Before Christian groups were out on the sidewalk protesting The Golden Compass, they were inside the theatres watching Bella.Meet Nina. After being late to work multiple times, she's been fired from her job bussing tables a Mexican restaurant. As she walks away from the establishment, looking incredibly upset, head chef Jose follows her to the subway (at the expense of his job) in an attempt to console her. And guess what? Nina's been late because she's pregnant, and she's on her way to get an abortion. Nina and Jose share stories of their troubled pasts, the audience meets Jose's crazy but close family, and several days later, Nina chooses to carry her pregnancy to term with a somewhat surprising ending.
Bella is not a pro-choice movie in which the protagonist "chooses life". The images of an abortion clinic are coupled with ominous music, Nina's final decision is dramatized and emotionalized to a preachy extent. From a feminist perspective, the film cannot redeem itself with its positive attitude towards single-parenthood and alternative family structures. While, Bella is nicely written and directed well, it's highly implausible plot and lack of subtlety makes it feel more like a night at the church than a night at the theater.
Movie Rating: ♀♀ out of 4
Feminist Rating: 0 out of 4
2 comments:
While I was not familiar with the film, it's interesting how it seems to deal with some of the same issues as "Juno". That particular film, at least in my opinion, did a good job of balancing pro-choice and pro-life positions while not appearing preachy towards either side.
I think it'd be quite interesting to see a film where the protagonist lives in a country where abortion is illegal, and attempts to get a backalley abortion in the process. Women don't live in the magical world of the pro-life where every baby unaborted is born and either given up for adoption or raised by the biological mother.
http://www.cinematical.com/2007/05/17/cannes-review-4-months-3-weeks-and-2-days/: I hear this movie is coming to the US soon, and I'm quite excited to see it.
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