A Better Life

A Better Life

Directed by Chris Weitz

With Damien Bichir, Jose Julien, and Eddie Sotelo

The deeply compassionate and absorbing film, “A Better Life,” deals with those untold numbers of people who are mostly invisible to us. This simple and understated story is about an illegal Mexican alien, Carlos (Damien Bichir), and his U.S. born 14-year-old son, Luis (Jose Julien), who live in borderline poverty in  the barrios of  East Los Angeles. Luis rejects his Dad’s Mexican ways. These two  males seem worlds apart.

Carlos is a hardworking gardener who spends exhausting hours working to keep the wealthy Los Angeles residents’ yards looking impeccable. He sleeps on the couch of his little apartment so his son Luis can sleep in the bedroom to be rested for school. Luis skips school and aspires to becoming a member of one of the barrio gangs. His father is too exhausted to do anything about it. All Carlos wants to do is to work hard so Luis can get a good education and a better life, but all Luis wants to do is to hang out with his buddies.

Carlos finally gets an opportunity to improve their lives. He borrows money from his sister and is able to buy a truck and equipment so he can have his own landscaping business. Of course, he has no driver’s license, and a simple traffic misstep could lead to his deportation. Carlos has learned to keep his head down and not to draw attention to himself.

Carlos’s happiness at owning his own truck is shattered when his truck is stolen. He can’t report the incident to the police because he is an illegal with no driver’s license. Luis and he set out together to find the stolen vehicle. “A Better Life” then takes the viewer on an odyssey of the streets of East Los Angeles, including its street people, its gangs, political rallies, people waiting for buses, laborers looking for work, and the omnipresent police helicopters flying overhead. The tension mounts as the search continues.

“A Better Life” is two stories. One is the plight of the illegal alien and the other a story of father and son. You can feel Carlos’ powerlessness and anxiety and a sense of what it feels like to be an undocumented alien. Our political rhetoric clouds the plight of these usually hardworking, law-abiding people living on the edge of poverty. 

Luis begins to see that his father is not a wimp, but a strong individual outraged at the theft of his truck who will stop at nothing to retrieve the stolen property. The father and son soon begin to see eye to eye.

“A Better Life” puts a human face on illegal aliens, each of whom has his or her own story to tell. 

Damien Bichir is magnificent in this film. With tiny changes in expression, he projects the fears and anxieties bottled up in his character. You get a feeling of what it must be like to be an illegal, constantly aware of the possibility of being rounded up and deported. These are ordinary people with families, hopes, and dreams who live under the radar. Maybe the next time you look at a busboy, a housekeeper or the person who cuts your grass, you will see them as a whole person.  “A Better Life” will tweak your own compassion and heighten your awareness. And that’s not a bad thing.

BUCK

BUCK

Directed by Cindy Meehl; directors of photography, Guy Mussman and Luke Geissbuhler; edited by Julie Goldman

It seems that whenever we pick up a newspaper or click on the TV, we hear about climate crises, war, overthrow of governments, terrorist attacks of some sort and political maliciousness..  What a total pleasure and relief to learn about Buck Brannamen, a real life Wyoming cowboy, the central figure in the documentary BUCK.  The film The Horse Whisperer was inspired by Buck and his approach to horses. You don't need to be a horse lover to enjoy this beautiful film.

  The film covers Buck’s childhood horrors to his adulthood fame and success with horses.  Buck and his brother were trained by their brutal father to do rope tricks in rodeos.  They even appeared on TV in the 60’s.. Their loving mother was a line of protection against the sadistic father.  She died when Buck was young so he was at the mercy of this cruel and often drunk man.  When a gym teacher discovered angry welts and scars on Buck's and his brother's backs, they were placed by court order in the foster care of the Shirleys, a loving and gentle couple who enabled Buck to overcome his terrors and shyness..  Thank heavens for this. 

Having suffered terrible cruelty and pain from his father, Buck empathizes with the horses.  He does not believe they need to be 'broken' by abusive methods.  He is legend in the horse world.  He travels 40 weeks of the year to hold 4 day clinics in which horses are trained not by a whip, but by him waving a flag.  There exists a communion between horse and man when Buck is in charge.

  Although Robert Redford speaks in several clips, the real star here is the totally engaging and soft spoken Buck.  As he waves the flags in the various clinics, he explains his philosophy.  He says that his job is to' help horses with people problems' not’ people with horse problems.'  He explains that 'everything is a dance:' meaning he and his horse in synch together..  You want to hear more of his folksy wisdom.

The film is not all warm and fuzzy.  There is a violent and very sad interlude in which a teary woman brings her 3 year old stallion to Buck to train.  The horse suffered a birth defect and as a result is a dangerous creature, at times biting and trampling his human keepers.  Buck handles this horse with respect and calming words. He patiently eases the wild horse back into its trailer which will transport the animal to its euthanization..  He never blames the animal.  Instead he believes the fault lies with the owner. 

  The director, Cindy Meehl , is a fashion designer turned artist.  This is her first film, and it won Best Documentary at Cannes.   She trails Buck to many of his 4 day clinics and includes historical shots of young Buck and his brother doing rope tricks as well as footage of horses being broken by cruel methods.  Then there is gentle Buck, hypnotically waving his flag to soothe and calm the animals, training them without the use of harsh methods.

The understated Buck never dwells on the childhood mistreatment which would have destroyed most people.  Somehow this wise man was able to transcend that past and turn it to uncanny understanding, compassion and success with horses.  We could all learn a lot from Buck’s life lessons.  You will remember Buck Brannamen for a long time after you leave the theater.