Bella: A Review

Would you be able to walk away from your job and just spend a day with someone who needs help?

In “Bella,” Eduardo Verastegui plays Jose, who works as a chef at his brother’s restaurant in New York City. When Manny (Manny Perez), his brother, fires a late waitress, Nina (Tammy Blanchard), Jose follows her into the subway. She confides in Jose that she is unexpectedly pregnant. He offers to stay with her and talk about it. They spend the day wandering throughout New York City and Long Island, where they eat dinner with Jose’s loving and vibrant family. Over the course of the film, Nina decides not to keep her child and tells Jose about her father’s death and the subsequent grief her mother suffered. In return, he confides in her the tragic accident that ended his soccer career.

In the end, both Nina and Jose make life-changing decisions.

The movie sculpts a beautiful and moving story, told in past, present and future. The director weaves these flashes into the “present” story, creating a tapestry of Nina and Jose. It’s a story about redemption, about death, about life but above all, how one person can change your life.

If you can find this movie, I suggest you watch it. Have tissues nearby, though.