Really Surprised!

n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.

It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

Blistering performances.

This movie isn't a debate for or against illegal immigration, but it's does tell the story of a illegal alien Carlos Galindo (Demian Bichir) and why he came to America. It's for a better life, hints the title. Carlos's wants to make sure his son Luis (José Julián) is given the opportunities he never had. He sees it with buying a new pick up truck, but when it got stolen. He and his son must work together to find it. The movie is very similar to 1948's Bicycle Thieves where the soul-stirring experience stories are about fathers and sons trying to improve their lives for themselves while the world is trying to limited them. Carlos is an honest, caring man who must live in the shadow of the law working as a gardener. Always trying to be careful with his life in fear of getting deported, he tries hard not to get into anything that can endanger his dreams. His son Luis, is of the age when he is easily influenced by his peers group mostly his best friend Ramon (Gabriel Chavarria) who is waiting to join a gang and forget about school in lieu of making money and living high. Luis sees this as a way out of poverty. Only by reconnecting with his son, can Carlos save him from a life of crime. The movie seems very real to the source material. The acting by Demián Bichir is one of the best, I ever witness, outstanding performance and I can see why he was nominated for a Oscar for this role. The ending will live you with puddle of tears, because how emotional draining it is. It's so sad, but beautiful. If you are a person that want to understand migrants and all around them you have to watch it and I am promise that you are going to change your perspective about. This movie will inspires discussions about immigrations. I have never really been on one side or the other on the illegal immigrant issue, but I will say if someone has extreme right beliefs, then this is not a movie for you. There is rarely any faults, I can find in this film. It can seem one-sided on topic of immigrations, but its not. Clearly if you watch the deportment scene. Some of those people are truly criminals and does not act like Carlos. They are truly dangerous. Some of them have strong reasons to be deported out of the country. Plus, it's not a movie about just Latinos. Anybody can get deported. If you watch those scenes again, you can clearly see that. Anybody who hates immigrations, must not know that immigrants made up most of the country. Most of them, illegally. Honestly, only the Native American are the only ones that are pretty much legal to the land. Still the movie doesn't only deal with that issue. It's a movie about gang life, socioeconomic conditions and the plight of the inner city as well. There was no left wing agenda in this film. It's about the relationship between a man and his son. That's all. Throw out the political issues aside for two hours and enjoy the film for the dynamic relationship between the father and son.

What a fantastic film. I heard about it briefly, but had no intention to watch it. But when Demian Bichir got nominated for Best Actor I decided to give it a go. And I'm really happy I did. Demian gives the most genuine, moving performance I've seen from an actor this year. While I had felt that Jean Dujardin was a lock for the Oscar (Clooney was a little over rated in The Descendants, I just didn't believe his character enough), after this I changed my mine. He should have won for this incredible performance.The story is pretty fairly straight forward. He's an illegal Immigrant from Mexico trying to make a better life for himself and his son. He has to work long hours as a gardener. Because he has to work so much, he has little time for his son and struggles to relate to him because of it. He also feels his son doesn't really understand or value his heritage and he wants to teach him this and how to be a good man. Given his predicament this is very hard, but he does what he can.There are some great moments in the film. For me the most moving of which is when his son decides to help him retrieve something that was stolen from them. They are just able to narrowly escape without harm and in that moment their first father/son moment is forged and they finally bond together. Bichir captured this so genuinely it had me fighting tears. It was a very subtle scene but it really hit me, seemingly out of nowhere.Now what I also loved about this was how relevant this film was with the immigration issue raging in the states. And the film wasn't too preachy. It just honestly presented what's happening. While he was clearly a good man, he was here and worked illegally. And while your heart broke for him at times, you had to remember that laws are laws and need to be upheld. While he was really was a good person, other immigrants had less honest intentions. So it's really a very complex, shades of grey type situation. The film didn't have an agenda and was just honest about it. And I loved it for that. At the end of the film I didn't find myself on either side of the debate. I just felt a sense of sorrow for so many people that you know are going through this. Can you judge each person on an individual basis? Can an illegal immigrant be judged based on their how they've lived their life once here? This is a complex situation and this film is an accurate representation of it. One of the best (and sadly unrecognized) films of 2011.http://andretms.blogspot.ca/@the_movie_snob

This movie was very touching and will make you feel very sad... Well if you have a heart it will! The acting is top notch and the relationship between the two male leads was very believable. The movie gives you a real look inside of the lives of Mexican immigrants and how hard their lives are.The movie moves all around LA and is seen through the eyes of a Mexican Immigrant worker as he looks out on the lives of the diverse community. The pace of the movie is good and you keeps you interested. The story is well written and has some interesting twits and turns.The movie keeps away from the usual stereotypical themes and does not show unnecessary violence. Overall great performances all around.

"A better life" depicts the life of many Hispanic immigrants who came to America hoping for opportunities to seek the American dream. The movie is about a father migrating to the United States seeking for better life for his family only to realized that it was tougher than he thought. Working as a gardener, he struggles to make enough to support the family. Aside from being financially unstable, he also struggles to spend time with his son. Easily influenced by gangs, drugs, and violence, he tries his best to prevent his son from going into that path. A well directed movie with superb acting, this movie deserves to be in the top 5 movies of the year. It is a heartfelt movie that will make the audience fall in love with the characters and the storyline. Overall 11/10 stars