- BELLA - A MOVIE RECOMMENDATION FROM MIKE MCMANUS

From the Smartmarriages newsletter, HT to Diane.

SPOILER ALERT! Not the ending, but some details....



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- BELLA - A MOVIE RECOMMENDATION FROM MIKE MCMANUS

BELLA - Unforgettable, Deeply Moving Film
by Mike McManus
October 31, 2007

BELLA is an unforgettable, deeply moving film about the relationship of two
losers: Jose, the chef in his brother¹s Mexican restaurant and Nina, a
waitress fired by his brother for being late.

Jose had been a soccer star, until he accidently killed a child who dashed
in front of his car.  After serving four years in prison for manslaughter,
the ex-con found work as a chef for his brother. He grew a thick heavy
beard, hiding his handsome face.

When Nina was fired, Jose ran after her, and learned she was pregnant. He
took the day off to be with her, though they had no previous relationship.
That day changed their lives.  This touching movie won the Audience Award as
the best film of the Toronto Film Festival.

At a deeper level, the movie is about the decision of what to do about an
unwed pregnancy - which happens to 2.7 million American women annually.

³Have you considered adoption?² Jose asks. It is the sort of loving question
which gets asked far too rarely in our culture.

Nina replies, ³No, I could not carry something in my body for nine months
and then give it to a stranger.² That¹s the reason only 22,000 infants are
adopted in America out of 1.5 million out-of-wedlock births. Surely, the
most loving decision hundreds of thousands of those mothers could make is to
relinquish the child to a married couple longing,.but unable to bear
children.

³Let¹s go the beach,² Jose says. ³I live near the beach.² As they travel,
Nina tells him, ³The only person I would give it to is you. Right now, you
are the only person I trust.²

Suddenly we see them in an abortion clinic. He whispers something in her
ear. She turns to him with a stunned look, then goes to the doctor. She
returns teary-eyed, but viewers are uncertain what happened. Nationally, 1.2
million babies are aborted annually.

Jose and Nina visit his family¹s home near the beach.  It is a big, joyous
family, with lots of bantering and laughing around a sumptuous meal
including a younger brother and his fiancée

At one point during dinner, Jose¹s mother confesses to Nina, ³I don¹t
usually talk about it, but early in our marriage we could not have children.
We tried everything we could.²

³Mom, don¹t talk about that around children!² her youngest son protests

But then his cousin in Puerto Rico had a child, and we adopted this darling
boy,² Manny, the older brother, the up-tight restaurant owner. Their mother
reflects, ³I think the only difference between my three sons is the way
Manny came to us.²

I won¹t reveal BELLA¹s surprising conclusion.

³This film is a work of art,² said Tony Bennett in presenting an award at
its opening. ³A work of art is very rare...lasts forever and stays in the
hearts of everybody forever that sees it.²

Surprisingly in its first weekend, BELLA grossed an amazing $1.3 million
despite a  limited release on just 165 screens (versus 3,000- 4,000 for most
Hollywood blockbusters). Why? Christians heard about the film and promoted
it, giving BELLA the highest per screen average in America last Sunday.

Jose is portrayed by Eduardo Verastegui, a Mexican with a Cinderella story.
The son of a sugar cane worker in Mexico, he achieved early success as a
teenage recording artist.  His good looks and acting ability led to starring
in five popular TV soaps and a film, propelliing him to the precipice of
international stardom, when he converted to Christianity.

His faith persuaded him to refuse many roles as Latin lovers and halt
personal promiscuity. ³I was tired of the vanity, the ego.  I was not using
my talents to make a difference,² he said. ³I wanted to create films that
are hopeful, beautiful and uplifting - not showing darkness, but a light in
the darkness.²

He studied English for a year, hoping to break into Hollywood.  However,
idealism has its price. At one point, Eduardo was worried about paying rent.
That¹s when he read the BELLA script, and with a Mexican film director fresh
out of school, raised money for the low budget film which might win an
Academy Award.

Tom Atwood, President of the National Council for Adoption, asserts, ³It¹s
the best movie ever in making and presenting the adoption option as a
positive option.  Young people should see this movie and anyone who has
contact with them - parents, counselors, ministers, coaches, teachers,
nurses and doctors.²

It is a film about love - not romance but compassion.


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