Parents' Guide to

Biutiful

Movie R 2010 148 minutes
Biutiful Poster Image

Common Sense Media Review

Jeffrey M. Anderson By Jeffrey M. Anderson , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 17+

Heavy-handed grown-up drama has lots of mature content.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 17+?

Any Positive Content?

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age 8+

Based on 2 parent reviews

Katherine R.
Katherine R. Parent of 10, 14, 18+, 18+, 18+ and 5-year-old
June 22, 2024
age 14+

jack son e
jack son e Parent of 16-year-old
February 28, 2011
age 2+

This is a very complex movie and while most people will probably not understand the message of hope and continuing emotional stress/encouraging aspects that it presents to the viewer, people who are not total morons should be able to take away something powerful and emotional from the beautiful film.
See all 2 parent reviews

What's the Story?

Uxbal (Javier Bardem) lives a complicated life in Barcelona. He makes his living as a kind of middleman between Chinese businessmen, Chinese laborers, and Senegalese immigrants who sell cheap goods on the street. Trouble arises when he learns that the salesmen are also hustling drugs on the side. And then his bipolar, drug-addicted ex-wife (Maricel Alvarez) re-enters his life and tries to establish a shaky connection with Uxbal's two children. He must also decide whether to sell his father's burial plot to a company that wants the land. And in the midst of trying his best to help everyone involved, Uxbal learns that he has cancer. All of this is balanced with the secret part of him: his power to communicate with the dead.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: (2 ):
Kids say: Not yet rated

In his role, Bardem gives a terrific, organic performance that gives the movie soul, and even beauty. Acclaimed Mexican director Alejandro González Iñárritu (21 Grams, Babel) often outlines complex stories with a heavy hand, and it could be argued that his serious, socially aware tales are designed more for awards and accolades than they are for personal or artistic reasons. For example, the hand-held camerawork in BIUTIFUL continually draws attention to itself.

Though Biutiful -- the title, taken from a child's drawing, is deliberately misspelled -- is dedicated to the filmmaker's father, it throws everything but the kitchen sink (and even that) into its plot, including cancer, supernatural forces, divorce, death, bipolar disorders, and adultery. It's just as busy and serious as Iñárritu's earlier films, but it does have the benefit of a one main character rather than a big ensemble.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the movie's use of sex and violent images. How do these things change the tone of the movie? Do they make Uxbal's story more intense? More downbeat?

  • Is Uxbal a good person? Do you like this character? What are some of the good things he does over the course of the movie? What about the bad things? How do they compare? Would you call him a role model?

  • In one scene, characters discuss how a young boy has smoked cigarettes. Is there a penalty for his actions? What about for the other characters who smoke? Does smoking look enticing in this movie, or is it a turn-off?

Movie Details

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