This film successfully introduced me to a culture that has been overlooked in the film industry. It is to the credit of the director, Kenneth Williams, that had the vision and the courage to move beyond ethnic buffoonery when portraying people of color. We actually saw a journey from the beginning of the disintegration of the family unit to the emotional turmoil that occurs during its reunification. The director displays the extent of his craft by presenting the actors with a broad social context (a foreign culture) in order to hone their acting skills (mannerisms, accents, looks) to reflect a voyeuristic look at the confusions and resentments that first generation youths experience by being trapped between the values of their parents home country and their own emerging independent American identities. Although accents are difficult to pull of in any film- 'How Stella Got Her Groove Back'- anyone? I saw the film as whole rather than fragmented parts. Unfortunately, I think naive viewers often associate creole accents of any kind with Jamaicans (thanks a lot Sean Paul) but the nuances of the Belizean dialect were very apparent to me- I was part of a Graduate Forestry Program and spent five years studying there:)! The film speaks to the intelligence of today's audiences that demand more than loose women, stereotypes, and gang members. This film respects its audience by showing we are more than mediocre stock films, we are a people of diversity, tradition, and core values.
Review of A Beautiful Life
