A Beautiful Life (2004) User Reviews

Intelligent viewers this is your movie

[jsway-1 · 9/10 · 30 April 2007]

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.

An absolutely honest and incredible film

[diva3x7 · 10/10 · 6 December 2004]

This film was beautiful and gripping in its subtle view of cultural dynamics. The viewer was allowed to immerse themselves in the family drama without being overwhelmed by specifics of socioeconomics or gender. Film-making in the past has been typically used as escapism for Americans but in recent years films have become manipulated to "sell" to a particular demographic therefore alienating different groups of people. A Beautiful Life, on the contrary, amazingly presents a relatively unknown culture in its authenticity without alienating any potential audience member. A Beautiful Life succeeds in its ability to emotionally speak to the audience in a compelling manner which leaves us all spellbound.