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 enlarge | Director: Alejandro Monteverde
Actors: Eduardo Verastegui, Tammy Blanchard, Manny Perez, Ali Landry, Angelica Aragon
Studio: Lions Gate
Category: DVD
List Price: $19.98
Buy Used: $5.59
You Save: $14.39 (72%)
New (49) Used (39) Collectible (1) from $5.59
Rating:  139 reviews
Sales Rank: 516
Format: Ac-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Dvd-video, Subtitled, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), Spanish (Dubbed)
Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 91 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.7
MPN: LGED22665D
UPC: 031398226659
EAN: 0031398226659
ASIN: B0014BQR6U
Theatrical Release Date: 2006
Release Date: May 6, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 6-10 of 139
 Bella is bella! September 30, 2008
Anna Ferrara (Germantown, MD)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Bella is one of the most beautiful movies I have ever seen. Extremely inspiring and refreshing. Written by the director! Very inspiring and very moving. Usually movies with such dramatic themes as abortion and just slice-of-life aren't usually my cup of tea, but this film . . . is up in my top ten favorite movies list. It is not sachrinne, nor is it crass, it's real and uplifting. A must see! Much more substantial than the tripe Hollywood cranks out.
 Lovely Little Gem September 24, 2008
Neil Martinez
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Well acted. Well filmed. Reasonably well edited. A little contrived but the overall "message" of the movie (redemption, hope, love, etc.) creeps up on you and (by the end of the movie) is pretty insistently rising to an effervescent 'Hallelujah Chorus" of gentleness and grace.
Contrary to another reviewer's thoughts on the ending; I liked the combination of very nearly tied up loose ends and ambiguity. Hard to carry off but the movie somehow leaves you hopeful that everything works out...somehow. You're just never explicitely told how.
An Actor's Film September 21, 2008
Birdman (Minnetonka, MN USA)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
In the hands of less sensitive screenwriters, BELLA might have been an explicitly religious film. It's fortunate BELLA is something more inclusive and intelligent. It's a quiet little masterpiece about loss and redemption featuring an ensemble cast that rivals those of the best independent films. In particular, Tony-nominee Tammy Blanchard delivers a performance as natural and poignant as any I've seen in years.
Bella is also beautiful because it is honestly multicultural. No formulas or stereotypes here. The director beckons us, and we enter the world of two extraordinary people and the choices they face in an impassive, lonely world. I won't give the plot away because it would be unwelcome by some readers.
If you relish movies about real love, family relationships, decency and redemption, you'll love this one. If you enjoyed TENDER MERCIES, PLACES IN THE HEART, REAL GIRLS HAVE CURVES or SMOKE SIGNALS, this film will fit you like a glove. It is also an actor's film. The camera loves virtually every member of this cast, and the performances build on visual expression as well as words.
There are those out there who champion this film for religious or political reasons, and that is unfortunate, since that may discourage a wider audience for this very worthy effort. The dignity and charm of BELLA is that a man and woman - faced with one of the most momentous choices a human can have - choose a path because they are circumspect, and view their crisis in light of their past and future lives. Neither lead character finds solace in institutions or laws.
So, if you're in the mood for a life-affirming movie filled with nuanced, sensitive performances and wonderful cultural depth and character, BELLA is for you. And I'd buy it rather than rent it, because it's a film you'll want to revisit and share with others.
Five stars.
Food for Thought September 9, 2008
MomX5
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I have not been a fan of independent films, but this one is an exception. It is more complex than a typical Hollywood film, so much richer in its content. Family themes and cultural settings were well done. The story of pain and redemption, the fragility and preciousness of life, all weave a beautiful storyline. Our DVD scrambled up the last 10 minutes, and we were trying to figure out the possible ending scenarios as we fought with the machine. This is not a predictable ending, nor an ending that neatly ties up all the loose ends and is happily ever after. Realistic and inspiring.
A touching story, brilliantly portrayed! September 1, 2008
Gulshan Batra (India)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
"Bella" is one of those movies that make you want to believe in goodness of people and the purpose of life. It may move you to tears, or not - but what's certain is that you won't get away unaffected.
The story of a soccer star, whose career ends before it begins, and of the NY waitress, who is left to face the music alone by her boyfriend when she becomes pregnant, is captured brilliantly in this movie. The shots capture the poignance of the moment in the movie, and in fact, at times, capture the myriad colors that life has to offer us. When Jose's soccer dreams are crashed by an unexpected event, he loses all his life's passion, and ends up being a reserved-but-extremely-respected chef in his brother Manny's restaurant in NY. There, he meets Nina, who is a waitress in the same restaurant, and the two are good friends.
One fine day, things just begin to break down for Nina, and seeing her in distress, Jose reaches out to her, and bonds instantly. However, this is where I must put on record my disagreement with the movie. The kind of bonding that Jose enjoys with Nina in a day, while entirely possible, is the less convincing, primarily because of the little background shown about the two characters before the particular day. With each passing moment, we are made to realize how otherwise close these two actually are. While it doesn't take anything from the movie, it certainly takes away a little attention which would otherwise go to marvel at the magnificient story-telling of the movie.
Be that as it may, what transpires in that day in Jose's and Nina's life makes them both happy, and in the long run, gives them a purpose for life itself.
Most of us go through life without realizing that it is our only chance at being happy, and that happiness might not always come from expeted quarters or directions only. It's our sole responsibility to seek out our happiness, and reward ourselves with it. "Bella" seeks to reinforce this adage, and encourages to seek out happiness, not just for ourselves but for those beloved to us.
My favorite moment: TOW the street peddlar is selling an origami creation to Nina, and when she says she doesn't have any money, he simply asks her to describe the buautiful day to him; only then does Nina (and the audience) realize that he is blind, but ever eager to savor life's rainbows.
Overall Rating: 4 / 5
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