SpuffyWeb
Sadly Over-hyped
ClassyWas
Excellent, smart action film.
Glucedee
It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.
Tucsonmom
I watched this last night, 11 years after it came out. The ending was so confusing -- what? She went through with the pregnancy, presumably spent 8 more months with Jose, let him adopt the baby, and then abandoned them for 4 or 5 years, only to come back to meet her daughter? Why? The performances were all excellent, the leads were compelling, but the story had many holes. For one, who serves 4 years in prison for an unavoidable, although tragic, accident? It wasn't a hit and run, he wasn't drunk, he was evidently not a criminal. Way too many shots of little girls throughout -- we get it, Mr. Director. I wouldn't call it a waste of time; the performances were worthy of viewing. It was the story that needed some key edits.I read all 18 pages of reviews for this; it is obvious that all the right-to-lifers gave this 10 stars just because Nina went through with the pregnancy. Since when is this the sole reason to judge a movie?
Dale Haufrect
"Bella" is an emotional film from 2006. It is currently available on NetFlix Instant Download Streaming. The director is Alejandro Montevverde. The writers are Alejandro Monteverde and Patrick Million. The cast includes Eduardo Verastegui as Jose, Tammy Blanchard as Nina, Manny Perez a Manny, Angelica Aragon, Jaime Tirelli, Ramon Rodriguez, Amando Riesco, Sophie Nyweide, Ali Landry, Ewq Da Cruz, Alexa Gerasimovich, Herb Lovelle, Tawny Cypress, Doug DeBeech, Nichael Mosley, Dominic Colon, David Castro, Wade Mylius, Michael Chin, Marilyn Torres, Jim Stanek,Teresa Yenque, Sara Dawson, Jamie Schofield, Lukas Behnken, Melinda Peinado and Kola Ogundrian. The movie is a romantic drama that deepens with every minute of the show. It is warmhearted and well choreographed. I gave it 8 stars. Dale Haufrect
plupu66
I realize that "most average" sounds silly but so does the fact that this film got the Toronto Film Festival Audience Award. This award speaks volumes not about the film but rather about the public that votes at such a festival. If you like soap operas with soccer players turned into cooks turned into saviours you may enjoy this. If you like shocking plots involving totally cute little girls plastered over the pavement in a car accident - you may like it even more. Add some syrupy story, bland lines and good old criticism of labour practices in Mexican restaurants staffed with undocumented migrants. This film will not appeal to your intelligence, does not ask questions, does not entertain. It's not even a decent chick flick.
temperley02
Were the screenwriters, director and producers sleeping at the time they wrote this? He entered a restaurant, say something in his brother ear and then we jumped to her reunion with the girl. What happened? What did she do? Why is she back? What is he doing for a living? Are they together for good? Some of the plot is risible: the Mexican family is rich, while the American girl is poor and lonely; the adoption theme, the accident, the pretentious past/present changes; everything makes it unbearable. This is an example on how festivals get prizes to films based on a) there were nothing better; b) pressure of the distribution company. Just stay away of this disaster...
