Bella
by Alejandro Monteverde
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Actor: Ali Landry, Angélica Aragón, Eduardo Verástegui, Manny Perez, Tammy BlanchardDirector: Alejandro Monteverde
Brand: Lions Gate
Cinematographer: Andrew Cadelago
Composer: Stephan Altman
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language); Spanish (Dubbed)
Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 91 minutes
Published: 2008-05-01
DVD Release Date: 2008-05-06
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Lions Gate
DVD Reviews of Bella
DVD Review: LOVE FOR AN UNBORN CHILD
Summary: 4 Stars
Two films that tackle the difficult question of how to deal with an unwanted pregnancy are the 2006 film Bella, starring Eduardo Verastegui and Tammy Blanchard, and the 1963 classic Love With The Proper Stranger, starring Steve McQueen and Natalie Wood. Both films are wonderful for different reasons. I give Bella 4 stars overall. I give Love With The Proper Stranger 5 stars simply for the script and acting, which are superb.
In Bella, directed by Alejandro Gomez Monteverde, Verastegui is a cook that has to overcome a tremendous setback: in a previous time of life, he was a soccer star that was involved in a car accident on the day he was turning pro - ending his career when he has to do time in prison. Now he is working in his older brother's restaurant, just trying to "find himself." Meanwhile, one of the waitresses in the restaurant (Blanchard) is fired for being late and supposedly drunk, but it turns out she's pregnant. She decides an abortion is the only way to deal with the issue because she will not bring a child into a loveless life like hers. But Verastegui is her friend, and will not allow her to deal with this crisis alone. Over the course of a day spent together, Verastegui shows her a lot of love, helping her find a new job and taking her to meet his family - one that is very proud and rich in heritage. Blanchard has no family, so the love she experiences with his overwhelms her - and changes her.
In Love With The Proper Stranger, directed by Robert Mulligan, McQueen is a musician that has to face the responsibility of having gotten a girl he can barely remember (Natalie Wood) pregnant; and Wood has to decide what to do about it so her overly protective Italian-American family doesn't go berserk. She and McQueen decide to seek an abortion during a time when that was illegal; so it means sneaking around alley ways and dealing with less-than-reputable people. When they come face-to-face with the horrors involved, they change their mind. Plan B for Wood is to marry another man that is in love with her (Tom Bosley), making him fully aware of what he's getting with the deal, but keeping the truth from her family. In the mean time, McQueen has fallen in love with her. But they have a hard time getting along. And Wood has told him that if she can't have "banjos and bells" from him - a line from the fantastic theme song by Jack Jones - she's not interested.
Both of these films take place in New York City and both are beautifully shot - Bella in very strong color; and Love With The Proper Stranger in black-and-white by Milton R. Krasner, who was nominated for an Oscar. Both are also comedies - which is interesting, considering the subject matter. But it takes humor to cut the seriousness of an issue like abortion. Both couples seriously contemplate abortion, but both change their minds because of love. The big difference between these two films, other than the time periods in which they are set, is the fact that in Bella, the child factors in to the decision; whereas, in Love With The Proper Stranger, it does not. As a matter of fact, the expectant child is not even mentioned, which is strange. The only thing McQueen and Wood are concerned about are their own lives; both Verastegui and Blanchard are concerned primarily with the child.
So, you could say that Bella is pro-life, and Love With The Proper Stranger is pro-abortion; except that in both cases, the couples end up doing the right thing. And in Love With The Proper Stranger, the parents of the child end up together. Both films are interesting from the standpoint of how the couples deal with the question both personally and culturally; and both are interesting from the standpoint of how they change. As I said, it is love that changes them in both cases.
These are great films for mature audiences. Bella is PG-13 and Love With The Proper Stranger is unrated. As far as awards, Love With The Proper Stranger was nominated for 5 Oscars, including Best Actress for Natalie Wood and Best Writing, Story and Screenplay for Arnold Schulman. Being an independent film, Bella won the Heartland Film Festival Crystal Heart Award, and the Grand Prize for a Dramatic Feature; MovieGuide's Faith and Freedom Award, and their Grace Award for Eduardo Verastegui's acting; and Toronto International Film Festival's People's Choice Award.
Waitsel
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