(Best. Dad. Ever.)
CAST: Demian Bichir, Jose Julian, Joaquin Cosio, Gabriel Chavarria, Dolores Heredia, Carlos Linares,
DIRECTOR: Chris Weitz
WARNING: Some SPOILERS and one truly awesome Papa - straight ahead…
Remember Santiago Munez (Kuno Becker), the hero of the modern soccer classics GOAL and GOAL 2 (reviews # 185 & 291)? Remember how he wound up becoming a star player for Newcastle and Real Madrid? Remember his humble beginnings as an illegal immigrant in East L.A. with a cranky gardener (and fellow illegal alien) for a father? Well, Santiago seems like the future version of the one of the characters in our latest review, the father/son love story A BETTER LIFE.
He is Luis Galindo (Jose Julian) and, like Santiago, he loves soccer (Chivas Deportivo, to be exact) and has an illegal immigrant gardener for a father, Carlos (Demian Bichir). The only difference is that, while Santiago was born in Mexico before crossing the border into the U.S., Luis is actually an American citizen because he was born after Carlos and his wife, um, “relocated” to Los Angeles. Meaning that the immigration authorities are not interested in Luis. Carlos, however, is another story. Oh, and another difference is that Santiago’s dad in the GOAL flicks was kind of an asshole. In A BETTER LIFE, Carlos is a waaaaaaaaaaaay cooler Pops.
It ain’t hard to imagine Luis eventually growing up to find soccer success like Santiago did in the GOAL movies. Unfortunately, that’s going to be hard to do if Pops gets deported back south of the border. For his part, Carlos does a good job of keeping his head down and trying to be invisible. He does this by: (1) working as an assistant gardener to the kindly Belasco (Joaquin Cosio); (2) trying to be a good role model for Luis; and (3) well, I guess that’s pretty much it. You see, Carlos works long hours - and when he’s not pruning the shrubs and mowing the lawns of rich Los Angelenos or trying to instill some decency in Luis, he’s passed out on the couch from exhaustion.
Things take a turn for the promising when Belasco decides to “retire” and return to Mexico to raise crops and sell electronics out of a truck (don’t ask) - and he offers to sell his gardening truck (essentially, the entire business) to Carlos. Belasco says Carlos will benefit from taking over the business because: (1) he will make more money, which means (2) he will be able to hire a better attorney to help make him legal, and (3) he will be able to move to a better neighborhood, which means (4) he will be able to put Luis in a better school where doesn’t have to play roshambo with gang members everyday at lunch.
With the help of a generous loan from his sister Anita (Dolores Heredia), who already has her “papers”, Carlos is able to buy Belasco’s truck. Soon, Carlos is heading up the gardening operation instead of just assisting. He’s able to buy Luis some Chivas gear, and - most importantly - is now able to put money away for a rainy day (good man!). Yes, sir. Things are looking up for our boys Carlos and Luis. At this rate, it won’t be long before the Galindos can do the following: (1) move to West L.A., (2) transfer Luis to a school where the number of tattoos doesn’t exceed the number of books, and (3) well, that’s pretty much what counts.
Unfortunately, Carlos and Luis’ buzz is seriously pissed on when Carlos’ new assistant Santiago (Carlos Linares, not Kuno Becker) steals the truck one day - leaving Carlos literally hanging in the wind (see the movie to see what I mean). Anyone else would’ve hired The Terminator to track down the fucker, kill him, chop him up into mulch, then retrieve the truck. Not our Carlos, who appears to be just a few gracious smiles from sainthood even after being fucked over royally. Nope, he basically rounds up Luis - and together they embark on a laconic bonding journey to retrieve the truck in the nicest way possible. Santiago doesn’t know how lucky he is. Most people would’ve shot him.
Will Carlos and Luis track that asshole Santiago down and take back what is rightfully theirs? Will they salvage their dreams of moving to a new neighborhood - and a new life? Will Carlos ever be able to become an American citizen like his son? And even if they manage to get the truck back, does that automatically mean smooth sailing for them? Or are the authorities closer than they realize? Will father and son manage to stay together? Will they ever get to live the “American Dream”? Or is it “Hello, Tijuana” for our Uber Padre? Will he be separated from his son? Will Luis ever be able to realize his soccer dreams? Will Carlos be able to cheer him on at a game? Or will he have to settle for watching it on TV from Mexico?
Hard to say. One thing for certain, though: if Carlos gets to stay in the States and attend Luis’ games, we’ll probably get to see his crazy side come out on the sidelines. And that’s a good thing.
BUT, SERIOUSLY: After directing the quirkily delightful and decidedly British ABOUT A BOY, and the predictably zippy and decidedly American TWILIGHT: NEW MOON, director Chris Weitz tackled A BETTER LIFE, a project as different from those two earlier films as they are from each other. One thing you can’t accuse Weitz of is dabbling too much in the same genre. It also turns out that Weitz is of part-Latino descent, so helming this film also has a touch of the personal.
A BETTER OF LIFE is a film you have to pay attention to. Its strength is in the small details, most of them non-verbals from the characters and visuals of the setting. If you breeze through this movie without giving it your full 90 (as we Sounders Fans like to say), then you may write it off as an average cinematic experience. This is because director Weitz avoids any melodrama in telling this story and keeps thing remarkably understated. Add to this the fact that its lead character keeps his feelings buried under a stoic and placid exterior, and you have a story that keeps its emotional cards very close to its chest - and only allows you very fleeting glimpses here and there, before finally tipping its hand late in the film.
Mexican actor Demian Bichir plays Carlos Galindo with a mix of resigned weariness, quiet humility, and subtle determination. While this may sound like Carlos is something of a saint, and I joked about it earlier, I assure you he is not. I look at Carlos and I don’t see a saint - I see someone who has hard-earned, hard-won maturity and wisdom, and knows that bitterness and cynicism is poison, and turns his back on it. Carlos has had a hard life that is a never-ending struggle to make a life for his son - but he never let’s these “hard knocks” turn him into an ugly cynic. Many people mistakenly think being a cynic is the same as being a realist. This is a sad, lazy misconception that speaks more of immaturity than actual wisdom. As we grow older, we should become wiser and more mature - but true wisdom and maturity means being more expansive and forgiving, not cynical and suspicious. It also means letting go of the things of youth and acting your age. A BETTER LIFE beautifully captures this.
This is never more apparent than in the scene where Luis and Carlos find the thief Santiago working in a restaurant kitchen as a dishwasher after the theft of the truck. Luis viciously beats Santiago, but Carlos fiercely defends Santiago - going so far as to threaten his son. Luis chastises his father for protecting the man who wronged them. But Carlos doesn’t back down, realizing that Santiago wasn’t motivated by malice - but desperation to send money back to his ailing family in Mexico. This is the best scene in the film, and vividly captures the essence of Carlos - and the moral of the film, which is that no matter what happens to us, and no matter who unfairly wrongs us, no matter how hard life is, we must never lose our humanity and grace.
Bichir rightfully deserved his recent Academy Award nomination for Best Actor for this role. Carlos’ love for Luis is blind and unconditional, which Luis sometimes takes for granted. There are scenes where Luis take jabs at Carlos just to get a reaction out of him, but the older Galindo just silently and graciously takes it. You can’t help but get the sense that Carlos probably wasn’t too different from Luis at that age, and is now just indulging the younger Galindo. Bichir and Jose Julian as Luis have a very believable father/son dynamic that is marked by the right mix of conflict, humor, and bashful love. Their connection is strong, which makes the final scenes all the more wrenching and hopeful. Julian is a promising actor who has the screen presence and talent to follow in the footsteps of Bichir.
Having lived in Los Angeles for several years when I was younger, I had many friends in the Mexican-American community. Being of mixed ethnicity myself, I’ve always felt a kinship with immigrants, especially the ones from south of the border, and it is refreshing to see different stories about their experiences reach the big screen. Is it right that some of them are here illegally? Of course not. But, at the same time, is it wrong for them to want a better life? Between the laws of immigration and the principles of humanity lies the answer to that question.
In the end, A BETTER LIFE is remarkably understated and ultimately powerful Valentine to the blind, unconditional love that many fathers feel for their sons, despite their occasional differences. I feel lucky to have one such father, and I dedicate this review to him - and to great fathers everywhere, of all nationalities…
I love you, Dad. Thanks for everything...
