Alejandro González Iñárritu's "Biutiful" has received an awards season bump as Mexico has selected the film to be their contender in the foreign film Oscar race.The film which began its festival circuit this spring, played to a mixed reception at Cannes, but most critics could agree that Javier Bardem's performance was one of his best yet (he took home the Best Actor award from the festival). We called it "impeccably acted, wonderfully shot and assuredly put together," but also a thematically muddled and depressing "slog." The film follows Uxbal (Bardem) -- who can communicate with the dead, has an uneasy relationship with his bi-polar ex-wife and is juggling a handful of slowly spiraling black market deals -- in his last days as he tries to set things right before he passes away from terminal cancer. Yeah, this is grim, depressing stuff. And certainly the film's dour tone mixed with it's middling reception is the reason it took months to find North American distribution, eventually landing a deal with Roadside Attractions.
With an eye on the Oscars, "Biutiful" will get a qualifying run in New York and Los Angeles before going wide in the new year. The film is certainly a favorite to make the list of final nominees, and Bardem is definitely in the mix for Best Actor. [Deadline]
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