| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Javier Bardem | ... | ||
| Maricel Álvarez | ... |
Marambra
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Hanaa Bouchaib | ... |
Ana
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Guillermo Estrella | ... |
Mateo
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| Eduard Fernández | ... |
Tito
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Cheikh Ndiaye | ... |
Ekweme
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Diaryatou Daff | ... |
Ige
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Taishen Cheng | ... |
Hai
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Jin Luo | ... |
Liwei
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George Chibuikwem Chukwuma | ... |
Samuel
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Lang Sofia Lin | ... |
Li
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Yodian Yang | ... |
Chino Obeso
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Tuo Lin | ... |
Barman Bar Hai
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Xueheng Chen | ... |
Chino Bodega
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Xiaoyan Zhang | ... |
Jung
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Uxbal, single father of two children, finds his life in chaos as he is forced to deal with his life in order to escape the heat of crime in underground Barcelona, to break with the love for the divorced, manic depressive, abusive mother of his children and to regain spiritual insight in his life as he is diagnosed with terminal cancer. Written by anonymous
I must say... I watched this movie twice. At first brush... I couldn't quite get past the pain and heaviness of the film... and at second screening, I really got to enjoy the (biutiful) visual metaphors that the director wanted to paint for us. It is indeed grim... and human. Like life, and perhaps a reflection of these days, not everything ends up happily ever after... we all are surviving each day in our own ways. This slice of family life, in a small quarter of Barcelona, is not glossed over and prettied up like most Hollywood films that we've slowly grown to despise (I know I don't speak for everyone). This is not the film that you go to to escape from reality... it's reality facing right back at you. It paints a perspective on the lives of those living on the frayed edges of our society, in every part of the world. For me, I think it is a pity that none of the Big Six picked it up for wider distribution. And that's the sad note for today's American cinema.