A Better Life [Blu-ray]

Director: Chris Weitz, C?dric Kahn

Overview

About a Boy director Chris Weitz takes the helm for this affecting drama about an illegal immigrant who struggles to give his teenage son a better life by working as a gardener in L.A. Determined to move out of the city in order to get his son away from gangs and into a decent school, the devoted father comes into possession of a truck that allows him to earn a better income by taking more gardening jobs. But with immigration agents on every corner and vicious gangsters trying to lure his son into a life of crime, it's a constant struggle just to survive in such an unforgiving city without being deported. Demi?n Bichir, Jos? Juli?n, and Dolores Heredia star in a film written by Eric Eason (Journey to the End of the Night).

Product Details

Release Date:	10/18/2011
UPC:	0025192108464
Original Release:	2011
Rating:	PG-13
Source:	Summit Entertainment
Region Code:	A
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	1:38:00
Sales rank:	31,680

Special Features

Audio commentary with director Chris Weitz; Deleted scenes; "Jardinero" music video by Ozomatli

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Jose Julian	Luis Galindo
Dolores Heredia	Anita
Nancy Lenehan	Mrs. Donnelley
Tim Griffin	Juvie Officer
Eddie 'Piol?n' Sotelo	Himself
Gabriel Chavarria	Ramon
Carlos Linares	Santiago
Trampas Thompson	School Security Officer
Valorie Hubbard	School Secretary
Isabella Rae Thomas	Linda
Robert Anthony Peters	Truck Driver
Richard Cabral	Marcelo Valdez
Isabella Balajadia	Bella
Giselle Nieto	Gigi
Luis A. Colocio	Ruthie's Uncle
Ray Moreno	Ruthie's Uncle
Yelyna De Leon	Ruthie's Mother
Rolando Molina	Jesus
Taide Acosta	Young Woman
Joe Renteria	Bearded Man
Isidro Vallin	Payaso
Magi Avila	Shot Girl
Harry Ambriz	Mexican Singer
Miguel Alejandro Gaxiola	Voz de Mando Singer,Voz de Mando Singer
Robert Renderos	Busboy
Charles Currier	Auto Mart Security Guard
Marlon Correa	Prison Guard
Adrian Mojica	Police Officer
Todd Felix	Gabe Wettenal
J. Eddie Martinez	Rey
Jason Medwin	ICE Officer
Tom Schanley	ICE Officer
Abraham Chaidez	Coyote
Alexandre Desplat	Conductor,Composer
Demi?n Bichir	Carlos Galindo
Joaqu?n Cosio	Blasco Martinez,Actor
Jos? Juli?n	Luis Galindo
Henry Ambriz	Mexican Singer

Technical Credits

Eric Eason

Eric Eason	Screenwriter
Stacey Lubliner	Producer
Jami Gertz	Producer
Christian McLaughlin	Producer
Chris Weitz	Producer
Paul Junger Witt	Producer
Tony Thomas	Executive Producer
Ian Fox	Camera Operator
Yehuda Maayan	Sound Mixer
Carla Hool	Casting
Joseph Middleton	Casting
Trampas Thompson	Stunts

Editorial Reviews

While America is a nation of immigrants, in the 21st century some immigrants are more welcome than others, and the issue of undocumented aliens in the United States, long a hot-button topic among conservative politicians and pundits, has become increasingly contentious as the burden of illegal immigrants is blamed for everything from high crime rates, rising taxes, and increased health-care costs to wildfires in the Southwest (the latter according to a controversial statement made by Senator John McCain, one that was refuted by spokesmen from the U.S. Forest Service). At the same time, most illegal aliens are in the United States for one simple reason -- to work -- and more than a few industries in this country have chosen to tacitly look the other way on the legal status of their employees in order to have a reliable workforce willing to do difficult labor for low wages (which are still better than what they would earn at home). Filmmaker Chris Weitz gives us a look into the lives of illegal immigrants in Southern California in his drama A Better Life, which touches on politics and economics but is more concerned with the human side of the issue, as a father and son try to make a life for themselves in a place that has mixed feelings about their presence. In A Better Life, Demián Bichir plays Carlos Galindo, a middle-aged single father who jumped the border from Mexico into California with his late wife years ago and has been living in Los Angeles ever since. Carlos makes his living doing yard work with his pal Blasco (Joaquin Cosio), who owns a pickup truck and a collection of gardening equipment and has enough steady customers to keep him busy. While Carlos' job is better than day labor, it's also hard and sometimes risky work for low wages, and he wants something better for himself and his 15-year-old son, Luis (José Julián). Luis doesn't care much about education -- no great surprise since his high school is overrun by gangs and feels more like a detention center than a place of learning -- and after seeing his father break his back for years with little to show for it, he wants something different but has no clear idea how to get it, short of joining a gang, which he's just smart enough to know is a dead end. Risk and opportunity present themselves to Carlos when Blasco announces he wants to get out of the gardening business and he's willing to sell Carlos his truck, his tools, and his customer list for 12,000 dollars. Though Carlos has to turn to his sister to get the money, he buys the truck and feels like the American dream is finally in reach -- he can be his own boss, make better money, hire a lawyer who can help him become a legal citizen, and move to a neighborhood with better schools for Luis. Carlos sees his dreams crushed to dust when his truck is stolen by a fellow illegal who knows that Carlos can't turn to the police. For the first time, Luis feels like he has a stake in his father's fortunes, and sets out with Carlos to find the truck before the trail goes cold, as the teenager's street-smart cynicism runs up against his father's sense of decency and fairness. A Better Life is as much the story of a father and son as a study of the world of illegal immigrants in Los Angeles, and the differences between the two men play a significant role in the story. Carlos is a man of principle despite his legal status, and came to America because in his community a man who wanted something better for his family did just that, and more than anything he wants his son to amount to something. Luis, on the other hand, has never known a life beyond the outskirts of L.A., and between watching his father come home exhausted every night with little in his pocket and the dangerous consequences of the local underground economy, Luis doesn't see much opportunity in the Land of the Free, even though he's a citizen, unlike his dad. The two leading actors embody these two sides of the story very well; Demián Bichir, best known for his role on the cable series Weeds, is strong and stoic as Carlos, investing the character with a deep sense of fairness and responsibility that's put to the test by the world around him, and newcomer José Julián accurately captures the arrogance of adolescence while tempering it with an innate intelligence and an undertow of anger at the way fate has treated his father. Though Eric Eason's screenplay (from a story by Roger L. Simon) touches only lightly on the politics of the immigration issue, it weaves a common thread into the narrative that the biggest issues are ones of money -- those who have the bankroll to hire the right attorney can make their way into the system legitimately and earn the spoils, while the rest have to lay low in a land that clearly wants their services at a bargain price but doesn't care to legally acknowledge them. Director Weitz sometimes plays the melodrama of the story a bit thick, which undercuts the effectiveness of several key moments, but he's smart enough not to play this as a story of saints and sinners -- although Carlos is a good man, we're never led to believe he's perfect, just a hard-working guy looking for a better shake, and even the man who steals his truck turns out to have a reason for committing his crime. After making About a Boy and a pair of big-budget, high-profile projects, The Golden Compass and The Twilight Saga: New Moon, A Better Life feels like a labor of love for Chris Weitz, and if he ladles the drama on a bit thick here and there, his compassion for these characters and the care with which he tells their story is genuinely affecting and powerful. This film is hardly the last word on the immigration debate in the United States, but it shines a light on the families with the most at stake in this matter -- those who believe so strongly in the notion of America as the Land of Opportunity.