Biutiful [2010]

Gripping poem on the inevitability of death, grief and love. A masterpiece and director Alejandro González Iñárritu’s best work to date. Guess his public breakup with writer Guillermo Arriaga didn’t hurt his career at all.

Biutiful is the Mexican entry for the “Best Foreign Language Film” category at next year’s Academy Awards. Javier Bardem’s tour-de-force performance receives excellent support from Maricel Álvarez (who plays his bipolar, alcoholic wife) and Guillermo Estrella (his son Mateo).