauty present in the air that makes its anatomy more eye-catching. Stunning cinematography, fine production design, manipulative emotional drama and stellar performance are the high points of the feature. Biutiful is hauntingly poignant to a point where the audience surrenders itself in its belle, but overly chewed love letters like such often finds itself lost in a closet.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

asylumspadez

Nov 26, 2011

It was ok. It was a bit too long and made the film seem drawn out at times. The acting was good and Javier Bardem was amazing in this film and honestly is the only reason to watch it. The story isnt all that interesting and to be honest its rather confusing at times. Its a shame because thisIt was ok. It was a bit too long and made the film seem drawn out at times. The acting was good and Javier Bardem was amazing in this film and honestly is the only reason to watch it. The story isnt all that interesting and to be honest its rather confusing at times. Its a shame because this film had a ton of potential.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Humprt

Jun 5, 2011

Very very slow and monotone. If you want to feel depressed without a real purpose, try this movie. Visually not bad, overall, I see a missed opportunity.

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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